The dark Coronavirus cloud has a silver lining…if networks commit to more Aussie music

Q&A is never an easy watch. It’s essential and necessary, and not to everyone’s taste. Like broccoli. If you made it to the end of Monday night’s episode, a special on the coronavirus pandemic, of course, Aunty offered a reward: a musical performance by comedian Bridie Connell and Tom Cardy.

“Get down in the lock down,” she sang. It was sweet dessert to a heavy, information rich meal.

In these strange and bitter times, music is more important than ever. And playing music, is more important to musicians than it ever was.

Earlier on Monday, the federal government activated a tough new set of measures to try stop Coronavirus in its tracks. From midday, all so-called non-essential venues would have to close their doors for the foreseeable future. No gigs, no pubs, no cinemas.

This off the back of a ban on gatherings of 100 or more indoors, and restrictions on 500 or more hanging out in any one space outdoors.

Unless you’re in the business of selling toilet paper, hand sanitisers, or operating a streaming service, it’s a nightmare out there.

The gig economy is paralysed. Live Performance Australia’s chief executive Evelyn Richardson has warned the “death knell” could ring on Australia’s live entertainment culture if the government doesn’t approve a $650 million emergency bailout package, pronto.

Connell’s playful ditty reminded us of many things. Yes, Aussies are experts at taking the piss when the going is tough. We can do gallows humour better than just about anyone, and we all need a laugh right now. Connell stole the show, and she was given the opportunity to do so.

There’s that word, opportunity.

With foreign nationals essentially blocked from entering our borders, there’s no competition from abroad to scoop up opportunities to steal the show. Australia has no shortage of talent. The challenge has always been opportunities, or lack of them.

If our screens are our besties, and streaming media is our god, networks need to step up and create opportunities for Australian artists.

Help is one the way. A music industry taskforce comprised of radio stations, including triple j, record labels, tech companies, promoters and government outfits have joined forces on Sound of Silence, an initiative which encourages fans to throw a lifeline to artists, crew and music professionals by showing their support by streaming, buying music and merch, donations and more.

“This is a real and present crisis,” says Support Act chief Clive Miller, “and this is a very real SOS.”

Commercial and publicly-funded networks can answer this SOS.

Broadcaster and author Jane Gazzo gave the commercial world a push – and specifically Network 10’s The Project — with a well-timed tweet.

“Hey @theprojecttv – with so many OzArtists taking a hit from cancelled shows, tours & collapse of the gig economy – could you possibly commit to 100% OzArtists played in and out of your ad breaks? Royalties from broadcast for even 10-20 secs could really help bands right now,” Gazzo tweeted last Wednesday.

https://twitter.com/JaneGazzo/status/1240143104654655488

To date, no firm commitments have been made, though a string of artists and arts advocates are on side.

“This could be a real positive that comes out of this really dark and gloomy time for Australian music,” Gazzo tells TIO.

“Being that it’s a national show on a major network, a commercial network, the royalty for even a 10-second snippet from the show to an ad break, potentially this could help get a lot of bands out of a hole.” For contemporary artists, leftfield and unsigned acts, a moment in the spotlight can keep the music alive.

“Even a minute of that would not only be welcome relief for an audience very jaded by coronavirus already,” Gazzo continues, “but so welcome and so needed by the Australian music community.”

Jane Gazzo

With live performance shuttered, artists are surviving on royalties, ancillaries. At this time, explains Catherine Haridy, director of Catherine Haridy Management and Executive Director of the Association of Artist Managers, “one of the vital ways of increasing an artist’s income over the medium to long-term is to increase the volume of all genres, styles and periods of Australian music on analogue and digital radio. This increase would directly benefit artist’s performance royalties and hence their bottom line.”

These numbers aren’t insignificant. According to APRA, revenue from digital products grew by more than 30% to $175.4 million in its 2018-19 financial period, while the “Netflix effect” is now measurable, with the subscription video-on-demand category (SVOD) blowing up by almost 42% to $26.1 million.

Speaking to TIO, Haridy and the wider artist management community calls on the broadcasting industry “to rapidly increase this volume now so that benefit is felt as quickly as is possible.” Both Double and Triple J have announced their intentions “to support our artists in this way,” she continues, “but we’ve heard nothing from the commercial radio sector.”

Every cloud, your grandpa used to say, has a silver lining. These here are dark clouds, the meanest we’ve seen. By creating opportunities for homegrown artists, the networks and broadcasters can blow some of the clouds away.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.