Australia’s largest music industry body representing the rights of over 115,000 songwriters, composers and publishers, APRA AMCOS has applauded the announcement of the very first Music Australia advisory council by Minister for the Arts, Tony Burke MP.
Music Australia is the new national music development agency established as part Creative Australia, the renewed Australia Council for the Arts. It will be responsible for developing and investing in programs that support and promote Australian contemporary music practice and the development of markets and audiences for Australian music.
“The establishment of Music Australia is a landmark moment for Australia’s music industry. It represents for the first time in the nation’s history that we have had a long-term commitment from government to work in partnership with industry to make Australia a music powerhouse,” said Dean Ormston, Chief Executive APRA AMCOS.
“We look forward to working with Music Australia Chair and Creative Australia CEO Adrian Collette and the rest of the council to fully realise the cultural, economic and social benefits of a vibrant, healthy and sustainable music industry accessible to all Australians, and the world.
“APRA AMCOS was one of the key representative bodies of the Australian contemporary music industry that came together as part of last year’s National Cultural Policy consultation to propose the establishment of a new national music development agency.
“The next ten years will be critical if Australia is to realise future job creation and build skills in music. A national music development function will allow us as an industry to collectively think big, imagine and plan the local and global opportunity for Australia’s most vibrant and exciting cultural and creative industry.”
In 2020, APRA Chair, songwriter and singer Jenny Morris OAM MNZM gave an address to the National Press Club and set out a 10-year vision for Australian music around four key goals: make Australia a net exporter of music; provide equity of access to music in schools nationally and have songwriting as part of the national curriculum; protect and promote live music venues; and ensure local music is prominent across all media platforms.
“Australian music is digital, published and recorded from studios and bedrooms to global audiences. Australian songwriters and composers are creating the soundtrack to digital games, films and the small screen. They are living around the nation and around the world, part of a US$90 billion industry that will double by 2030,” Dean Ormston said.
“The inaugural council represents an exciting cross-section of industry that includes songwriters, artists, managers, and sector representatives from across the country. The council is a snapshot of the diversity of our industry that is at once local, global, live, and digital.
“The work of the council working in partnership with industry has the potential to create the vision, build the strategy, and secure the investment that supercharges Australian music, leaving a legacy for generations. Whether its investment in artists, industry skills and mentorship, touring, export or music education, the opportunity is enormous. The council also has the opportunity to support First Nations-led music development and to drive vital policy around local content as well as live music incentives and offsets.
“With the right vision, together we can ensure music creators, artists and industry workers have sustainable careers, contributing to Australia’s cultural, social and economic wealth. Together we can cement Australian music as the flagship of the nation’s great cultural exports.”