Industrial Strength: Music industry’s Queen’s honours list; Does Murdoch have a label called Empire?; Live performance industry to focus on mental health; MTV programming changes

Michael McMartin, Bill Armstrong, lead music industry’s Queen’s honours list

Michael McMartin, long time manager of the Hoodoo Gurus, and Bill Armstrong, who founded Melbourne’s iconic Armstrong Studios, were among music industry figures honoured in Monday’s Queen’s Birthday honours list.

McMartin (Medal of the Order of Australia, OAM) set up Trafalgar Records in the mid-70s, launching Radio Birdman, 1927, Crossfire and Tommy Emmanuel. As head of Melody Management, he guided the careers of the Gurus, Brooke McClymont, Brendan Gallagher and producers Charles Fisher and Tim Whitten. McMartin was a foundation member of the Music Managers Forum Australia (going on to take executive positions in the international association), Association of Artist Managers and Support Act Ltd.

One time studio engineer and radio producer Bill Armstrong (Member of the Order of Australia, AM) founded Armstrong Studios in 1965 and was Managing Director of EON FM (now 3MMM).

Archie Roach (Member of the Order of Australia, AM) not only wrote about life as an indigenous person to wise up the wider community, but ensured his social protest-themed songs were a healing process for his people.

Rupert Myer, Chairman of the Australia Council (Order of Australia, AO) was recognised not only for overseeing various cultural organisations but for promoting philanthropy for the arts.

Music director John Foreman (OAM) worked on high profile events including Australian Idol and the Sydney Olympics.

Also honoured were Jane Reilly (Adelaide’s FIVEaa breakfast co-host and UNICEF ambassador), Susie Elelman (2GB and National Ambassador, Better Hearing Australia), Denis Walter (3AW, singer) and James Mooney of Canberra’s ArtSound FM.

Does Murdoch’s Fox have a hip hop label called Empire?

Rupert Murdoch’s 20th Century Fox seems to have a hip hop record label called Empire Records somewhere in that monolith. San Francisco firm Empire Distribution (founded in 2010) claimed the TV series Empire a trademark violation and wanted some money. Not so, boomed Rupe’s lawyers, "there is nothing 'fictional' about Fox's music distribution operations."

The Murdoch empire did own a record label called Rawkus, which James Murdoch began in 1995 after dropping out of Harvard, and went on to discover the likes of Mos Def and Talib Kweli.

Future Classics’ Gillard to speak at EDMbiz

Chad Gillard, Sydney-based Head of A&R at Future Classics is one of the speakers at EDMbiz Conference & Expo in Las Vegas June 16-18. He joins A&R chiefs as Natalia Romiszewski of Lava Records and Ryan Roy of Interscope as well as Live Nation’s James Barton, Zappos.com’s Tony Hsieh, Spotify’s Global Programming Head-of Electronic Culture Austin Kramer, Ted Cohen of TAG Strategic, YourEDM’s Nick Ward, Nick Guarino of This Song is Sick and Vijay Nair of Only Much Louder.

Tamworth promotes itself in Nashville

Tamworth was promoting itself this week in Nashville to the 100,000 folks attending CMA Fest (June 7 to 10). Tamworth Regional Council’s Business and Events Director John Sommerlad and Country Music Unit Manager Barry Harley had a stand at Fan Fair X in the Nashville Music City Centre. The Tamworth Country Music Festival was showcased, as was a CD sampler G’Day From Tamworth featuring Troy Cassar-Daley and The McClymonts.

More live entertainment for Adelaide venue

More concerts are set for Adelaide’s Titanium Security Arena (formerly Adelaide Arena). The SA Government widened its events to allow 18 live shows per year. The 8,000-capacity arena, owned by Scouts SA and SA Church Basketball, recently signed a 10-year naming rights deal with SA’s Titanium Security.

Live performance industry to focus on mental health

Live Performance Australia (LPA) is encouraging the live performance sector to become involved in an Australian first initiative to create a mentally healthy workplace. The ‘Heads Up’ campaign is a joint initiative by BeyondBlue and the Mentally Healthy Workplace Alliance to encourage Australian businesses to make mental health in the workplace a priority.

LPA CEO Evelyn Richardson said while attention is given to safeguarding employee’s physical health, mental health was just as important. The recent study by Entertainment Assist and Victoria University highlighted the alarming trend that those working within the live performance industry are severely at risk of mental health issues including depression and anxiety.

“As an industry, we must break down the stigma associated with mental ill-health and understand it is not a weakness,” Richardson said. “It is important both employers and employees work together to make a conscious step to prioritise a mentally healthy workplace.”

MTV will change programming to beat youth boredom

A Vivid Sydney panel saw MTV International’s SVP of Youth and Music Kerry Taylor unveil new global research on its 12 to 24 target demographic. MTV Presents: Breaking Boredom & Fueling Creativity discovered that despite (or, indeed, because of) endless content and information being fed to them, 97% were bored most of the time. Taylor explained, “The constant on-demand nature of what you want, whenever you want it, is raising the bar of expectation for everyday life.” She said as a result, MTV will in July “be talking about a new way to behave”.

The study ranked Aussies as seventh most bored in the world, of 26 countries surveyed. 90% of Aussies are bored, 87% think it’s part of life, 60% hate being bored, and 38% (1.5 million) get bored on a daily basis. Endlessly browsing the net to find something interesting and connecting is the most boring of their routine. Those wanting to pitch non-boring content at Australians should try humour (90%), creativity (83%), curiosity (81%) and being sociable (76%).

Melbourne Guitar Show returns in August

The Australian Music Association (AMA) and australianmusician.com.au are presenting the Melbourne Guitar Show on the weekend of August 8 and 9 at Caulfield Racecourse. A contingent of guitarists including Jeff Lang, Lloyd Spiegel, Davidson Brothers, James Ryan, Simon Hosford, Nick Charles, King of the North and Racer Axe will do live sets, workshops and panels. An exhibition of guitars, amps and technology is also presented. AMA CEO Rob Walker said, “Australia has some of the world’s best players” and that the event would “grow our guitar community, educate and entertain.”

NZ survey: more online viewing, but less piracy

The entry of legal streaming and download services in New Zealand has changed consumer behavior. A report by Flicks.co.nz showed that more New Zealanders are regularly watching movies online (51%, up from 41% in 2011) but only 41% are heading to illegal sites to do so (87% in 2011).

Opportunity Knocks #1: Telstra Road To Discovery

Applications for Telstra Road to Discovery open on Monday July 6. The talent development program connects emerging singer songwriters with major names in the music biz. It offers two music development funds worth $15,000 as well as an all-expenses paid trip to the USA to attend the Americana Music Festival, local gigs, ongoing education and the opportunity to work with Telstra to help kick-start their music career. More info www.telstra.com/trtd.

Opportunity Knocks #2: Wangaratta Jazz Festival

Wangaratta Jazz Festival is calling on all bassists under 35 (double bass, bass, variations) to apply. The Top 10 entrants, chosen for their abilities to play and drive the band, perform at the festival (Oct 30 to Nov 2). Winner of the associated National Jazz Awards gets $12,000 courtesy Sydney philanthropists Anthony and Sharon Lee and record in the ABC studios for Jazztrack With Mal Stanley. Runner up gets $6,000 and a recording session at Pughouse Studios in Melbourne. The third place-getter receives $3,000.

Josh Pyke offers prize to Sydney’s Gordi

Josh Pyke Partnership initiative with APRA received 160 applications this year – with Pyke choosing Sydney folktronica songwriter Gordi (Sophie Payten) because her “music stayed with me from the moment I heard the tracks in her application”. Gordi gets $7,500 towards her debut album and mentoring from Pyke, Wonderlick Entertainment's Gregg Dononvan and Stephen Wade of Select Music.

Acts, festivals, share in $1.5m worth of Vic Arts grants

Creative Victoria announced that 106 arts projects were chosen from 499 applications to share in $1.5 million worth of Vic Arts grants. They ranged from $40,000 to $7,000. Among the artist recipients were Remi, Mia Dyson, The Black Jesus Experience, Australian Art Orchestra, Luluc, School of Hard Knocks, Oh Pepi and Dorsal Fins for recording and touring.

Festivals included Melbourne Cabaret ($50,000, its first government help), Big West, Slow Music and the National Celtic, as well as initiatives as The Mission Songs Project to research and perform indigenous songs between 1900 to 1999 and Arts House’s Nomad research and development program.

Adelaide’s Techjam to team tech, music biz

TechJam is a new bi-monthly series by Adelaide music biz cluster Musitec. The idea is for tech people to network with music industry folks for possible collaborations and a chance to grow their business. The first is on July 15 at St Paul's Creative Centre (5:30-9pm) with presentations by the Musitec and Sociable. Registration is essential:http://www.eventbrite.com.au

Arts West latest to attack arts funding changes

Melbourne’s Arts West is the latest association to publicly attack the Federal Government’s controversial arts funding changes. Representing eight small to middle organisations in the city’s western suburbs, it said its ability to support independent artists and maintain 4,500 arts, cultural and engagement activities, would be affected.

“These activities are delivered locally, regionally, nationally and internationally – including festivals, workshops, performances, programmes, cultural and artistic exchanges and leadership opportunities – activities that provide arts and cultural services to over 200,000 people annually, in a region with an anticipated population growth of 32% by 2023.”

Three (more) Aussies honoured

* Nashville based Australian expatriate Jeff Walker will be honoured by Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc with the President’s award for marketing and promoting the country radio format. A graduate in economics and law at Sydney University, Walker moved to Nashville in 1974 to work in the country music area. He is the CEO of his marketing and promotions company AristoMedia Group. Walker’s presentation takes places at the Country Radio Hall of Fame Dinner and Awards ceremony on June 24 in Nashville. Also lauded that night is Dwight Yoakam for his career achievements.

* Sydney film director Nic Barker’s Pint won the Best of the Festival award at America’s inaugural Windsor Independent Film Festival.

* Victorian radio host Bryan 'Cogho' Coghlan of Bendigo’s 3BO was surprised on air by being named Kangaroo Flat Rotary Club's inaugural citizen of the year for his community work. He got a cheque for $500 to give to a charity of his choice.

Vale

Alan Fryer emerged as singer with Sydney ‘80s metal band Heaven. They made three albums, the first, Twilight of Mischief, created waves in Australia and abroad. But Fryer had almost come to world acclaim before, as Bon Scott’s replacement in AC/DC. Fryer would claim he auditioned in Sydney for the band’s producers, Harry Vanda and George Young, and told he got the gig. But the band’s try-outs in England saw the gig for to Brian Johnson instead. Fyer lived in Texas for a time, during which Heaven toured Australia a number of times. He died aged 60 from cancer.

Marian Henderson emerged in the Sydney folk, blues and jazz club scene and became a major figure. She was married to folk singer and poet Don Henderson who passed in 1991. She played with jazz players as Tommy Smith, Don Burrows and George Golla and toured Ireland and PNG. She moved to Nimbin and became a painter and theatre designer. She died last month at 78.

Geoff Rudge was GM of Ace Radio Group’s 3SH and 3TR in Victoria, and was later its GM of Information Technology until he passed after a year-long battle with leukemia.

NT singer songwriter, film maker and environmental activist Tjilipi Bob Randall was best known for My Brown Skin Baby They Take Him Away, one of the earliest songs about the Stolen Generation.

Norma Hatton was a long time administrator at Geelong’s K-Rock and Bay FM and a second mother to its staff. She was 82.

And a few other things….

Kyle Sandilands and former Today showbiz gossip reporter Richard Reid are working on a hush-hush TV project.

Among the subscription TV ASTRA finalists for Rising Star is Channel [V]’s Zakary Chenoweth.

Mollie McClymont of The McClymonts married Aaron Blackburn, whom she met via Tinder, on the beach on the NSW South Coast.

Shannon Noll and Newcastle hip hop group Street Warriors visited a string of the region’s schools as part of Reconciliation Week, speaking to students and performing for them.

Stan Walker was accused of “accidental homophobia” by gay New Zealand TV reporter Matty McLean after an Instagram posting during a State of Origin match. An image of the NSW team (Walker barracks for Queensland) was accompanied by “So long, gay boys.” McLean accepted that Walker had not meant to be but told the New Zealand Herald his sentiments had “homophobic undertones.” Walker said “I get called gay, fag, n*** everyday” and didn’t let it bother him, and the comment was “harmless” and apologised.

History records have it that Slim Dusty won 37 Golden Guitar awards. But when his family was collecting his trophies from the family cabinet to move to The Slim Dusty Centre in Kempsey, they noticed that he had in fact won three, not two, at the inaugural Australasian Country Music Awards at the Tamworth Town Hall on January 28, 1973 for his album Me & My Guitar. The 38th win is now officially accepted. A tape of the night showed that his wife Joy McKean won the APRA Song of the Year gong for writing Lights On The Hill. Slim had got a third one for singing the song.

Barry Humphries, asked how to find the money to restore Adelaide’s Her Majesty’s Theatre, quipped, “Register (it) as a sport!”

Injuries: Dallas Frasca got a black eye and swollen cheekbone while crowd surfing at Queensland’s Big Pineapple Music Festival and falling two metres … Perth singer Justin Dyke ended with severe burns after a ferry he was on during an Indonesian holiday exploded.

Music SA is planning a busy 2016, and wants ideas from the South Australian music industry and public on what it wants pursued. Most innovative idea gets a $100 gift voucher from Allan's Music. Go to Music SA’s Facebook page.

In Townsville alone, 17 video stores closed in the past three years.