AMIN proposes $5m Contemporary Music Fund, calls for endorsement

Image: Gooch Palms at SXSW 2016
Photo Credit:Cian Davis and Bianca O’Neill

The Australian Music Industry Network (AMIN) – which represents all of Australia’s peak state and territory music industry associations with a national overview on issues – has come up with a $5 million-a-year-proposal called The Contemporary Music Fund.

In the run-up to the July 2 Federal elections, it is asking political parties to throw their support behind it. The Fund would:

 Fund AMIN, along with and state and territory peak music organisations, to deliver national Audience Development Initiatives that increase engagement with music.

 Fund Music Australia to deliver a Music Education Program and National Skills Forum.

 Establish a Music Export Grant Program to support opportunities for international exchanges and showcasing, complementing the work of Sounds Australia.

 Develop a National Regional Touring Circuit and Regional Music Grant Program to support touring contemporary music into regional and remote areas.

 Fund a Music Entrepreneurs Internship Program to develop the skills needed to manage music businesses.

The $5 million-a-year cost is more than what contemporary music gets from Federal sources. But AMIN has delivered statistics to prove that an investment would be effective. It says that the contemporary music sector contributes up to $6 billion in revenue to the Australian economy every year and creates close to 65,000 jobs (source: Music Australia). For every $1 million spent on live music, $3 million is returned back into the broader community (source: Live Music Office), and nine new jobs are generated (source WAM/ECU 2016).

It also points out that live music events draw more than sporting events (source: Australia Council). With more than 40 million attendances annually, contemporary music is by far the most popular of all performing arts, and the most accessible to a diverse range of people (source: LPA annual ticketing report).

AMIN says in its proposal: “This modest investment in music will generate significant returns to the Australian economy in revenue and jobs growth. In terms of reach, audience accessibility and economic impact, contemporary music is the nation’s leading artform and a vital contributor to creative industries. It is also a fundamental expression of regional identity, which can deliver important social and community development outcomes.

“There is not a region in Australia, from our remote communities to urban cities, that does not connect with music and would not benefit from access to, and participation in, the projects generated through a Contemporary Music Fund. This is why it makes sense to position music at the core of an arts and cultural policy.”

AMIN also stated its support for APRA AMCOS’ recent moves to get a commitment from the Federal Government to continue financial support for Sounds Australia and the Live Music Office, recording and support for music in gaming, television and film (driven by ARIA), songwriting programs in schools, and funding support for touring.

The Coalition has yet to announce its arts and music platform for the Federal elections. Labor, the Greens and the Arts Party have already done so.

So have some of the smaller parties. The Nick Xenophon Team (NXT) will lobby to return the Australia Council’s budget to pre-2015 figures. While the others have resolved to scrap the alternate Ministry of the Arts-based Catalyst funding, NXT promises greater “scrutiny of” Catalyst’s decisions.

The Pirate Party will push for basic income guarantees for musicians and artists, tax breaks for small live music and performance venues, the setting up of cultural hubs to be used for free by the creative sector and a new fund to sponsor artists.

The Australian Sex Party has made comments against the NSW lockouts and sniffer dogs at music festivals.