Music SA, Moshtix, set up female music biz scholarship

South Australia’s peak music association Music SA and ticketing agency moshtix have combined to create a new scholarship to develop the career of a female South Australian music industry professional.

The scholarship is to Music SA’s full-time Certificate IV in the Music Industry course, and starts in March 2018.

Moshtix will finance the scholarship. Music SA will also provide access to mentors and direct experiences to generate closer ties with music industry executives.

Lisa Bishop, Music SA’s GM said, “Networks, relationships and confidence are key enablers for women accessing opportunities in the music industry.

“I’m thrilled that moshtix has come on board to support this important initiative because they have established partnerships with many live music venues and events in Adelaide that will open further opportunities for the scholarship recipient.”

“We first started working with Music SA in 2015 and we’ve seen them go from strength to strength ever since,”Harley Evans, CEO and owner of moshtix said.

“So we naturally jumped at the opportunity to work with Music SA to fund this scholarship. It’s a fantastic initiative to help increase the presence of women in the music industry and to give them real-world experiences along with a nationally accredited Certificate IV in Music Business.

“Lisa and her team have been absolutely killing it in Adelaide, and it’s opening up great opportunities for businesses like moshtix to give back to the industry, spread the good news nationally, and help feed the appetite for live music both in-front and backstage.

“We can’t wait to see who the successful graduate will be and what they will achieve.”

The scholarship was announced at the end of a Music SA workshop at the Jade Monkey club entitled The Cultural Shift. It looked at the gender imbalance in the music industry and the obstacles facing women making a career in it.

The discussion was led by AU Review Editor-in-Chief Sose Fuamoli, and featured singer Karina Utomo (High Tension), feminist Chloe Turner (Listen Records/Music Victoria), Emily Retsas (Rock Camp For Girls/High Violet) and Hannah Fairlamb (Ponytail Kink/Office For Women).

Some of the inequalities and barriers that women face in the music industry include:

• According to the Australia Council for the Arts, 80% of songwriters are men. 70% of music teachers are women.
• 1 in 5 musicians (21.5%) registered with APRA (royalties collection agency) in Australia are women.
• 30% of public board members on peak music industry bodies are women.
• Out of 225 artist managers surveyed in 2016, 102 were women.
• 80% of independent record labels in Australia are managed by men.
• Music Victoria research in 2016 has shown that the confidence gap between men and women applies widely.
• On triple j’s Hottest 100, women constitute 48% of voters but only make up 21% of the acts.
• Research at La Trobe University in Melbourne has found that unwanted sexual attention is a significant problem faced by women going to live music events.
• Most job opportunities in the music industry are not formally advertised and so this limits merit-based selection.