Labor Promises Unprecedented Push For Australian Music Ahead Of Next Election
"For as long as we can remember contemporary music has been a big part of how we define ourselves as Australians but it hasn’t been taken seriously by government."
The Australian Labor Party (ALP) has promised to introduce "the most comprehensive contemporary music policy by an Australian government" ahead of the upcoming election.
If elected, ALP has committed $30 million ($2 million of which is yet to be announced) in funding for live music, music exports, new recordings, youth music programs, music hubs in communities, music manager support and industry mental health programs.in an unprecedented push for Australian music.
The policy will see an extra $7.6 million for music education and music teachers, $5 million in grant funding to establish and grow music hubs around the country and $10 million to the “new Sounds Australia” as they look to remove barriers for live music venues around the country.
Labor has also promised to double the funding to the New Recordings program which has previously helped the likes of Courtney Barnett and Alex The Astronaut and committed $4.2 million to two charities working in music and mental health; Nordoff Robbins and Support Act.
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Funding will also be made available for the Association of Artists Managers to train new and emerging managers and the ARIA Music Teacher Award will expand to four categories including primary, secondary, community and remote.
It "all comes down to one single objective", the party said in a statement. "We want to inspire the next generation of Australian artists and to see more international success stories."
The policy also comes with endorsements from Aussie music legends Jimmy Barnes and Birds Of Tokyo.
"Political parties aren’t really my thing but I like the sound of this new Labor music policy," Barnes said.
"More access to rehearsal rooms for musicians who are just starting out and more music education for poorer kids has got to be a positive thing. Same goes for training more young managers. Hopefully other politicians will get behind these good practical ideas so new generations of bands can keep taking great Aussie music to the world."
Birds Of Tokyo shared his sentiment. "For as long as we can remember contemporary music has been a big part of how we define ourselves as Australians but it hasn’t been taken seriously by government," the band said.
"It's great to see that changing. We strongly support this policy which will help more kids make music and allow more people to hear it. We call on every political party to make their position clear about Australian music and culture so everyone can make an informed choice at the next election."
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