Live, Local, Digital, Global - 2022 Federal Election

Sixteen Australian music industry bodies representing an industry worth $16 billion a year to the digital, entertainment, hospitality and tourism economies have come together to outline a three-point plan in the lead-up to the 2022 Federal Election.

The three priorities centre around direct investment in the creation of great new Australian music, skills development and global exports, incentivising the use of local content on streaming and broadcast platforms, insurance to provide certainty for local audiences and programs to build industry sustainability through strong intellectual property and national mentorship programs.

Australian music provides the soundtrack to people’s lives, travelling around the globe as one of the country’s great cultural exports. It projects our continent’s vibrant, diverse, and ancient First Nations cultures to the four corners of the world. Whether it is at a concert, stadium, festival, or gig, in a film, interactive game, broadcast or streamed, it is local music that brings communities together, lifting the spirit of the nation regardless of age, background, or location.

Australian music already supports everything from aged care, mental health, and education. It is already the backbone of a healthy and vibrant visitor and night-time economy, fuelling national GDP and providing jobs through tourism and hospitality supply chains. As part of a strong Australian creative industry, music attracts the brightest minds and supports the development of associated sectors including tech, screen, and interactive games.

Just before COVID-19, Australian music was on a trajectory of extraordinary growth as one of the country’s great success stories. With a pipeline of talent coming from across the nation and with the advent of the next digital revolution, Australia has been fostering the development of an artform in an industry capturing the hearts and minds of millions at home and around the globe.

The 2022 Federal Election provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Australian music to pick up from where it left off. It is an opportunity to learn from the pandemic and build a better, more sustainable, innovative, and successful cultural asset at the forefront of community building and the next digital revolution, supporting the artists of today while fostering new waves of talent and driving the changes to global music consumption.

We urge the Federal Government and Federal Opposition to partner with the Australian music industry on the next chapter of our national story. Australia has the potential to go from a music nation to a music powerhouse. A powerhouse that can fully realise the cultural, economic, and social benefits of an even healthier music industry accessible to all Australians. A partnership approach with the Australian music industry will foster the future of jobs and build the skills in one of the fastest growing global industries at the forefront of community, innovation and economic growth.

1. Support rebuild – skills, music creation & export

• Provide traineeships and skills retraining programs to address critical skills shortages in metro and regional areas
• Wage support and additional funding to Support Act for ongoing crisis relief and to help the industry create sustainable cultural and behavioural change around mental health and wellbeing for artists and industry workers
• Expand the Australian Music Industry program to foster the growth of First Nations led music, Sounds Australia and music export, women in music mentors, touring and new programs for young people and diversity initiatives
• Invest in new Australian music through an annual Commonwealth Fellowship Program through living wage support of artists, songwriters & composers
• Establish a national mentorship and industry development program to help develop the skills of artists, songwriters, producers, managers, sound engineers and music industry workers

2. Drive investment – local content & certainty for local audiences

• Incentivise the visibility, use and discoverability of local content across all screen and audio digital platforms as well as commercial and community broadcasters
• Provide a tax offset for live music to encourage new investment in activity across the country
• Establish a Commonwealth-backed insurance scheme to increase industry confidence to invest in the creation and presentation of music across the nation

3. Ensure sustainability – strengthen intellectual property & policy review

• Enhance tech innovation by strengthening intellectual property protection for music in the digital economy to ensure artists get a return on their creations
• Partner with industry to support the recommendations of the Music Industry Review into sexual harm, sexual harassment and systemic discrimination
• Undertake a ‘Green Paper’ Review of the policy settings supporting the creation, investment and pathways to market for Australian music