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While accepting the UBS & Billboard Trailblazer Award at Billboard’s Power 100 Event at Goya Studios in Hollywood on Wednesday night (Feb. 1), Harbourview Equity Partners founder/CEO Sherrese Clarke Soares struck a somber note during an otherwise celebratory evening.
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“Harbourview has been a dream of mine for many years in the making, and I feel grateful that I’m able to do my life’s work,” said the executive, who has acquired nearly 40 catalogs since launching the company in October 2021. “However, at the same time I experience the joy of receiving the recognition, my heart is heavy. At first I could not really sort why, but as I prepared to board my flight to head out West, the words hit me, ‘I just want to get home.’”
Those words — spoken by Tyre Nichols, the Black man who died after being beaten by police officers following a traffic stop in Memphis on Jan. 10 — formed the crux of Clarke Soares’ brief speech, in which she also acknowledged other recent incidents of hatred, including mass shootings in California and the anti-Semitic vandalism of Jewish synagogues.
“Echoing in my head and in my heart, emotions ran deep as I thought of the last words of a young man 100 feet from his home, and I realized that over the last few weeks, as a country and as a community, we’ve beared witness to so much disregard and undervaluing of life,” Clarke Soares continued. “And so while I’m honored to stand before you today, I know our work at Harbourview will not be done until we use our power to trailblaze a path through music, storytelling and art that connects our collective humanity, humanizing each precious life, so that everyone makes it home to their families at night.”
Named one of Billboard‘s Change Agents in 2021 while serving in her previous role as founder/CEO of Tempo Music, Clarke Soares has consistently pointed to the importance of fostering diversity through her work — both in the staff she hires and the investments she makes. Before taking the stage, her efforts on that front were also highlighted by Wale Ogunleye, former football player and head of sports & entertainment at UBS, who presented Clarke Soares with the award while noting her “extremely diverse” team and “culturally…and musically diverse” portfolio of music catalogs.
Clarke Soares reiterated that overarching mission during her speech by invoking the phrase “Out of many, one people” — “a phrase we say at Harbourview, and we embody it if you look at our team,” she said. “And as a company, our trailblazing should not only be measured in the economic barriers that we break, but in the impact we have to be a place of hope without fear to tell stories that shape hearts and minds for love and humanity. And we ask all of you in this room, with all of your power, to join us in that journey.”
Clarke Soares was one of five individuals to accept awards at the high-powered event on Wednesday. Also honored were Noah Assad (executive of the year, presented by Bad Bunny); Avery and Monte Lipman, COO and CEO of Republic Records, respectively (label of the year, presented by Kim Petras); and HYBE chairman Bang Si-Hyuk (the Clive Davis visionary award, presented by Clive Davis and Scooter Braun).
In 2023, Billboard introduces the Power Players’ Choice Award, a peer-voted honor chosen by Billboard Pro members to honor the executive they believe has had the most impact across the music business in the past year. After more than 1,500 votes cast across three rounds of voting, Pro members selected Brandon Silverstein, founder/CEO of S10 Entertainment, for this year’s award.
As a manager, Silverstein has helped build Anitta’s and Normani’s breakout careers, while moving S10 into publishing, recorded music and film/TV. Since expanding S10’s publishing venture with Avex USA last year, the company — Brandon Silverstein Publishing — now represents songwriters-producers-composers HARV (Justin Bieber’s “Peaches”) and Grammy winner Jasper Harris (Jack Harlow’s “First Class”), among others.
“Being recognized by the music industry as one of the most powerful and impactful executives is an absolute honor,” says Silverstein, who is a previous honoree on Billboard’s Latin Power Players and 40 Under 40 lists. “I’m proud of what we’ve built with S10 on a global level and the trust our artists and creatives have in me and my team.”
This story will appear in the Feb. 4, 2023, issue of Billboard.
Harry Styles, Mariah Carey and big streaming gains helped Sony Music Entertainment finish 2022 with a bang. Styles’ album Harry’s House and Carey’s typically strong holiday performance drove SME’s revenues up 22.9% to 363.7 billion yen ($2.57 billion at quarter’s average exchange rate) in its fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31, 2022.
Styles’ 2022 release Harry’s House and 2019 album Fine Lines were among SME’s top performing titles of the quarter. Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” topped the U.S. Hot 100 chart for four weeks (chart dates of Dec. 17, Dec. 24, Dec. 31 and Jan. 7). The company also pointed to strong sales and streams by Steve Lacy’s Gemini Rights, SZA’s SOS, Future’s I Never Liked You, Chris Brown’s Indigo, Beyonce’s Renaissance and Bruce Springsteen’s Only the Strong Survive.
Quarterly operating income improved 14.3% to 63 billion yen ($445 million). Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were 80 billion yen ($565 million).
The recorded music division’s revenues improved 30.1% to 239 billion yen ($1.69 billion). Streaming revenue grew 33.2% to 159.1 billion yen ($1.12 billion) and accounted for 66.6% of recorded music revenue, up from 65% in the prior-year period. Download revenue, up 14.3%, accounted for just 4.7% of digital revenues compared to 5.5% a year earlier. Physical sales declined 6% to 31.1 billion yen ($219.1 million) and accounted for 13% of total recorded music revenue, down from 18%.
Publishing revenues increased 42.9% to 74.2 billion yen ($523.4 million) in the quarter. Within publishing, streaming revenue improved 59.8% to 41.6 billion yen ($293.3 million). Streaming’s share of publishing revenue grew to 56% from 50.1% in the prior-year period. Other publishing income rose 25.9% to 32.6 billion yen ($230.1 million).
Excluding foreign exchange and the visual media and platform segment, SME’s recorded music and publishing divisions grew 10% in the quarter. That is a smaller improvement because changes in foreign exchange rates helped SME’s yen-denominated results. From the end of 2021 to 2022, the value of the yen declined against the three main foreign currencies: -10% against the U.S. dollar, -6.9% against the euro and -1.8% against the pound.
The visual media and platform segment was a drag on earnings due to lower anime sales, however. The segment’s revenue fell 16.3% to 47.4 billion yen ($334.7 million).
Looking ahead, the company maintained its forecast for full-year revenue at 1.37 billion yen (approximately $9.7 billion) at operating income at 265 billion yen (approximately $1.87 billion).
Dry January seems like it’s everywhere, doesn’t it? At the top of every new year, the subject dominates social media posts and conversations with friends over mocktails. In 2022, an estimated 35% of Americans abstained from alcohol for the month of January — an increase from 21% in 2019.
After Dry January is over, many people will pour a drink in celebration of their achievement, while others may choose to make abstaining from alcohol a more permanent lifestyle. But for many Americans, the problem of addiction is more serious. More than 14 million adults in the United States have alcohol use disorder, and each year, we lose nearly 100,000 people to alcohol-related causes.
The music industry — known for “sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll” — is among those hardest hit. A 2020 research project involving Tulane University found that a staggering 56% of music industry professionals cite problematic substance use. And we’re all familiar with the countless stories of artists who have tragically lost their lives or felt like they couldn’t return to the stage as they battled their addiction.
Now, the music industry is beginning to take the lead in supporting people in addiction recovery through community and empowerment, with musicians, fans, industry executives and crew showing what’s possible with innovative new solutions that go beyond the traditional recovery model.
Sadly, conventional approaches to addiction are not solving the problem at the same pace it’s growing. Despite the best of intentions, these traditional approaches can lead to feelings of shame and exclusion; many people in recovery say treatment programs can be too much sitting around and talking about their weaknesses. They can also feel isolating, and loneliness is one of the worst problems someone struggling with addiction can face. Because of this, there’s a negative stigma surrounding people in recovery.
But Dry January shows us something different. Instead of fostering isolation, it creates community, and it feels empowering because “everybody’s doing it,” It’s also inclusive of people who have challenges with substance use as well as those who don’t. There’s no demarcation: “We’re all in this together.” You feel freer to plan fun, sober activities with others. And whether you’re out socially or at a work event, you don’t have to make excuses for not drinking. People openly share how good they feel and how they’re gaining from it, not what they’re giving up.
It begs the question: What if this was how we supported people in recovery all year round? In music, at least, it’s a question that’s now being answered by a number of artists, companies and organizations.
The Warped Tour provided mental health and sobriety support on the road throughout, including bringing along a sober coach as a guide to artists and crew in recovery. This not only allowed the tour to help those who were trying to stay sober but also offered services to those whose habits were starting to affect their well-being before it became a larger issue.
Last year, Danny Wimmer Presents joined forces with 1 Million Strong, an initiative driven by Stand Together and The Phoenix (one of the most innovative recovery programs in the country) to create sober-supportive spaces or “wellness retreats” — for people in recovery and others — at last year’s Bourbon & Beyond Festival and the Louder Than Life Festival. In October, The Chainsmokers did the same at their concert at UC Berkeley’s Greek Theater.
This isn’t about turning the industry sober. It’s about giving people a better path to truly living in recovery so they can bring their best selves to music — allowing everyone to benefit from their unique contributions.
It’s clear that people across the music industry see the urgent need for something new. And perhaps it’s not surprising to see how the industry is uniquely able to offer it.
Just like the best aspects of Dry January, perhaps there’s no greater force on Earth than music at fighting isolation with community, overcoming shame by tapping into inner strength and beating stigma with self-expression and pride.
Colette Weintraub is the head of Stand Together Music, working alongside the music industry to co-create solutions around addiction recovery, education, free speech, and ending the war on drugs.
Kevin Lyman, best known as the creator of the Vans Warped Tour, has shaped youth culture for over 40 years with his award-winning expertise in the music and entertainment industry as well as business and philanthropic ventures.
Producer Alex Garza and music executive Gerardo Vergara have joined Estrella Media Music Entertainment (EMME), the Los Angeles-based company tells Billboard.
In his role, Garza — who founded Arpa Music Publishing, where he represents artists such as Espinoza Paz, Horacio Palencia and Joss Favela — will oversee music production and publishing and serve as an in-house music producer.
As director, Vergara will manage the roster, catalog, and business opportunities for EMME, as well as new artist signings and development. Having worked in the industry for over 15 years, he’s helped develop the careers of regional Mexican music artists such as Gerardo Ortiz and Luis Coronel. He was previously gm of Green Dream, the management and social media company behind Pepe Aguilar.
“Adding Gerardo and Alex to EMME is the completion of our dream team,” said Eddie Leon, executive vp of radio programming and events for Estrella Media who also oversees EMME. “Both bring a wealth of knowledge and contacts within the music industry that will help in our development of the next Regional Mexican stars. In addition, they will be instrumental in managing Estrella’s IP from its numerous series, events, and awards shows. EMME will give artists, songwriters, and composers a unique and culturally relevant path to develop their talent, fan base and culture.”
The multi-platform media company’s music division launched in April with longtime radio programmer and television personality Pepe Garza as head of content development and A&R. EMME includes a label and publishing arm and aims to “develop the next generation of Latin music stars.”
As Billboard publishes its 135th volume throughout 2023, stay in the know on the magazine’s print schedule for the year, along with each issue’s corresponding theme. This is an updating post, so be sure to check back for any changes.
Issue Date: Feb. 4, 2023Theme: The Billboard Power 100
Issue Date: Feb. 25, 2023Theme: Women in Music
Issue Date: March 11, 2023Theme: SXSW
Issue Date: April 1, 2023Theme: Touring*This issue will include Top Music Lawyers
Issue Date: April 22, 2023Theme: K-Pop*This issue will include International Power Players
Issue Date: May 13, 2023Theme: 40 Under 40
Issue Date: June 3, 2023Theme: Country Power Players
Issue Date: June 10, 2023Theme: Pride*This issue will include Indie Power Players
Issue Date: July 15, 2023Theme: Publicity
Issue Date: Aug. 5, 2023Theme: R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players
Issue Date: Aug. 26, 2023Theme: Tech/Fall Music Preview
Issue Date: Sept. 16, 2023Theme: Latin Music Week
Issue Date: Oct. 7, 2023 (Double Issue)Theme: Grammy Preview*This issue will include Top Music Business Schools
Issue Date: Oct. 28, 2023Theme: Producers/Managers*This issue will include Top Music Business Managers
Issue Date: Nov. 18, 2023Theme: Gaming
Issue Date: Dec. 9, 2023Theme: No. 1’s and Year In Music
Issue Date: Dec. 16, 2023Theme: Grammy Voter Guide
Charles “Chip” Rachlin, the trailblazing agent for Billy Joel and the Beach Boys, died last Wednesday (Jan. 25) following a short illness. He was 73.
A rock pioneer, Rachlin, like so many others of his generation, had a life-changing experience when the Beatles performed on the Ed Sullivan Show back in February 1964. He started a band, the Gremlins. But it was in presenting and showcasing talent that he found his calling.
Born in Summit, New Jersey, Rachlin — a lifelong Yankees fan — learned the ropes as an agent working for Bill Graham at the Fillmore East, and later, as a junior agent with the Millard Agency.
Rachlin and his Fillmore friend Michael Klenfner showed their entrepreneurial chops when, in February 1971, they booked the Beach Boys to headline Carnegie Hall. It was a turning point for everyone involved, as Rachlin soon found himself representing the group, and its lead singer, the late Carl Wilson during his solo career.
Once Graham closed the Filllmore, “Millard went ‘uptown,’’” remembers Rachlin in a timeline on the Rachlin Entertainment website.
“We built an All Star Team with Danny Weiner, Tom Ross, Budd Carr and Shelly Schultz,” with a roster that swelled to include Aerosmith, Eric Clapton, America, Seals & Crofts, Loggins & Messina, James Taylor, Fleetwood Mac, Linda Ronstadt, CSN, and Eagles.
By the mid-‘70s, Rachlin was a major figure in ICM’s music department, where he repped the future Rock And Roll Hall of Famers the Beach Boys and a young Billy Joel.
“By the end of my run with ICM we were the top concert department among the major agencies,” he recounts. “It was an amazing eight years and the best training ground in the music business.”
He toured with the Rolling Stones, and rode the “fantastic rocket ship ride” that was the launch of MTV.
As styles and formats changed, Rachlin went out on his own. In the early 1990s, he launched Rachlin Entertainment, an enterprise that would become a “unique talent resource” for elite buyers such as Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas and Cunard Cruise Lines.
Among the success stories for Atlantis Paradise Island are the late David Bowie, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, and Katy Perry. It was Rachlin who produced the All Star Tribute To Brian Wilson at Radio City Music Hall in March of 2001, headlined by Elton John, Billy Joel, Paul Simon and many more.
Tributes are pouring in for the legendary talent booker. “Thanks to Chip being my agent in the early days,” writes Billy Joel on social media, “the band and I were able to make a living as performing musicians before I became more widely known as a recording artist. I will always be grateful for his efforts on my behalf back in the day.”
Chip Rachlin has died.Chip was responsible for booking us into most of our U.S. concerts during the early and mid 1970s.Thanks to Chip being my agent in the early days, the band and I were able to make a living as performing musicians before I became more widely known as (1/2) pic.twitter.com/7D92tdUERY— Billy Joel (@billyjoel) January 29, 2023
Eagles manager Irving Azoff recounts Chip as “not only a pioneer in how the business operates today,” but, for over 40 years, “he remained somebody who I always wanted to hear from.” The veteran music executive adds: “He was an innovator. More importantly, on a one-to-one level, he displayed all the personal qualities that make this business great. He was not just passionate about the music and any artist he worked with but a great person. This one hurts very badly.”
We’re so saddened to learn of Chip Rachlin’s passing. Chip, seen here with Bill in 1982 on the Rolling Stones tour, went on to produce an amazing array of events. Along the way, he made many friends who now mourn his loss. Our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones. pic.twitter.com/jlMlICdCw1— Bill Graham Found. (@BillGrahamFound) January 26, 2023
“We’re so saddened to learn of Chip Rachlin’s passing,” reads a post from the Bill Graham Foundation. Chip “went on to produce an amazing array of events. Along the way, he made many friends who now mourn his loss. Our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones.”
Rachlin is survived by his wife Wendy, his sons Josh and Alex, and their extended family.
The University of California Annenberg Inclusion Initiative is back with its annual report on inclusion in the recording studio and, consistent with previous years, it found that women have been woefully underrepresented across the recorded music industry — though some gains have been made.
“There is good news for women artists this year,” said Dr. Smith in a release. “But let’s not get ahead of ourselves — there is still much work to be done before we can say that women have equal opportunity in the music industry.”
Released Tuesday (Jan. 31), the sixth annual report on gender representation in the music industry — sponsored by Spotify and titled “Inclusion in the Recording Studio?” — examined the gender of artists, songwriters and producers across all 1,100 songs included on Billboard’s Hot 100 year-end charts spanning from 2012 to 2022. Additionally, the study assessed every Grammy nominee nominated for record of the year, album of the year, song of the year, best new artist and producer of the year within the same time frame, along with this year’s inaugural songwriter of the year category.
In 2022, women represented only 30% of the 160 artists on the Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart, while men made up 69.4% and artists who identified as non-binary made up less than 1%. That 30% representation number is slightly better than the 11-year average, which places women at 22.3% of the total.
In terms of race, the report found that half of all artists on the year-end Hot 100 chart in 2022 were from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups. This was a decrease from 2021 when the study found that 57.2% of artists came from those groups. Between 2012 and 2022, 48.1% of all artists across the 1,100-song sample came from those groups.
Women of color fared slightly better last year, with the study noting that 65% of all artists from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups were women — an increase from 55% in 2021.
In terms of songwriters, women represented roughly 14% of songwriting credits on the Hot 100 in both 2022 and 2021. That represents only a slight increase over the full 11-year period when they made up 12.8% on average. Between 2012 and 2022, more than half of songs did not credit a woman songwriter, while 43% had one or more women songwriters. By contrast, less than 1% of all songs were missing male songwriters. Additionally, the 12 male songwriters with the most credits across the 1,100-song sample (Drake led the pack with 49, while Nicki Minaj topped the women songwriters list with 20) were collectively responsible for crafting nearly 25% of them.
Women of color landed more songwriting credits than white women in 2022, though the report suggests “this is not a metric worth celebrating” since the total number of women songwriters of color in 2022 decreased compared to 2021.
The number of women with producer credits in popular music continues to be alarmingly low. In 2022, a mere 3.4% of producers were women across all songs included on the year-end Hot 100 chart. This was almost even with the percentage of women producers represented on all Hot 100 year-end charts since 2012 (excepting 2013-2015, which were not counted) when just 2.8% of songs credited women producers. Of the 50 women credited across the eight-year sample, just 13 — or 26% — were women of color.
The 2022 statistics also show that the Recording Academy’s Women in the Mix Pledge — which asked industry members to commit to working with a woman producer or engineer on a song — had no real impact on the charts. In 2022, only one pledge-taker (Nicki Minaj) worked with a woman producer (Malibu Babie) on a song that appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 Year-End Chart. Meanwhile, no pledge-takers worked with a woman engineer last year.
“This industry solution has not proven effective,” said Dr. Smith. “Until women and men artists hire women songwriters and producers the numbers will not move. It’s more than just allowing an artist to credit themselves on a song, it’s about identifying talent and hiring women in these roles. That’s the only way that we will see change occur.”
The Grammy Awards, which will hold their 65th annual ceremony Sunday (Feb. 5), also have a large indifference in terms of representation, according to the study. In 2023, 15.2% of nominees across six major categories are women — virtually unchanged from 2022 when the number was 14.1%. Across the 11 years evaluated, 13.9% of nominees in the major categories were women, while 86% were men. In 2023, women were most likely to be nominated for best new artist (50%) and song of the year (33.3%) but represented only a fraction of nominees for record of the year (15.1%) and album of the year (12.2%). On the bright side, in this year’s brand-new songwriter of the year category, women made up 60% of the nominees.
Of the women nominated in the past 11 years across all major categories, 51.5% were white while 48.5% were from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups. But in 2023, women of color received more nominations in key categories than white women did. According to the report, 61.5% of the women nominated this year were from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups, compared to 38.5% who were white.
In the report, a simple solution is proposed to help lessen the inequities: hire women. “The process of creating a song is collaborative, and until women are involved in the process, we will continue to see the numbers lag,” it reads.
Pipeline programs like She Is The Music, the EQL program, and Women’s Audio Mission are also touted as ways to support inclusion efforts. “Women are stereotyped — in terms of the types of songs and genres they can create, and into the roles they can play — they are sexualized, and their talents and experience are discounted. The pipeline programs noted above are designed to address these barriers, but there is more to do. As stated earlier, women must be hired, and they require allies and champions — men and women — throughout the industry who will help demolish barriers.”
To read further findings from the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, head here.
The Beatport Group has acquired a majority stake in the International Music Summit, the electronic music and culture platform known for its flagship industry conference, IMS Ibiza, Billboard can exclusively reveal.
This partnership is intended to secure the growth of IMS, which has happened annually in Ibiza since 2007 (minus the two years it rolled out online during the pandemic) and has over the years produced additional summits in Los Angeles, Shanghai, Singapore and Malta.
Via this partnership, IMS has plans to again expand its global footprint, with details forthcoming. IMS will continue to operate under the direction of its co-founders, with full support from The Beatport Group. (The Beatport Group currently encompasses digital electronic music store Beatport, open format DJ community Beatsource, Loopmasters, Loopcloud and other platforms.)
Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
IMS Ibiza was founded in 2007 by five partners including dance scene pioneer Pete Tong and industry exec and artist manager Ben Turner, with the intention to create a hub for conversation and progressive change within electronic dance music.
“We are very proud of what we’ve built at IMS over these past 16 years, driving the narrative and agenda of the culture forward from the genre’s spiritual home of Ibiza,” IMS’ founding partners say in a joint statement.
“Aligning with Beatport, who have been supporters of IMS from our inception,” the statement continues, “will enable us to action many of our ideas on how to continue to grow the platform all year round; to further educate and mentor the next generation; and to help focus the industry’s attention on the issues that matter. It will help increase our ability to have more impact for the genre.”
The next IMS Ibiza summit is set for April 26-28 at the island’s luxe Destino Pacha Ibiza resort. This three-day conference will again feature keynotes, seminars, performances, masterclasses, mentorship, health and wellness initiatives, parties and much more. A pillar of the conference is its annual presentation of the IMS Business Report, the annual valuation of the global electronic music industry presented in conjunction with data and analysis on myriad aspects of the business. IMS Ibiza 2023 will once again be hosted by Tong and fellow BBC Radio 1 presenter Jaguar.
“IMS has become one of the most impactful gatherings for the global DJ and dance music industries, and everyone at Beatport is excited to take this brand to the next level,” Beatport CEO Robb McDaniels says in a statement. “We look forward to partnering with Pete, Ben and the entire IMS team to broaden the IMS footprint as a major component of our plan to expand the Beatport brand around the world through community, education, and thought leadership initiatives.”
BRISBANE, Australia – It’s a new year, and one filled with fresh optimism in the Australian music industry after the federal government presented its national cultural policy — a five-year action plan that puts in place sorely-needed infrastructure, investment and ideas.
Prime minister Anthony Albanese and arts minister Tony Burke were on hand Monday (Jan. 30) for the launch of Revive, which, as its title suggests, establishes the groundwork for what government and industry hopes will facilitate a robust music space.
It’s a document years in the making. And it’s stuffed with strategic and policy investment for contemporary music, many of them ideas put forward by a united front of music industry organizations, 18 in total.
Revive will provide a much-needed boost of strength, energy and funding into our Arts community:✔️Establishing Creative Australia✔️ The establishment of Music Australia✔️ $70 million injection into Music Australia✔️ Supporting the artist as a worker and a creator https://t.co/56aXgFrPt9— APRA AMCOS (@APRAAMCOS) January 30, 2023
Among the cornerstones of Revive is the creation of Music Australia, within Creative Australia. Government will find nearly $70 million for Music Australia, which will support and invest in the development of Australian contemporary music, and which Albanese is keen to see launch in 2023.
Speaking at the presentation at Melbourne’s Esplanade Hotel, Albanese gave the music community a well-deserved thank-you. He also mapped out a timeline for legislation which would enforce local content quotas on streaming platforms; a regional push for the Double J network, part of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation; and a 50% boost for Sounds Australia, which supports homegrown artists taking their music to the world.
“Today is a bright moment for (the music) sector but it’s also an overdue one. You have endured a decade in which opportunity wasn’t so much missed as thrown away. Capped by the years of the pandemic,“ he says.
Revive, he continues, “puts the arts back where they’re meant to be – at the heart of our national life.”
Revive is structured around five interconnected pillars, First Nations First; A Place For Every Story; Centrality of the Artist; Strong Institutions and Reaching the Audience. And with it, a commitment for new, additional investment totaling A$286 million over four years.
“This is about our soul, this is about our identity,” Albanese adds. “It is so important because it’s about who we are and being able to express ourselves. It is literally through the arts that we build our identity as a nation and a people.”
When the center-left Labor government was formed in 2022, ending the nine-year administration of the center-right Liberal Party, Burke made an early commitment to develop a cultural roadmap through consultation with the music industry.
ARIA welcomes the new National Cultural Policy announced today by the Hon. Tony Burke MP and the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and Arts. https://t.co/w2hlbCkxju— ARIA (@ARIA_Official) January 30, 2023
This policy, and its instructions, “restores the place of art, of entertainment of culture, for all Australians,” Burke says.
Artists and the industry behind the music are “essential workers” he adds.
“You touch our hearts and you are a A$17 billion contributor to our economy. You create art and you create exports. You make works and you provide work. You are entertaining, you are essential, you are required.”
For video streaming platforms, a timeline is locked in. In the second half of this year, legislation will be introduced to the parliament and in July next year, Australian content obligations will apply to the streaming companies.
Revive pledges that, through binding rules on content, Australian music “remains visible, discoverable and easily accessible across platforms to all Australians, driven by a vibrant, agile, sustainable and globally facing local music industry.”
👏Today we welcome the National Cultural Policy, bold new chapter and a transformational moment for Council as we work to build Creative Australia, a new First Nations body, Music Australia, Writers Australia, and the Centre for Arts Workplaces.https://t.co/fRtBTMEwID— Australia Council (@AusCouncilArts) January 30, 2023
With the publication of Revive, the music industry is celebrating an ideal start to the week, and the year.
“The government has responded to our collective call, which I think is a real positive,” Dean Ormston, CEO of APRA AMCOS tells Billboard. “For the first time ever, there’s a whole of government recognition of us as an industry. They’re actually referring to us as an industry for the first time in my living memory. Which I think is an enormous win.”
Though the industry remains largely unsure of what are the next steps, conversations with government in the days ahead should clear-up matters.
Regardless, the opportunities are laid out. “There’s an enormous opportunity in terms of how music Australia interfaces with industry and specific government portfolios,” says Ormston. “There’ll be an evolving opportunity to have a much stronger relationship with portfolios, like education. We’ve already called out, for instance, that Music Australia should have a policy and a strategy related to songwriting in schools. That would be the beginning of the foodchain and the pipeline to improving our export opportunities.”
Although the industry will need to wait for the presentation of the May budget to see full detail, the federal government “is listening and responding,” says Stephen Wade, chair of ALMBC, whose hundreds of members represent all areas of the live music sector.
ARIA and PPCA CEO Annabelle Herd welcomed the policy. “It is true that Australian music is facing a crisis in streaming and that it is harder than ever for Australian musicians to have a charting hit in Australia,” she comments.
“We thank the government for acknowledging the need for greater support of Australian commercial music as a business that is facing key issues surrounding discoverability and export. It is our hope that the introduction of Music Australia will make important strides toward providing solutions to these issues, including a reassessment of commercial radio quotas and streaming policy.”
Today we launched our National Cultural Policy ‘REVIVE’. One of it’s main policy components is the establishment of Creative Australia. pic.twitter.com/nlc8judwUD— Tony Burke (@Tony_Burke) January 30, 2023
Read the document here in full.