Industrial Strength: Melbourne mega-festival, APRA, Tina Arena, CHANGES and a few other things…

MELBOURNE MERGES TWO EVENTS TO CREATE WINTER MEGA-FESTIVAL

Melbourne gets a new winter mega-festival next year. The state government has merged long-running Melbourne International Arts Festival and White Night Melbourne Reimagined.

With a new team, the still-untitled event will develop a diverse program of visual and performing arts, with large- scale takeovers of precincts filling laneways and venues and celebrating Melbourne’s famed ‘after dark’ culture.

The festival will build on the independent arts scene, having a strong focus on specially commissioned and world-first collaborations between local and international artists.

It will also showcase regional Victoria with the announced White Night Bendigo in 2020 and Geelong in 2021.

According to Melbourne International Arts Festival chair Tim Orton,“ The new festival will create more opportunities for local artists and creators, attract increased Victorian, interstate and international audiences and will project Melbourne’s cultural excellence to the world.”

State government figures show that Victoria’s major events calendar contributes $1.8 billion to the state economy each year as well as increasing cultural tourism.

APPLICATIONS OPEN FOR APRA PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AWARDS

Applications have opened for the biennial APRA Professional Development Awards for emerging songwriters and composers. Deadline is Thursday, June 27.

The career-boosting initiative has helped further the success stories of Gotye, Fanny Lumsden, screen composer Caitlin Yeo, Morgan Evans, Ainslie Wills, Nick Drabble, Ngaiire and Briggs.

In 2019, the awards prize pool continues to grow, offering nine individual winners $15,000 each, plus Audio-Technica M50x studio headphones limited edition red and an ‘Aon Wallet’ insurance package including public liability, equipment and personal accident cover valued at $3,000 over 3 years.

Smugglers of Light initiative will return in 2019 with an award providing a promising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music or media practitioner with a grant of $12,000.

The Smugglers of Light Foundation was set up in memory of aspiring hip hop performer Eli Westlake aged 21, who was killed in Sydney in 2008 in a street assault.

SINGING TINA SONGS

When Tina Arena receives the Excellence in Community award at the Support Act fund-raising luncheon, performing acoustic versions of her songs will be Kate Miller-Heidke,  Electric Fields and Ainslie Wills.

It’s held on May 29 at Sydney’s Ivy Ballroom, tickets are still for sale.

18 QUEENSLAND PROJECTS GET FUNDED

18 arts and cultural projects were funded to the tune of $700,000 by the Queensland state government under its Arts Showcase Program.

They included Sunshine Coast roots and reggae band    Bearfoot Music ($24,500), Brisbane Cabaret Festival ($35,000), Janette Younger of Brisbane/Gold Coast ($28, 915), Kontraband Studios in Toowoomba ($54, 000), The Queensland Youth Jazz Network based in Brisbane ($32,000) and 4MBS Classic FM ($60,000) to support the Festival of the Great Classics which has 32 classical concerts over six weeks, starting in May featuring more than 700 Queensland musicians.

Full list of recipients at http://www.arts.qld.gov.au/news/queensland-investment-supports-diverse-arts-projects.

NUMBER CRUNCHING

2.4% decline in commercial radio metropolitan ad revenue

to $181.612 million in the March quarter compared to $186.518 million in the same period a year ago, according to data compiled by Deloitte.

$17.5 billion estimated worth of global music streaming app market by 2025 according to a US study.

433 songs played at the legendary 1969 Woodstock festival to be released in an epic 38-disc box set.

10,000 sell-out crowd for Darwin’s BASSINTHEGRASS festival.

£180,000 paid at auction for John Lennon’s personal copy of The Beatles ‘Butcher’ album.

39% jump in Q1 revenue to RMB 5.74 billion (A$1.2 billion) for Chinese streaming giant Tencent Music.

11 million US viewers on first day for Netflix’s Beyonce Homecoming concert film. 24% of them were African Americans (a record for Netflix which previously had only 24% tune in for Big Box) and 70% were female, which beat women-led show, Orange is the New Black

NEW PRESIDENT FOR CBF

The new president for the Community Broadcasting Foundation is Ian Hamm.

A Yorta Yorta man, he has extensive government and community sector experience, particularly at executive and governance levels.

He has overseen major policy and strategic reforms for government and community organisations including his work with the Australian Government (Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health) and the Victorian Government (Department of Justice; Department of Planning and Community Development, Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources).

The Foundation distributes more than $16.8 million annually to support Australian community media.

‘RIP IT UP’ TEARS UP

New Zealand street magazine freebie Rip t Up emerged in June 1977 and was instrumental in raising the profile and respect of NZ indie music until it closed in 2015.

Now the first 101 issues have been digitised by the National Library of NZ and available online at its Papers Past website.

Now historians and a new generation of music fans can download 3000 pages of music legacy.

MUSIC NSW BEGINS NEW GRANTS PROGRAM

MusicNSW has begun a new funding program for artists.

In place of the Opportunity Development Grant program, which supported Kwame and Body Type to pursue career development opportunities like BIGSOUND, Artist Support Grant includes additional activities for artists.

Artists and artist managers can apply for funding of up to $5,000 to access opportunities for projects such as (but not limited to):

Festival performances

Showcase opportunities (e.g. Bigsound or EMC)

NSW, national & International tours

Album or EP recording in NSW

Album or EP release PR & marketing

Composition development

Applications are open now until June 17 for projects occurring September 1, 2019 – August 31, 2020.

CHANGES ANNOUNCES SHOWCASE CURATORS

Melbourne live music program CHANGES moves to a new venue, Abbotsford Convent., where it is held July 3 & 4.

A collaboration between The Push, Yarra City Council, Music Victoria, VMDO, APRA AMCOS and the music community, the discussion will be about music, tech, talks and ideas.

Showcases are held in venues in Fitzroy and curated by 123 Agency, Anti Fade Records, Bad Apples Music, Barely Dressed Records, Chapter Music, Collective Artists, DOT DASH, Future Popes, Foreign Brothers + Soul Has No Tempo, Milk! Records, Music in Exile, New World Artists, Our Golden Friend, PS Music Group, Rice is Nice, Roolette Records, PBS + Triple R, Select Music and Still Here.

Experts, industry leaders and storytellers from as far afield as Canada, France, the UK and USA will feature on the lineup for CHANGES’ summit.

Additionally, CHANGES’ Music Passport program will again welcome execs from Brazil to Melbourne, to connect with local businesses and forge networks.

NZ MUSIC CONTENT AT SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL

The Sydney Film Festival has a number of New Zealand music entries, totalling eight features and six shorts.

Getting its Australasian premiere is The Chills: The Triumph & Tragedy of Martin Phillipps, on how a talent that stood on the threshold of global success, ended up with financial and addiction problems.

Love story Daffodils, which has Kimbra in one of the roles,  has a stunning soundtrack with songs by Crowded House, The Swingers, Dave Dobbyns, Dance Exponents and Bic Runga among others.

CHANGES FOR ACMF SONGWRITING COMPETITION

The 2019 ACMF National Songwriting Competition is open for entries.

Every year, students from schools across Australia are invited to enter their original song, with the aim of winning prize-money to be allocated towards equipment or tuition.

For 2019, the competition has had some changes.

There are fewer categories so the prizes are more substantial.

Organisers introduced the ability to enter a song as a school group, which has its own prize category – the winning school can purchase resources to improve their music program!

The competition is free to enter, but organisers urge donations to the ACMF to enable us to continue their work bringing music education programs to disadvantaged children throughout Australia.

The competition was founded 17 years ago by performer Don Spencer.

ORIGINAL YOTHU YINDI REUNITE FOR FESTIVAL

The original five members of Yothu Yindi are reuniting for a Queensland festival for the first time since the passing of M Yunupingu.

His nephew Yirrnga Yunipingu will join the band as a vocalist.

“We look forward to bringing Yothu Yindi back to the stage and sharing our culture and music with the people of Far North Queensland,” said Yirrnga Yunupingu.

“It is time for the messages of Yothu Yindi to be heard again and we couldn’t think of a better cultural platform than the iconic Yarrabah Music and Cultural Festival.”

Joining Yothu Yindi at Jilara Oval in Yarrabah on Saturday, June 15 are  Baker Boy, Thandi Phoenix and Yarrabah Brass Band.

The event is presented by Queensland Music Festival, Yarrabah Aboriginal Shire Council and Queensland government, with the support of Tourism and Events Queensland.

AND A FEW OTHER THINGS …

Who is the international superstar locked in to open Townsville’s new North Queensland Stadium next year?

Will current negotiations by the Eurovision higher-ups in Sweden see the US get in the comp in 2021?

What was the mystery surrounding Sticky Fingers when they were in Germany last weekend? They hit social media about the whereabouts of singer Dylan Frost. A day later, all the posts were yanked.

Unlike other US country music awards, nominees for artist of the year for the Americana Music Awards (in Nashville in September)were all females: Brandi Carlile, Mavis Staples, Kacey Musgraves and Rhiannon Giddens.

A Gold Coast magistrate has given one time NZ Idol winner Matt Saunoa a stern talking to about getting his life in order, after a prison term involving his drug addiction.

Chart Talk: Vampire Weekend have become the first act to have three #1 albums in the US but without one entry in the  Hot 100 songs chart.

Melbourne dance party promoter Nik Dimopoulos needed surgery after a botched operation by Melbourne police. They crashed into the garage of Hares & Hyenas bookstore and cafe in Fitzroy thinking an armed man was there. They then lumbered up to the apartment above. Dimopoulos, thinking it was a homophobic home invasion, rushed out to the street where he was apprehended and, his friends claimed,  roughed up. The blueys officially apologised admitting it was a case of mistaken identity.

Sydney vocal ensemble The Song Company went into administration last night (May 16) after 35 years. A statement read: “The directors have considered the financial affairs of the company and it is in their opinion that the company faces the possibility of becoming insolvent at some future time, if it were to continue to trade.”

The upcoming sixth season of Empire will be its last, with producers wanting to “go out guns a-blazing.”

Police arrested Brisbane rapper Coskun Marius over the violent death of a Gold Coast man in Surfers Paradise.

NSW police confirmed that the body of a 41-year old female found in March in the remote water catchment area in North Katoomba was that of singer Cecilia Devine, aka Kristen Pearson. She worked with dance acts as Random Soul and Reel Sessions and reported missing last September.

A New Zealand woman who stabbed a mother of a 3-year old to death after an argument over music at a party in Christchurch in 2017 has been sentenced to life in prison with a non-parole period of 10 years.

Adelaide’s oldest licensed pub, The Edinburgh Castle, which featured bands, is winding up at the end of May after failing to find a buyer although three parties showed interest.

Guns N’Roses are suing for trademark infringement Colorado brewery Oskar Blues over its Guns ‘N’ Rosé ale.

Newcastle drummer Darren Brollo is standing in the federal elections for the for Animal Justice Party.

Post Malone did it when he was in the country but not US country singer Kacey Musgraves. Midway through her set she was swigging back some tequila when an audience member held his shoe up challenging her to drink out of it. Being a well-brought-up gal, she demurely declined.  The masses brayed “SHOEY SHOEY SHOEY!”  Musgraves cracked the proverbial, and shouted: “I’m not drinking out of your fucking shoe” at which point everyone calmed down and figured they should let a singer sing.

Corey Taylor of Slipknot underwent double knee surgery.

Kasey Chambers told Stellar magazine that the very first review she got a solo record was so cruel – “and you thought Shania Twain was bad”, deemed a street press writer – that she had it framed and still has it.

When Melbourne guitarist Joe Matera was playing a two-week run through Sweden as part of his sixth European tour behind his Waiting For The Sun album, he slipped in to do some recording at Sunlight Studios outside of Stockholm with famed Swedish producer Tomas Skogsberg. The studio is where whole Swedish Death Metal scene began, and Skogsberg informed him he was the first Australian musician ever to record there.

At the opening of Opera Australia’s Rigoletto in Melbourne, police had to be called when a 90-year old gent started shouting repeatedly from the front row. Turned out it was award-winning classical composer George Dreyfus who was still ticked off that 50 years ago Opera Australia commissioned him to write a piece of music along with others – and showed him disrespect by not using it.