Gov Throws Quarter Million More At Classical Label

22 September 2014 | 1:06 pm | Staff Writer

Controversial for-profit label Melba is once more at the centre of the furore

Controversial organisation Melba Recordings' has found itself under scrutiny once more following the revelation that it has received a $275,000 grant from the federal government despite a lack of active funding programs at the moment.

As Artshub reveals, the grant was awarded to Melba back in April with little (read: no) ceremony, a quiet deal passed down from Arts Minister George Brandis that takes the total funds awarded to the company over the past decade well past the $7 million mark.

That balance found its way to Melba's coffers after a 2004 government ruling that came to light in 2012 that would have seen the label pocket $5 million over five years (later reduced by ensuing governments to $500,000 a year) — a deal that sparked anger and debate over the transparency of funding in the music industry. Melba's funding was consequently cut entirely.

It seems that move was more a temporary platitude than a sweeping change, however, with the new grant once again coming without the burden of adhering to application processes or funding rounds, and seemingly ignoring the label's less-than-stellar fiscal performance (it sold a mere $18,000 worth of records in 2012).

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Two years ago, chief executive Maria Vandamme explained away the exclusion from such programs by saying that Melba had “been denied the possibility of peer assessment because there is no program at the Australia Council to support our work” (though "influential friends" don't hurt), before suggesting that critics of the funding were little more than slaves to contemporary-industry "jealousy". As a result, it has been confirmed by the Arts Minister's office that the new $275,000 boost also comes without peer review, but that the Australia Council was "consulted" about the decision to award the funds to Melba.

If they were hoping to avoid scrutiny, the timing of the grant couldn't be worse — the wider federal arts community is imperilled by the Abbott government's pledge to wipe $87.1 million off its cost sheet, $28.2 million of which, over the next four years, is to come straight from the Australia Council.

It should be noted that the significantly less-wealthy Australia Council — which also offer grants to musicians for touring nationally and internationally, recording and promotion, as well as to industry, including artist managers — managed to fund 11 independent labels (including Future Classic, Rice Is Nice, Stop Start and Hope Street Recordings) with $420,000 back in April, which gave us about fifty new albums on the landscape — a solid 47 more than Melba managed in 2012.