Read the latest Australian music industry news - From Jack Nigro's new Sonora Studios to music videos on Spotify.
All the latest Australian music industry news from the last week!
Producer Jack Nigro Sets Up Sonora Studios
NSW-based producer and engineer Jack Nigro has set up his own purpose-built boutique Sonora Studios on the Central Coast. Initially based out of The Grove Studios, as house engineer & studio manager, Nigro worked with the likes of DMA’s, The Amity Affliction, Rum Jungle, Skeggs, Dune Rats, The Terrys, Vacations, Pacific Avenue and Middle Kids.
Read all the latest product & music industry news here.
“Building my own studio was something I first wanted to do when I was about 15 years old,” he says. “Having my own space that I, and hopefully others, love creating in every day is a very special experience.”
“I have always liked studios to feel relaxed, intimate and calm. I feel like this is the best environment to foster creativity and become completely immersed in what you are doing.”
“We built the studio to cater for bands to be able to record live, a process I find very important for many of the artists I work with, and ensured our main live room space has a lively, organic sound to best capture acoustic instruments.”
Two-Storey Facility
The two-storey Sonora Studios comes with Sound Space A, a live room and acoustically isolated control room; and Sound Space B, a secondary production and mixing space, with additional living area & leisure facilities attached.
Its gear includes hardware from Neumann, Avalon, SSL & Universal Audio, as well as a range of in-house backline from Orange, Marshall, VOX, Fender, Ampeg and a 1975 Ludwig drum kit.
Full-Length Music Videos For Spotify
Spotify is eyeing adding full-length music videos to its app, taking on YouTube and TikTok. The global video streaming market will reach US$95.35 billion by the end of this year and $416 billion by 2030. Spotify, which has 34.8% of the DSPs market, is having secret discussions with potential partners, Bloomberg reported.
It already has 10-second (Canvas) and 30-second (Clips) videos, and has 100,000 video podcasts on platform.
‘Australian Musician’ Editor Takes Over Ownership
Greg Phillips, long time editor of Australian Musician, has taken over its ownership from the Australian Music Association (AMA). When first launched by AMA in 1995, it was a quarterly, colour publication in print distributed through musical instrument retailers nationally. It went online in 2014 and was an integral part of the promotion of AMA events as the Sydney Drum and Percussion Show, Melbourne Synth Festival and the
Melbourne Guitar Show.
Contributions
Phillips encouraged contributions from Tommy Emmanuel, INXS members, Kate Ceberano, Wolfmother, Little Birdy, Paul Dempsey and Dave Graney, while The Drones and Powderfinger guest-edited entire issues. The December 2007 Ms Musician edition was a world-first for a musician’s magazine: all articles were about female artists and written by female writers, and guest edited by Clare Bowditch.
“Under the new ownership arrangement, Australian Musician looks forward to continuing to service the music products industry, plus the recording and performing arts industries well into the future,” states Phillips.
“Look out for a sharper website design soon too.”
Report: 60% Don’t Feel Safe In Music Spaces
Groping and general harassment are so commonplace in Melbourne music spaces that up to 60% of participants in Monash University’s Examining Sexual Violence in the Music City of Greater Melbourne study feel unsafe at gigs or in production studios.
80% never reported the incidences of sexual violence, while 70% of the incidences were at venues that predominantly played rock music, and namely in the CBD, St Kilda, Collingwood, Brunswick and Flemington. Less than 10% of the victim-survivors respondents sought help or counselling, indicating that music workers were embarrassed or fearful of speaking out, while audience members were more inclined to complain.
More Training
It called for the “urgent need for more training to be delivered and perhaps built into existing courses for the security industry in understanding how to identify, respond and prevent sexual violence in venues and public spaces and It identified a number of obstacles to this.
“These are, first, reluctance to change security practices; second, a lack of female security staff; third, a lack of collaboration from security companies; and finally, minimal training funds for grassroots venues, which run on shoestring budgets.”
Other recommendations were more effective bystander training, stronger policies to address sexual violence, gender and cultural diversity in music leadership; and more phone counselling. The report also calls for festivals, record labels and radio stations that did not meet gender diversity, inclusion and equity criteria to be excluded from government grants and funds.
Music Workers
The survey’s 126 respondents (85% of whom were cisgender, white women aged 25 to 44 years) were music workers, classed as musicians, music writers, venue bookers and managers, security staff, government workers, policy advisers, non-government organisation workers and music activists.
Lead researcher Dr Andrea Jean Baker of the university’s School of Media, Film and Journalism stated: “The report highlights the lack of awareness among music workers and audiences about the existing services and spaces designed to support them, and those willing to speak out came from a position of privilege, rather than marginalisation. It is the first time a world music city has measured the problem and looked for fresh solutions in a post-pandemic world.”
“Sexual violence is rife in our music city. It disempowers music workers, deters others from working in it, and audiences to participate in our vibrant music scenes.”
See the full report here.
MusicSA Unveils Three Year Strategy
In other Australia music industry news, South Australia’s peak music association MusicSA unveiled a three year strategic plan.
Advocacy: promoting and supporting South Australia’s music industry locally and nationally, raising awareness and establishing Adelaide as a prominent hub outside the Eastern seaboard for contemporary music and industry professionals. Development: growing and unifying the South Australian music sector via improving skills, expertise, educational opportunities, career prospects, and the overall profile of industry professionals.
First Nations Engagement: establishing stronger links with First Nations artists and businesses, with ongoing support for education, skills development and capacity-building initiatives.
Regional Engagement and Development: developing the music industry in regional SA by increasing MusicSA’s engagement in regional areas, nurturing regional industry networks, and cultivating future regional touring pathways. Sustainability: “growing and strengthening a progressive, respected, financially viable, and well-governed contemporary music industry peak body that drives the growth and strengthening of a vibrant, engaged, and opportunistic contemporary music industry in South Australia.”
Good Music Month
To move forward in achieving these goals, Music SA is staging a new state-wide festival called Good Music Month in November. It ranges from blues bands in local pubs to grand-scale ticketed music festivals, operas, and orchestral concerts.
To generate an unprecedented collective of live gigs in SA in November, MusicSA will collaborate with pre existing major festivals, events, and industry initiatives including the SA Music Awards held Wednesday November 8, at Woodville Town Hall.
Queen Remain Massive Earners
In international music industry news, mega-success of the 2018 biopic Bohemian Rhapsody seems to have a very long tail in keeping Queen remaining as massive earners.
Last year they increased their revenue by 4.3% to £40.89 million or Australian $78.05 million, Music Business Worldwide reports, based on the group’s financial posting.
This equated to a profit before tax of £22.16 million (A$42.3 million), up from £16.84 million ($32.1 million) in 2021.
Spotify Rise
Their records keep selling, the number of people streaming on Spotify rose to monthly 48.45 million, the global theatre productions We Will Rock You “as well as an increase in license fees on live music touring,” their company stated. Bohemian Rhapsody holds the record for highest-grossing biopic of all time, with a worldwide gross of US$910.8 million (A$1.36 billion)
Before its release, Queen were turning over £12.34 million (A$23.5 million) that year.
