'Michael's Rule': AAM Calls For Compulsory Aus Artists Opening For International Acts

Just two days after this year’s AAM Awards went down in Sydney, the Senior Managers of the Association of Artist Managers have shared an initiative we’d all like to see reinstated: Michael’s Rule, in tribute to Michael McMartin, who recently passed away.

McMartin, Hoodoo Gurus’ longtime manager (41 years), called for the mandatory Australian support act for international artists upon accepting his Legacy Award at last year’s event. He and others had campaigned for decades to make it compulsory for at least one local artist to be among the support acts on every international tour that visits Australia.

In McMartin’s honour, who passed away on Easter Sunday after a long illness, the AAM organisation and its members called on Australian concert promoters to reinstate Michael’s Rule, which has three pillars:

1.        Every international artist must have an Australian act among their support acts

2.        The Australian artist must share the same stage as the international act and benefit from reasonable sound and lighting

3.        The Australian artist must be announced on the initial international artist’s tour announcement so that they can receive necessary marketing and promotion

If Australian promoters don’t agree with the terms of Michael’s Rule, the AAM will take the case to the federal government and recommend making a condition of issuing visas to international artists touring Australia that they include Australian acts on their tours.

“Everybody knows that there are less Australian songs on the charts right now than at any time since the early 1960s,” Maggie Collins, the Executive Director of the AAM, said in a press release when discussing the importance of Michael’s Rule.

Citing the “historic challenges” faced by local artists and their managers amongst the recent festival cancellations that have shocked the Australian music industry, Collins continued, “These challenges have been recognised by governments across Australia in recent years. Promoters received significant public funding during the pandemic, and they understandably continue to receive public support for some of their major events.

“We think it is only reasonable that, in return, they should ‘do their bit’ to help give Australian artists a leg up by the simple means of including at least one local act on every international tour.”

The AAM noted that artists who recently toured Australia (or are coming soon), such as Taylor Swift, SZA and Niall Horan, played their shows with fellow international support acts and didn’t have to play an iota of Australian music.

Alastair Burns and Jess Keely, Co-chairs of the AAM, added, “Every time this happens, it is a major missed opportunity to allow local audiences to discover local artists.

“In memory of Michael McMartin OAM, we are therefore making this public request today to every major promoter, and we eagerly await their reply. If they are unwilling to reinstate ‘Michael’s Rule’ as a voluntary code, then we will be making formal representations to government to use the visa system instead.”

In a statement, ARIA and PPCA CEO Annabelle Herd wrote that tours—especially when an Australian artist opens for an international act—provide an “important” way to “connect with new fans.”

“At the local level, these tours provide huge opportunities for Australian artists via support slots, which can connect our artists with whole new fan bases,” Herd continued. “Doing whatever we can to get our local artists in front of new audiences is the most important issue facing our local industry, and as such the Michael’s Rule is a fantastic initiative, which we are confident can be implemented in a way that doesn’t impact the viability of international touring. 

“Other initiatives, including looking to broaden venues like sports stadiums to multi-use facilities in NSW is a really important step to increase the availability of entertainment for everyone outside of sport, and continue to increase opportunities to see local artists alongside global icons.”

Artists supported by members of the AAM include Amyl & The Sniffers, Budjerah, Powderfinger, The Teskey Brothers, Midnight Oil, Cold Chisel, Birds Of Tokyo, The Presets, Missy Higgins, Kasey Chambers, Ball Park Music, John Butler Trio, Karnivool, Miss Kaninna, Grinspoon, Something For Kate, Alex Lahey, and many others.