Australia Day: Musos attack Cory Bernardi’s January 26 playlist they appear on
SENATOR Cory Bernardi is refusing to back down as several musicians demand he remove their songs from a playlist he created to celebrate Australia Day on January 26.
NSW
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IN a scenario almost worthy of Paul Kelly’s Oz rock classic Dumb Things, the Australia Day date debate is now inspiring artists to try to censor who can listen to their music on January 26.
It is probably fitting Kelly’s 1989 hit is No. 24 on the same Australia Day Spotify playlist which Darren Hayes from Savage Garden, Jimmy Barnes, Powderfinger, Iva Davies from Icehouse and the Hilltop Hoods all demanded they be taken off.
Senator Cory Bernardi has drawn social media fire from several Aussie artists after putting together his Australian Conservatives Australia Day Top 100 list following Triple J’s decision to shift its Hottest 100 annual countdown from its traditional January 26 date.
Hayes was the first to react on Twitter, threatening the South Australian senator with legal action for breach of copyright.
“I do not want to be associated with you, your party or your views. Remove my music from this stunt or expect contact from my publisher,” he tweeted.
Hi @CoryBernadi and @AuConservatives. I do not want to be associated with you, your party or your views. Remove my music from this stunt or expect contact from my publisher @SonyATV https://t.co/fBmVisypLz
— Darren Hayes (@darrenhayes) January 17, 2018
A flabbergasted Bernardi responded: “Get over yourself … music is for everyone.”
“It is gobsmackingly hypocritical that these artists want to dictate who is allowed to listen to their music depending on their political views,” he said.
.@CoryBernardi launches the #AC100, an alternative to @TripleJ "Hottest 100" after they abandoned #AustraliaDay. Click to listen to the @spotify playlist and vote for your favourites: https://t.co/qlknkhHH5j #auspol #ABetterWay pic.twitter.com/GHy6GDe659
— Aust Conservatives (@AuConservatives) January 17, 2018
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Mr Bernardi said Hayes’ request to remove Savage Garden’s To The Moon and Back from its spot at No. 61 on the list was hypocritical because he was happy to leave it on the hit streaming service and collect royalties every time it was played.
“If these artists don’t want people making playlists with their music then they should not be on Spotify,” he said.
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However, Hayes rallied other musicians on Twitter by asking those included on the list: “Are you guys cool with the far right Australian Conservatives using our music to promote their agenda? Because I’m not.”
David Campbell said he would “hazard a guess” that his dad Jimmy Barnes would not appreciate Cold Chisel classic Khe Sanh being on the list at No.2.
He was right. Barnes hit the social media platform a few hours later: “Why would you listen to anything @corybernardi says, especially about music?”
But Bernardi was perplexed at Campbell’s involvement. “A few years ago we had dinner with him at the Hyatt and he wasn’t complaining then — especially when the Australian Conservatives picked up the bill.”
Meanwhile Powderfinger wrote that it did not “support” or “endorse our inclusion” in the Australia Day countdown and “would like our music removed”.
That’s despite the band previously having no problem with being included on Triple J’s Australia Day Hottest 100, including when the Brisbane act topped it in 1999 and 2000 for These Days and My Happiness respectively.
“We are not trying to censor @corybernardi and his party, we are merely participating in a healthy debate that befits and strengthens our democracy,” the band tweeted. Singer Bernard Fanning was less diplomatic: “It is clearly another puerile attempt to distract people from what is a serious question that needs rigorous debate.”
Adelaide hip hop group The Hilltop Hoods, included at No. 81 for song 1955, simply wrote: “Go f... yourself Cory Bernardi.”
The senator said that while he liked their music he did not necessarily like their politics either.
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Iva Davies from Icehouse told ABC Radio he was “less than happy” about his band’s 80s classic Great Southern Land appearing at No. 4 on the Australian Conservatives hit list.
“I have the right to have the song not associated with whatever I want to — that’s my right as a composer,” he said.
Australian copyright law does grant artists protection from derogatory treatment of their songs under what are known as “moral rights”.
However, Spotify’s terms and conditions state that artists on the streaming service waive any moral rights that apply to their work there.
The row follows attempts by the Greens and lefties to move Australia Day from January 26, the date of the First Fleet’s 1788 arrival in Sydney Cove.
Centre for Independent Studies academic and Waripiri woman Jacinta Nampijinpa Price said the musos had missed the point: “They should get their hands dirty and do something rather than making childish demands like ‘you are not allowed to listen to my music’.”
Originally published as Australia Day: Musos attack Cory Bernardi’s January 26 playlist they appear on
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