‘Quarantina’ Arena gets behind all-Aussie Mondays on TV music channels to help Support Act music charity
Foxtel’s [V], Max and CMC channels kick off their all Australian music Mondays to show support for artists and their teams whose financial futures have been decimated by the pandemic.
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National treasure Tina Arena can’t play gigs but can still entertain as she reinvents herself as Instagram live queen, Quarantina, pushing the stay at home message and encouraging fans and the Government to support the music community during the COVID-19 shutdown.
A tireless advocate for music charity Support Act, the Chains superstar has thrown her weight behind the Foxtel music channels campaign to broadcast all-Australian programming every Monday during the crisis.
Pop channel [V], adult contemporary home Max and country music destination CMC will exclusively feature homegrown content and promote Support Act, the “heart and hand of Australian music” giving financial and mental health aid to thousands of artists and workers now out of gigs.
“I am cooking, spending time with my son trying to get him to do some homework. I am also spending a lot of time facetiming my friends and family, but also the artistic community and talking to them about how they are feeling,” Arena said.
“It’s actually a really beautiful time to genuinely see how people are feeling.
“So for anybody out there, I ask you so very kindly to just support this community which has
kind of been forgotten of but is always the first community to roll their sleeves up when the help is needed.”
Artists have been urging fans to stream more Australian music, buy T-shirts and watch favourite videos to boost royalties as they lose vital income from performing live because of the ban on mass gatherings.
“Please let’s keep (the industry) alive by staying inside and downloading and listening and doing everything we can to get over this because you know what, we are going to get over this!” Arena said.
Country music chart-topping sisters The McClymonts will be on high rotation on CMC on Monday with their bold new pop single I Got This.
The moving video features a young mum struggling with a newborn and an older daughter, a situation the country music mums can relate to personally and also see as a metaphor for the challenges faced by their industry.
“The music world has always banded together in crisis and right now it is our community that is feeling the impact of what is going on – Support Act provide so much relief to musicians, roadies and any music worker directly affected by crisis,” Sam said.
“Personally, I have two boys under two and a half and my husband is working from home, so it is a very busy household.
“My kids wake up at 5am every day and can’t go to the park, so it’s all about trying to get them to work off all that energy, have their sleeps so that I can still work from home.
“We can’t go out on a physical tour so we are reshuffling all those dates and we’re working on the release of an album which is coming out during a worldwide pandemic!
“So lots of things keeping me busy and trying to stay positive that this is wonderful family time, bonding time with the kids … time we will never get back.”
Living rock legend Richard Clapton said the all-Aussie countdowns on Max will serve to remind people of the significant cultural influence of homegrown rock.
Clapton, whose 70s hits Girls On The Avenue, Capricorn Dancer and Deep Water remain popular - and regularly streamed - contributions to the Australian songbook, is also working on a new record during the shutdown.
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“There is a huge sign on the Tower Records building in Tokyo that simply says ‘no music, no life’,” he said.
“For over 40 years Australia had an incredible subculture which became known as Oz Rock and that became our way of life … the entire nation lived to the beat of this drum and it became the back drop to the way different generations of Australians developed over time.
“So its vitally important in these strange times we live, that we hold onto this culture more than ever and so its great that MAX has decided to adopt a pro Oz Rock playlist to help us through this extreme crisis.
“I’d urge you all to find something to do, I don’t know, write a book, or something you’ve always wanted to do but could never find the time.”
[V] has also added a new ARIA Australian Artists Singles Top 10 Chart countdown as part of All Aussie Music Mondays from April 13 with faves including Tones and I, 5 Seconds of Summer, Guy Sebastian, Flume and Tame Impala expected to feature prominently with their latest hits.
Originally published as ‘Quarantina’ Arena gets behind all-Aussie Mondays on TV music channels to help Support Act music charity