Sunday, 18 October 2009, 11.00am: “Australia: State Of the Host Nation”

Summary: Australia may be the land way down under but it’s very much part of the global music pulse. For a country of just over 20 million, Australia has served up more than its fair share of musical greats and international industry players. But it’s not all AC/DC and Rupert Murdoch; Australia has an exploding musical underground with thousands of artists and businesses forging into new and exciting territory.

Like the rest of the Western music industry, Australia has faced several challenges over the past decade but has embraced new ideas and technologies faster than most. Australia is also the key to the emerging Asian markets and has had major cultural and trade relations with countries like Indonesia, China and Malaysia that stretch back decades. Much like the country’s resources sector, as Asia grows so does the export potential of Australia’s music industry. Australia is a robust music market more than ready for the future. It also has many robust personalities, assembled here to discuss the State Of The Host Nation.

Venue: Argyle Ballroom, Parmelia Hilton Perth, Conference Floor

Speakers: (from left to right)

• Iain Shedden, Music Writer, The Australian (interview here)
• Richard Moffat, Founder, Way Over There (mini-interview here)
• Moderator: Ian James, Managing Director, Mushroom Music Publishing (interview here)
• Richard Kingsmill, Music Director, triple j (interview here)
• Paul Piticco, Founder, Secret Service/Dew Process (mini-interview here)
• Tim Prescott, CEO, Albert Music (mini-interview here)
• Ed St John, Chairman and President & CEO, ARIA and Warner Music (interview here)

At the beginning of the panel, Ian James pursued Richard Kingsmill regarding triple j and its place as a national youth broadcaster. His questions below:

• How many people work at triple j?
• What about just the music team?
• Do you ever try to ‘keep your ears clean’? Do you take a break where you listen to nothing for a week?
• With the internet opening up radio broadcasting around the world, triple j could become a kind of ‘voice of Australian music’ outside of Australia. Do you think that’s realistic?
• There’s three of you on the ‘front line’ and 37 people in the ‘back room’, couldn’t one of you put your mind to [a project like that]?
• Unearthed has obviously been an important thing for a lot of artists. Do you still find a high level of quality of acts coming through the system, as when it first started?

Footage of Kingsmill’s response is embedded below.

James’ attention then turned to Ed St John, and his role as CEO of Warner Music. Ian’s points of discussion are included below.

• Ed, you run a major label. It’s acknowledged that the industry has had some difficult times; how do you go about keeping Warner Music bouyant on a day-to-day basis?
• The idea of acquiring rights to other areas of an artists’ career is becoming more common (ie. 360 deals). Part of that is having the infrastructure. When you do those sorts of deals, do you have to buy a merchandising company as a consquence? When you’re approaching live music, do you take an override; are you thinking of getting into the agency business? How do you go about developing the businesses that need to support that model?
• Sometimes you can use the label as a hub, and I absolutely think it’s fair enough, Ed, that if you’re going to create an artist’s career - and particularly when the money seems to be in touring and in venues, as it is at the moment - you’re entitled to it. You’re part of the mechanism that got that band to where they are.

Tim Prescott discusses how “360 deal” is a hackeneyed phrase; it’s more about what your business can do [for an artist]. “How can you add the services that make sense for what your business already is?”

Paul Piticco discusses how his label Dew Process have separate contracts for publishing, management, promotion, and distribution. Their approach is determining what each artist requires from the label; it’s a case of having multiple business streams on offer, and ensuring that both parties benefit from the deal.

Footage of the panelists’ responses embedded below.

Audience question: “Why was New Zealand-born Ladyhawke nominated for five ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) awards?”

Chairman Ed St John responded; footage below.

Audience question: “What’s wrong with doing something that sounds like Jay-Z in Australia, but which expresses the Australian way of life? Because every time I send an Australian demo to a record company, if it sounds like something from the States, they don’t even look at it, they just throw it away. That’s my point of view and I just want to find out what’s wrong with that.”

Piticco: “A lot of the Australian hip-hop community is fiercely independent. They’ve shunned traditional label systems and created their own, and motivated their own fans around their own culture. There is a market for hip-hop in this country, and if you’re not getting the love from us, do it yourself. It’s proven that there’s a model there and that it works.”

Kingsmill: “The music’s just gotta be good enough. It’s not about style, or whether it sounds American, or anything like that.”

Footage of the panelists’ responses embedded below.

It was easily the most fascinating and enlightening panel that I witnessed at One Movement, which is unsurprising given the big names in attendance. A big thanks to all involved.