Aussie musicians perform, speak at Parliament House in support of local music industry

A slew of prominent Australian musicians performed at parliament house in Canberra last night as part of the second annual Parliamentary Friends of Australian Music Rock the House.

More than 200 ministers, senators and parliamentary staff, along with a delegation of Australian songwriters, musicians, recording artists and key industry leaders, enjoyed performances by John Paul Young, Kasey Chambers, Ian Moss and All Our Exes Live In Texas.

The event was presented by APRA AMCOS, ARIA, AHA and PPCA – and issues discussed included protecting creators’ rights, the value of copyright, the importance of local content, supporting Australia’s music micro-businesses, and Australia’s global music export potential.

Kasey Chambers spoke on the importance of touring, “touring for me, particularly here in Australia, is everything. It feeds my kids…I make my living from touring music, and it’s important for me to get out to all the regional places as well.

“I tour most of the year and visit some of the littlest towns throughout Australia, but we have to have these venues to play in”.

Hanna Crofts from All Our Exes Live In Texas contribute to the discussion on Australian content on radio, saying “with commercial airplay we can be career artists, and be sustainable, and our careers can continue for our whole lives”.

Ian Moss had this to say on royalties; “royalties are your living. You work hard to write a song. If we could all do that we’d all be writing hits everyday…people love their live music, but people have got to write that music in the first place and they need to make a living”.

John Paul Young was succinct on the topic of copyright, “Please just protect our copyright. That’s all I’ve got to say”.