ABC Submission to the House
Standing Committee on
Communications Inquiry into the
Australian Music Industry
October 2018
1
ABC submission to the Australian Government
Australian Music Industry Inquiry
October 2018
1. Execuve summary
• The ABC has a long and proud history as a partner in the success of Australian music. The ABC Charter
mandates the Corporaon to encourage and promote musical, dramac and other performing arts in
Australia.
• Through adaptaon and innovaon the ABC has successfully moved with the audience to digital
plaorms.
• The ABC plays the highest proporon of Australian music of any broadcaster, nurturing new talent
across a broad range of genres. This then inuences other media, both commercial and community,
seng the agenda for digital media and the local operaons of global music plaorms.
• A well-funded and well-resourced ABC is the one of the most eecve ways the Australian government
can support the Australian music industry, ensuring its health and sustainability.
2. Introducon
The Australian Broadcasng Corporaon (ABC) welcomes the opportunity to make its submission to this Inquiry.
As the country’s pre-eminent cultural instuon, the ABC views its contribuon to Australia music as a central
tenet of its public service obligaons. The ABC Charter sets out that one of the key funcons of the Corporaon
is:
to encourage and promote the musical, dramac and other performing arts in Australia.
1
Those 13 words reveal lile about the signicant contribuon the ABC has and connues to make to the
Australian music industry. This paper will set out the integral part the ABC plays in nurturing new talent and
providing Australian arsts with a plaorm to bring their music to domesc and internaonal markets, which as
an outcome sustains and develops the local music environment.
The ABC has been synonymous with the local music scene since its incepon in 1932 as music “ourished under
a Chairman who loved it, a Controller of Programming who had wrien Music and the Listener, and a General
Manager who threw his energy into building up permanent concert orchestras”.
2
From the outset, the ABC's
commitment was not just to classical but also contemporary music. During the 1930s the ABC encouraged
popular dance music, with the formaon of the Naonal Dance Orchestra as well as Jim Davidson’s ABC Naonal
Dance Band. Jim Davidson's band was “the only local dance group whose work was put on commercial
gramophone records, and in 1938 four of its discs sold beer than any other except one by American singer
Allan Jones”.
3
1
Australian Broadcasng Corporaon Act 1983 (Cth), s.6(1)(c).
2
Ken Inglis, This is the ABC (Black Inc. 1983) 49-50
3
Inglis, This is the ABC, 52.
2
This is an early example of the ABC’s ability to foster and promote Australian musical arsts and give them a
plaorm to compete against high-prole internaonal acts. Through all the developments in media technology
and changes in listener tastes, the ABC’s ability to support local music has been a constant thread throughout
its history. In a country the size of Australia, where travel and touring takes me and money, broadcast
technology has historically been crucial in allowing local arsts to reach audiences across the connent, in
regional and metropolitan centres, providing exposure that inevitably inuences popularity and sales.
The introducon of television to Australia in 1956 provided another vehicle for Australian music. The ABC was
quick to recognise the inuence of contemporary music on youth culture and in 1959 built a live music show
around local star Johnny O’Keefe. Six O’Clock Rock was rst in a number of ABC television programs that
reected and inuenced the nascent Australian popular music scene, with the introducon of GTK in 1969
capturing the counterculture of the era and then the prescient arrival of Countdown in late 1974, only a few
months before the introducon of colour television to Australia, and thereby able to capture the full lurid
spectacle of glam and other popular 1970s music genres.
Much has been made of the dominance of Countdown and the inuence its host, Ian 'Molly' Meldrum, had on
popular music of the me. Indeed, many of the Australian acts that rst featured on Countdown went on to high
acclaim and enormous internaonal success, including the Lile River Band, Cold Chisel, Air Supply, AC/DC, The
Angels and Men at Work. However, just as crical to the local music industry and the burgeoning Australian
sound was the establishment of the 2JJ, ABC’s youth radio staon, in Sydney in 1975.
The rst song played on 2JJ was a very conscious call to arms. Skyhooks' You Just Like Me Cause I'm Good in Bed
was not only Australian but had been banned by local commercial radio staons. This was a signal that 2JJ was
rst and foremost commied to Australian acts and to giving exposure to music neglected or ignored by
commercial radio. From its earliest days 2JJ championed independent talent that appeared to have limited
commercial appeal. This was a commitment to quintessenally Australian arsts such as the aforemenoned
Skyhooks, Mental as Anything and Paul Kelly, hugely inuenal bands like Radio Birdman, The Saints and The
Go-Betweens, and acts that would go on to be internaonally successful, like Midnight Oil.
Over the last 43 years the evoluon of 2JJ to the naonal triple j network and its many oshoots closely
resembles the recent history of the domesc music industry - not only in the expansion of new musical genres,
but in the way the network has adapted to technological change and audience expectaons. The network's
connued success and reinvenon is evidence of the ability of Australian music to thrive in an increasingly
congested and compeve internaonal market.
In tandem with the introducon of the 'youth' music staon 2JJ, in 1976 the ABC established a dedicated classical
music staon. This was one of the rst radio staons in Australia to broadcast on the FM band, enabling the
network to deliver enhanced listening quality of its classical music, opera, recitals and live concerts broadcasts.
More than 40 years later, Classic FM is Australia's only naonal classical music network and is commied to
Australian music and performance, parcularly from emerging composers and musicians. Currently triple j has
an esmated ve city reach of 1.85 million people, while Classic FM’s reach is 762,000 listeners.
4
From the foundaons of these two radio networks in the last decade the ABC has added four digital-only music
staons - ABC Country, ABC Jazz, triple j Unearthed and Double J. These staons provide for dedicated coverage
of specialist genres, and ABC Jazz and Double J are the highest rang digital-only radio networks in the Australian
metropolitan markets.
5
4
GfK 5 city survey 1-5 average, 2018.
5
GfK 5 city survey 5, 2018.
3
While rangs and audience reach is integral to arst popularity and music sales, inial exposure is becoming
increasingly challenging for new talent due to the abundance of content available on a global scale and the
ability for listeners to select and personalise their music. Later in this paper we examine the key role triple j
Unearthed plays in discovering new Australian talent, bringing them to an audience and giving independent
arsts an opportunity to develop careers in a disrupted media environment. In many ways Unearthed
exemplies the contribuon the ABC as a whole makes to the local industry, seng strong foundaons from
which commercial success can be achieved.
Radio networks and audio platforms are the primary medium for music consumption, however the ABC
continues to invest in music television programs as another stage for local artists. If Countdown was the
personification of Australian music in the 1970s and 80s, from high-camp pop to beer barn rock, the ABC
programs that followed were similarly influential and reflective of their eras. Rock Arena, The Factory and
Recovery gave a new generation of musicians the opportunity to perform in front of mass audiences, with a
focus on independent acts and gritty alternative music. Rage has recently celebrated more than 30 years on air
and continues to be a late-night ritual for music fans across Australia, with new music a feature of the Friday
night/Saturday morning program.
Ausmusic month is set aside as a special time to recognise and celebrate Australian music in all its forms, and
the ABC runs a huge range of events, concerts, programs and other initiatives each November. This year, on the
eve of Ausmusic month, the ABC will introduce a new live music program to Wednesday and Saturday night
television. The Set will air live performances from the likes of Brisbane's Ball Park Music, Mallrat and Tia
Gostelow, as well as Angus and Julia Stone, The Rubens, Baker Boy, Vera Blue and the Presets, all in front of a
studio audience.
This program continues the long tradition of ABC music programs that give substantial airtime to contemporary
Australian acts and support the next wave of emerging talent. Beyond traditional television, The Set also
establishes a strong digital presence for these live performances, following audience behaviours to their
preferred platform. Next year, ABC TV will also broadcast The Recording Studio, a new series that enables
everyday Australians to record the most important song of their life, showcasing the transformative effect of
music.
The ABC’s value to the music industry isn’t limited to broadcast programs, and in section 4 of the submission
there is additional information about the holistic approach the ABC takes to music; from recording, publishing
and distribution through the ABC Music label, the promotion of live events like One Night Stand, partnerships
with musical institutions, and the fostering of new talent through initiatives like the ABC Young Performers
Awards.
6
The breadth of ABC services and programs intrinsically contributes to Australian music and its commercial
viability. Through the existence of a strong and eecve naonal broadcaster, the ABC is able to full its charter
obligaon to encourage and promote Australian music and ensure it remains nancially robust and culturally
signicant.
3. Australian music in a digital world
By the mid-1990s the ABC’s two naonal music networks, Classic FM and triple j, were available via analogue
FM transmiers to most Australians. The ABC had established a news website in 1995, but the eect of digital
technology on music broadcasng sll appeared far o on the horizon. However, the popularity of le-sharing
services like Napster, which started in 1999, were any early indicaon that the status quo was under threat,
6
https://www.abc.net.au/classic/events/abc-young-performer-of-the-year-awards/9985738
4
parcularly for music sales. This audience-led innovaon was quickly followed by industry innovaon in the form
of iTunes and the iPod in 2001, which gave even greater choice and control to listeners.
The growth of online services and proliferaon of mobile devices over the last 20 years has transformed all
media and consumer industries, from books, newspapers and broadcasng to retail and transport. The digital
disrupon to the music industry has been parcularly rapid as mass audiences fragment and break o to their
genres of interest, and personalisaon aenuates the markeng power of tradional music publishers and
distributors.
However, digital technology has also given the music industry the opportunity to diversify and innovate. For the
ABC this has meant it can deliver more specialised music services across mulple plaorms. In 2002, the ABC
started its rst digital radio staons, DIG, a contemporary adult alternave staon that has since transformed
into Double J, the ‘older sibling’ of triple j.
DIG has since been followed by three other digital stations, ABC Jazz, ABC Country and triple j Unearthed. Digital
and streaming technology has allowed the ABC the flexibility to experiment, offer a greater range of music and
focus on more Australian music. Apart from their core specialties, across the six ABC networks individual
programs also explore a range of other genres, including world, hip hop, roots and blues, opera, chamber music,
dance, electronic, punk and metal.
A focus on diversity is another priority across ABC music networks, with increased levels of Indigenous content
and representation of Australian women. This is best exemplified by the triple j Unearthed platform and is
discussed further in section 5. The ABC has also invested in its mobile apps - ABC Listen, Kids Listen and the triple
j app, delivering improved functionality and design that makes it easier for listeners to discover new music and
the breadth of music content offered by the ABC.
While the ABC has expanded its range of oerings, commercial radio has had to raonalise in an aempt to
migate the eect of internaonal services like YouTube, Spofy and Apple Music. With the commercial
imperave to capture and hold onto mass audiences, domesc staons have to fall back on more established
and recognisable internaonal and Australian music content.
Radio airplay connues to have a signicant inuence on music consumpon and sales, and while commercial
quota requirements provide some bulwark against the ood of internaonal services and content, they are
imperfect. Both Commercial Radio Australia and industry groups such as APRA AMCOS support the connuaon
of commercial quotas in some form. While the ABC has no mandated Australian quota obligaons, as per Table
1 below, its radio networks, including its digital radio staons, far exceed the local music content requirements.
The ABC contends that providing sucient funding to public broadcasters is the most eecve way to ensure
the connued high levels of Australian music and the sustainability of the industry.
Table 1 – ABC Radio Network Australian music percentage
ABC RADIO NETWORK
ABC Network 2017–18
result
Comparable commercial
quota requirement
ABC RN
43.8%
N/A
ABC Local Radio
45.33%
N/A
ABC Classic FM
51%
Not less than 5%
triple j
58.04%
Not less than 25%
Double J
35.6%
Not less than 25%
ABC Jazz
29.1%
Not less than 5%
ABC Country
65.77%
Not less than 20%
triple j Unearthed
100%
Not less than 25%
5
4. Beyond Broadcasng
As a national organisation with multiple outlets, the ABC is able to use its resources effectively to promote
Australian music through various means.
ABC Music
ABC Music is a leading independent record label in the Australian market. It releases music across a range of
genres from children’s, classics, jazz, and country, through to triple j. Many of the genres supported by ABC
Music are otherwise overlooked by other labels. ABC Music also represents leading classical music artists and
Australian classical music organisations, including symphony orchestras and ensembles.
During 2017-18, ABC Music released 212 titles – 98 titles for ABC Classics and 114 titles for Contemporary
(including 47 ABC KIDS titles). 201 albums were released digitally across a number of platforms. Of particular
note, triple j’s Like a Version 13 and Hottest 100 Volume 25 both reached the number one position on the ARIA
chart, with The Wiggles Nursery Rhymes 2 album coming in at number 3. In the 2017 Annual ARIA Charts, ABC
Classics had six top 10 releases feature on the Core Classical chart and two top 10 releases on the Classical/
Crossover chart.
At the most recent respective awards presentations, ABC Music and ABC Classics collectively won six ARIA
awards, three AIR Independent Music awards and three Country Music Australia awards, including single of the
year and song of the year.
Partnerships
The ABC has a long history of partnering and recording with leading cultural institutions, including Australian
classical music organisations and orchestras. These relationships support the institutions to reach a broad
national listenership beyond the audience that is able to attend the concert hall. Symphonies Australia estimate
that for every person attending concerts, a further 20 are reached through ABC Classic FM.
These partnerships include:
• Regular recordings of all major Australian symphonies orchestras.
• Recordings of Australian Chamber Orchestra, Opera Australia, Pinchgut Opera and Musica Viva
concerts.
• Live broadcast of major Australian music competitions, including the Melbourne international Chamber
Music Competition, the Sydney International Piano Competition and the Young Performers Awards.
• Support and broadcast of both the Freedman Jazz and Freedman Classical Awards.
6
Events
The ability to bring emerging and established acts to regional cities and towns, and to broadcast such events
nationally is one of the most socially rewarding elements of the ABC’s contribution to the Australian music
industry.
The ABC supports music festivals and tours across broad genres, including:
• Splendour in the Grass, live across triple j and ABC TV.
• Tamworth Country Music Festival, live on ABC iview and ABC Country.
• Port Fairy Folk Festival, live on ABC Local Radio.
• Wangaratta Jazz Festival, live on ABC Jazz.
• Australian Festival of Chamber Music in Townsville, on Classic FM.
• ABC Classic Kids: Sounds Like Australia at the Sydney Opera House.
• triple j One Night Stand – taking live music to regional Australia.
• Ausmusic month concert – live broadcast of iconic Australian artists.
First and foremost, these occasions bring communities together in celebration of music. However, they also
make a significant economic contribution to the music industry and the broader economy. As an example, the
2018 One Night Stand was held in July in St Helens, Tasmania. It is estimated that more than 20,000 concert
goers attended and created economic activity of more than $1.2 million for the local area.
7
These events also benefit musicians, not just through exposure, but also sales. For example, following the
broadcast of 2017 Ausmusic month Paul Kelly concert live from the Sydney Opera House, his new release Life Is
Fine jumped 16 spots to #8 on the ARIA chart and his 1997 compilation, Songs from The South Volumes 1 and 2
re-entered the charts at #22.
Ausmusic month
Ausmusic month is an ABC led focus on Australian music every November, running for more than 20 years.
Australian artists both new and old are highlighted across the ABC’s radio networks, on TV and through digital
content. This includes TV series, the triple j Awards and a day where audience are encouraged to wear t-shirts
from Australian artists. The aim of Ausmusic month is to encourage audiences to have pride in Australian music
and directly support their local artists.
Music educaon and parcipaon
According to the Australia Council for the Arts, nine in 10 Australians listen to music each week.
8
However, when
it comes to learning an instrument, 14.6% of Year 12 students parcipate in music.
9
The 2005 Naonal Review
of School Music Educaon found that 63% of primary schools in Australia offer no classroom music and that the
quality of music educaon has become highly inequitable.
10
7
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-03/one-night-stand-impact-on-local-economy/10193928
8
http://artfacts.australiacouncil.gov.au/music/participation-7/
9
ibid
10
http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/9459/1/music_review_reportFINAL.pdf
7
The ABC is involved in a number of initiatives to promote the benefits of music educaon for children, their
families and the broader community. These include:
• Don’t Stop the Music, which follows one underprivileged school in its journey to musical literacy.
• The series will work in conjuncon with a naonal impact campaign to encourage Australians
everywhere to donate their old musical instruments, so that every public primary school in Australia
can build a music program into their curriculum.
• What is Music?, which explores the fusion of science and emoon when we engage with and respond
to music.
• How Music Works provides a layperson’s understanding of the technical aspects of creang music.
• Sounds Like Australia is a podcast series and live show designed to introduce classical music to pre-
schoolers.
The intenon of these iniaves is to bring music to the centre of the community and is part of the ABC’s role
as a public service broadcaster to posively inuence Australian society.
5. Case study - triple j Unearthed
The evoluon of the triple j network, from Sydney-only AM staon in the mid-1970s, the switch to FM in 1980,
expansion to other capital cies in 1989, regional expansion throughout the 1990s, and then the adopon of
digital through its website, streaming and apps is reecve of the broader changes in the music industry.
The ‘youth’ demographic is generally viewed as the most likely to move away from tradional broadcasters to
personalised services and third-party plaorms, and staons like triple j the most vulnerable to digital disrupon.
However, triple j has been able to nimbly adapt to listener expectaons and technological change and sll
maintain relevance, popularity and diversity through an understanding and respect for its audience. In doing so,
the network has sll managed to remain true to its core responsibility to bring new music and Australian talent
to the fore.
triple j’s expansion to regional Australia in the 1990s was ground-breaking in many ways. This was well before
listeners could easily select music of their own choosing and in many small cies and towns across Australia, the
only opon was, at best, a top 40 or classic rock commercial staon. The arrival of triple j opened up possibilies
for young fans and talent and led to the emergence of many great arsts from rural and regional areas including
Grinspoon, Missy Higgins and Killing Heidi.
Grinspoon came to national attention in 1995 when it was decided that through its regional expansion, triple j
would ‘unearth’ a band or artists in each region it was coming to. The Lismore NSW band were the first
Unearthed competition winners and went on to sign with international label Universal in the United States in
1998, and over the course of their career win two ARIA awards and certified sales of over half a million.
Unearthed is a uniquely ABC innovaon and has become a plaorm that has revoluonised the Australian
industry. In 2006, before Spofy, SoundCloud and Bandcamp existed, Unearthed relaunched as
triplejunearthed.com, the place where independent Australian artists could upload and share their independent
recordings online - a direct line to the audience for artists who may not have had a platform to otherwise do so.
Through Unearthed, arsts control their own rights, have free access to upload their music and manage their
proles. The site now contains over 120,000 tracks and acts as a pathway to airplay on triple j and other ABC
music networks and a community of music lovers and music makers who can discover and share music through
their own eorts. The iniave is also integral to the way the enre Australian contemporary music industry
discovers new music, with Australian music labels using the Unearthed website for A&R research and to discover
new talent.
8
In 2011, Unearthed was also launched as a 24-hour digital radio station, playing 100% Australian music from
independent and unsigned bands. The whole Unearthed project, through competitions, the website and the
radio station provides a valuable first step for Australian musicians trying to find an audience. Unearthed is also
a highly efficient operation, with six staff employed to run and curate the website, competitions and digital radio
station.
Notable successes include:
• 50% of feature arsts and compeon winners are female, and arst airplay is equally dedicated to
female arsts.
• The current crop of leading female Australian arsts who rst came to prominence through Unearthed
include Amy Shark (nine ARIA nominaons 2018), Montaigne (Unearthed nalist 2012), Tash Sultana
(six 2018 ARIA nominaons, including best female arst), Courtney Barne (Unearthed winner 2012
and 2015 Grammy Best New Arst nominaon), Grea Ray (Unearthed winner 2016) and Alex Lahey
(Unearthed winner 2016).
• The triple j Unearthed team is also highly proacve in featuring arsts from Indigenous backgrounds.
This new wave of Indigenous talent includes Baker Boy, Emily Wurramurra and Thelma Plum, who all
experienced their rst airplay via triple j Unearthed.
• In 2018, 65% of arsts at the Splendour In The Grass fesval rst came to public aenon via triple j
Unearthed.
• Unearthed’s commitment to diversity sets the agenda for the enre Australian music community, with
the arsts proled on Unearthed then appearing on other media, fesvals and awards presentaons.
The Unearthed alumni from 1995 onwards also includes high-prole Australian arsts like The Rubens, Gangs of
Youth, Megan Washington, Client Liaison and Seth Sentry, and internaonally acclaimed acts like Flume (2017
Grammy award winner) and Vance Joy (2014 Internaonal Songwring Compeon winner for US double
planum cered song Ripde).
There is a direct link from the support and exposure given by Unearthed to the recent renaissance in local music
and the growth and health of the industry. The ABC is the only media outlet able to take these risks with new
and emerging Australian talent, and with greater investment could expand the Unearthed concept to other
Australian arsts and genres.
6. Economic contribuon
Music producon, recording, distribuon, copyright, sales and live events create signicant nancial outcomes
for the Australian economy. According to Music Australia this amounts to between $4 billion and $6 billion, with
live music generang revenues of $1.5-$2 billion annually and Australia’s recorded music industry growing by
5.5% in 2016 with $352.2 million in revenues.
11
The ABC both directly and indirectly plays a role in helping to generate these economic outcomes. The scope of
the ABC’s involvement includes its ability to reach mass audiences across the country through a diversity of
plaorms and networks, the range of musical genres it oers, its willingness to nurture and promote emerging
talent, and the high proporon of Australian arsts and new content it champions.
11
https://musicaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Australian-Contemporary-Music-a-billion-dollar-industry_2017.pdf
9
Through this wide-ranging acvity, the ABC supports a broad range of music arsts, music genres, and
companies and individuals in the wider industry, such as producers, technicians, event organisers and agents.
As set our earlier in the paper, the ABC has supported many young musicians during the most vulnerable and
challenging stage of their careers, when they would have received no commercial airplay or interest from record
labels and distributors. A large percentage of these acts have gone on to be staples of commercial playlists,
signed to major labels and achieved internaonal success.
This is not to say that these arsts wouldn’t have achieved this success at any rate. However, the privileged
posion the ABC has as an independent and trusted cultural instuon enables the Corporaon to have a
posive impact on the local industry.
7. Closing comments
The creaon and distribuon of Australian music content and a strong and vibrant industry sector is fundamental
to Australia’s naonal identy and shared cultural heritage. In creang and distribung Australian content, these
industries also provide numerous employment opportunies across metropolitan and regional Australia and
foster and develop talent. The ABC plays a pivotal role within this system and our investment in Australian music
over many decades has played a signicant part in the success of the local industry.
The ABC works within a nite and diminishing budget envelope, but addional funding in the public broadcaster
will provide opportunies for greater investment and have a mulplier eect across the music industry.
Addional funding to the ABC could:
• Provide for an expansion of the Unearthed iniave to other arsts, genres and audiences.
• Build on exisng partnerships with established classical and other musical organisaons.
• Support more community outreach and stakeholder engagement like the Don’t Stop the Music
program.
• Contribute to events like One Night Stand, which promotes young Australian arsts, and bring a sense
of community as well as economic benet to regional centres.
The ABC’s passion for and experse in music, its infrastructure, strong relaonship with audiences and
commitment to Australian music establishes the Corporaon as an integral part of the domesc industry. The
Corporaon enters its next triennial funding phase in 2019-20, and the outcomes from this process will be crucial
in ensuring investment in Australian music content can be sustained and enhanced, providing for a disncve,
vibrant and viable music environment.