ARIA Awards go digital + all the biggest industry headlines from the week
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17.09.2021

ARIA Awards go digital + all the biggest industry headlines from the week

WORDS BY CHRISTIE ELIEZER

Queensland doubles down on live music, A report on Gen-Z's music behaviour + more!

Been out of the loop with everything that’s been going on in the music industry recently? We don’t blame you. Here’s a wrap-up of all the biggest Aussie music industry news stories from the past fortnight.

The top headlines:

  • Queensland unveils second round of their Live Music Support Program.
  • ARIA Awards go digital and scratch gender based categories.
  • Almost one third of Australian radio listeners tune into community radio stations.

Keep your eyes peeled on our Industry News page to stay updated on all the latest headlines.

ARIA Awards Pull Out Their Digital

This year’s ARIA Awards will go all-digital, streamed live on November 24. Obviously the idea of holding it as a physical format in its spiritual home in Sydney was going to end up in tears before tea-time, and rather than a hybrid format, the decision was made to aim at a spiffing good digital show.

Changes were made in categories. The Best Female Artist and Best Male Artist categories are replaced by Best Artist. ARIA felt too many non-binary artists were slipping through the cracks because of outdated guidelines and to “reflect and embrace equality and the true diversity of the music industry in 2021.”

The category of Engineer and Producer Of The Year Award is amended to allow engineers and producers to be nominated for a body of work.

Report: 31% Of All Aussie Radio Listeners Tune In To Community Radio

Community radio captures about one third of all radio listeners, according to a new listeners study from the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA). 16,000 listeners took part.

Community radio listeners have an average listening time of 14 hours per week, and 93% or 4,697,000 of these listeners highly valued the services they received from community radio.

  • 49% listen for local information and/or news.
  • 38% like to hear music that is not available on other stations.
  • 34% like their local personalities / voices.
  • 33% because they support Australian or local musicians.

Queensland Spends Further $2.3M On 22 Venues

Round 2 of Queensland’s Live Music Support Program is helping 22 more live music venues to the tune of $2.3 million.

Minister for the arts Leeanne Enoch said the state government is investing nearly $11 million for the live music sector including funding to 37 venues post-COVID.Arts in Queensland contributes $8.5 billion a year to state economy and supports 92,000 jobs.

“Our live music industry supports strong economic outcomes in Queensland with Brisbane’s music industry alone worth an estimated $428 million to our local economy.”

Round 2 recipients were:

  • Elsewhere Pty Ltd, Surfers Paradise – $99,155
  • Brooklyn Standard, Brisbane – $100,000
  • The Triffid, Newstead – $100,000
  • Woolly Mammoth, Fortitude Valley – $60,000
  • Slackers Pty Ltd, Fortitude Valley – $67,226
  • The Brightside, Fortitude Valley – $180,000
  • NightQuarter, Sunshine Coast – $300,000
  • The Met Hotel, Toowoomba – $32,300
  • Mrs J. Rabbits Speakeasy, Woolloongabba – $40,467
  • Miami Marketta, Miami – $150,000
  • The Flamin’ Galah, Brisbane – $119,000
  • Fortitude Music Hall, Fortitude Valley – $300,000
  • Tomcat Bar, Fortitude Valley – $60,000
  • Brisbane Jazz Club, Kangaroo Point – $100,000
  • Suzie Wongs Good Time Bar, Fortitude Valley – $100,000
  • The Junk Bar, Ashgrove – $37,050
  • Solbar, Maroochydore – $100,000
  • The Zoo, Fortitude Valley – $60,000
  • Banshees Bar & Artspace, Ipswich – $22,507
  • The Bearded Lady, West End – $39,861
  • The Tivoli Theatre, Fortitude Valley – $300,000
  • Bar Wunder, Toowoomba – $30,800

Moira McKenzie Sets Up Legal Firm For Creative Industries

With a decade of experience in the Australian entertainment industry, lawyer Moira McKenzie has set up her new practice, Moira McKenzie Legal. Having worked for over 10 years at Sanicki Lawyers in Melbourne as a Senior Associate, McKenzie says she brings with her “a deep and practical understanding of music, entertainment and intellectual property law.”

A musician herself, as well as chair of The Push board, McKenzie knows the challenges faced by musicians at all stages of their careers, and has a passion for working with emerging artists. Some of the artists she worked with over the years include The Drones, Ecca Vandal, Felix Riebl, Alice Ivy, Cat & Calmell, Joelistics, 30/70, FELIVAND, CLYPSO and Liz Stringer.

Her expertise also covers music in film and TV having worked on The Voice and The X Factor. The new firm is currently offering a free 30 minute consultation.

Music Mill Pushes For Aussie Music In Ads

Sydney-based music supervision company Music Mill launched a new initiative to encourage the use of Australian songs in advertising campaigns.

It involves the selection and promotion of three Aussie tracks each month. Two will be recent releases by an established artist and an emerging name; and the third will be a classic.

Lorde Worth $22M

A report from New Zealand estimates that Lorde is worth NZ$22 million.

First album Pure Heroine turned her into global star after selling 10 million copies. Follow ups Melodrama and Solar Power don’t look like catching lightning in a bottle in the same way, but she has made a lot of dosh from her world tours and other artists covering her songs.

Her November 2013 signing a publishing deal with Songs Music Publishing was worth a reported $3.5 million. She has 14 million social media followers on Twitter and Instagram.

Report: How Gen Z Force-Finds Its Way Into Music

A new US report from MRC Data on the music habits show Gen Z have distinct behaviour patterns. Here are five takeaways:

(1) 28% use video games to discover new music, almost as much as they find it on television. 49% of respondents also looked at social platforms, particularly TikTok, while 59% stream videos on short-clip video sites.

(2) This demo is also a powerful factor in the vinyl renaissance. 15% purchased a vinyl record in the past 12 months, compared to 11% of millennials. MRC noted Gen Z-skewing artists as Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Halsey and Olivia Rodrigo shifted a shitload of the black stuff.

(3) Younger fans believe they “own” their heroes and often buy music to get them into/ up the charts. 30% of Gen Z-ers are likely to do this compared to 24% of millennials. This is particularly true with photogenic K-Pop bands.

(4) These are US figures but could well be an indication of what happens when the Australian live scene re-sparks in 2022.

The data indicates a growing fatigue with livestreaming. 3 in 10 tuned in to a virtual concert or live-streamed performance in the past year but it was a 4% decline from the 2020 survey.

62% of millennial music listeners were excited to get back to live music events.

(5) A key insight was how those who go to festivals spend 155% more on music categories/activities compared to the average music listener. This year there’s a 50% growth on merch spend.

AIR Chooses 90 More For Women In Music Mentor Program

AIR placed a total of 90 mentees for this year’s intake of the 4-year women in music mentor and training program supported by the Commonwealth government.

The program is open to all female, female-identifying and non-binary participants working in or aspiring to work in creative (solo artists, band members, songwriters), technical (engineers, producers, etc.) and/or business roles (managers, promoters, record labels, etc.) within the Australian music industry. There’s also a professional development program with a focus on contract negotiation, financial literacy, marketing and leadership. Applications for next year’s intake is announced in May 2022.

Check 0ut the AIR Women in Music mentor program here.