Melbourne start-up Qsic backs Jack River’s plea for aussie songs in shops

Thousands of 7-Eleven stores will play local music only this month thanks to a Melbourne tech start-up backing the musician’s call out for corporate support.

Indie pop artist Jack River. Picture: Daphne Nguyen

In support of Jack River’s call out last week for more local music to be played across corporate Australia, Aussie start-up and smart commercial music streaming platform Qsic is launching an initiative to put local music on high-rotation in more than 2000 locations across the country.

Supported by Jack River’s management UNIFIED Music Group and Mushroom Group, Qsic is calling on record labels across the country to join the push.

The 100 per cent Aussie playlist – which includes 16 hours of content – will be played in place of regular playlists in a bid to help local artists impacted by ongoing Covid lockdowns, at thousands of locations including more than 700 7-Eleven stores.

Last week Jack River – real name Holly Rankin – called on Channel 7 to play all Australian music during coverage of the Olympics, in an Instagram post that went viral.

“Dear Channel 7 and Corporate Aus,” River said in the post.

“How great would it be if you played all Australian music in your coverage of the Olympics? These are Australian moments, they deserve Australian music.

7-Eleven stores will play Australian-only music in August. Picture: NCA NewsWire / James Gourley

“And while we’re here, how good would it be to hear Aussie music in Coles, Woolies, Aldi, in banks, on hold, in stores and on ads being shown to Australians for the next few months?!

“We need you more than ever. We wanna be your soundtrack.”

Qsic CEO and co-founder Matt Elsley said it was time to turn River’s initiative into sustained action to support the local industry.

“Our customers include brands across petrol, convenience, quick service, restaurants as well as retail, and so many of them over the last 18 months have been severely impacted by Covid, and the music industry has been suffering as well, with artists not able to travel and perform live gigs,” Mr Elsley said in an interview.

“We were already in discussions before Jack River’s call-out to do more to support the local scene, so it’s exciting to announce this initiative knowing the impact it will make.

“We’re in a unique position of influence to actively help Australia’s most prominent retail and hospitality businesses play a bigger part in assisting the industry recover. We’re now deep in rallying mode to bring our business partners on-board and are already receiving great support.”

Eager to play a part and support local musicians, 7-Eleven executive Julie Laycock said her company was an early yes to the idea which kicked off in its 700-plus stores on Saturday August 1.

“The last 18 months have been hard on everyone in one way or another, though the arts community are some of the people who have been doing it particularly tough,“ Ms Laycock said.

“Jack River’s call-out to use Aussie music in stores to provide much needed income to Australian artists is a fantastic initiative. We’re proud to support it. We’ve made some immediate changes to include a higher volume of Australian music in our in-store radio playlists, and will be looking at what’s possible for our playlists ongoing.”

Jaddan Comerford, CEO and founder of UNIFIED Music Group, said that thousands of gigs have been cancelled in the last year and artists are feeling it from an income, creative and mental perspective.

“We know Australians love Australian music,” he said.

“Despite not being able to see their favourite musicians in person, there is a huge appetite to support the sector. To see the community rallying behind Jack River and the industry is deeply encouraging. Now is the time to stop, think and make the changes that will help this industry get back on its feet in the long term.

“We’ve worked closely with Qsic for a while and know they’re genuinely intent on helping however they can. This initiative is a wonderful start that’s warmly received by all of us here at UNIFIED.”