New body formed to make Australia a ‘music powerhouse’

Crowd-pulling artists Gordi, Mama Kin and Fred Leone will lead a new body charged by the Albanese government with making Australia the commercial hit-making music capital of the world.

One of Australia’s most experienced music promoters, Michael Chugg, has also been given a seat at the table of the newly created board of Music Australia, which the music industry hopes will pave the way for a new era of homegrown music chart domination.

The composition of the new federal government agency heralds a shift in focus from more experimental and classical forms of music expression to mainstream, commercial contemporary music content while building connections between creators and audiences, here and overseas.

Gordi has appointed to the board of Music Australia.

Music Australia’s activities will have $70 million in funds over four years, as part of the $283 million for the country’s arts and cultural sector outlined in Revive, Labor’s arts policy blueprint launched in Melbourne in January.

With new opportunities for songwriters, new stages and regional, national and international touring, Australia could become a music powerhouse, in the league of Britain, United States, and Sweden, said Dean Ormston, chief executive of APRA AMCOS, representing the rights of Australian songwriters, composers and publishers.

“There are three countries in the world in that are net exporters of music and Australia could be the fourth. We are setting our sights high for the next ten years,” he said.

The move to create the new council comes amid growing alarm about the impact of streaming global streaming services including Spotify on local artists.

Homegrown musicians have struggled to break into overseas music charts, dominated as they are by international megastars such as Taylor Swift and Harry Styles with large back catalogues, or long-established artists with movie soundtrack credits.

Topping this week’s ARIA single charts are British rappers Dave and Central Cee and Albanian break-out star Dua Lipa with multiple singles by Taylor Swift, Luke Combs, and Olivia Rodrigo also featured.

Michael Chugg from Frontier Touring. Credit: Peter Braig

“Hearing is also important to who we are,” Ormston said. “We want to make sure we are seeing and hearing Australian artists on commercial radio, and streaming services like Spotify and Apple.”

Arts minister Tony Burke said Music Australia would deliver what the industry needed to grow and realise its potential, at home and internationally.

“It’s essential that Australian musicians and industry experts themselves have a seat at the table — and that’s what these appointments will achieve. With their dedication, passion and expertise in Australian music, the appointees will make sure that Australian music is the soundtrack to life in Australia.”

Ormston said the industry wanted to see songwriting programs introduced for school children alongside instrument tuition.

“The intellectual copyright is in the song. You don’t necessarily have to be a frontman in the band. Tushar Apte is a co-writer for the South Korean boy band, BTS. He’s not a household name, but he lives in Los Angeles and has a great career. In Nashville there are 90 Australian artists and songwriters.”

The new body could potentially also tackle the thorny issue of copyright reform, with session musicians and recording artists agitating for recognition or a greater share of rolling royalties.

Music Australia is one of four new bodies that will operate under the auspices of Creative Australia, the body that will this week officially supersede the Australia Council of Arts as the country’s prime cultural funding and advisory body.

“The industry has done it tough like many through COVID, but the live music industry was facing a lot of challenges before COVID,” Ormston said.

“Music pulls people together across community, so you need to create opportunities in festivals and opportunities for stages in the local pub or a local jazz event, bands in any shapes and forms because if you don’t have opportunities to perform you don’t get opportunities to tour.”