Icehouse, KLP & More Share Music Industry Insights At NSW Parliament House Event

Key Australian musicians have joined together for the second NSW Parliamentary Friends of Australian Music event at NSW Parliament House last night. 

With over 100 members, ministers, senators and Parliament House staff in attendance, Icehouse, KLP, William Barton, Leah Flanagan and William Crighton spoke on "issues key to the contemporary music industry, including the importance of a strong live touring circuit, and support for music in a wide range of venues; music export opportunities; Australian content on radio and streaming services; music education; and the value of copyright," as well as performing. 

Icehouse frontman, Iva Davies, spoke about why it's important to have a sustainable metro and regional touring market. 

"In Australia we have the limitations of only a certain number of big cities, and so it’s great to go and work in regional Australia. Last year we played 35 shows, to over 300,000 people, an average of 10,000 people per show. A lot of those are regional places, like Kiama Showgrounds," he shared. 

"We’re travelling with a core touring party of 16 people, we’ve got managers, we’ve got bookkeepers, we’ve got agents, and then by the time we get to somewhere like Kiama, we’ve had people coming from Wollongong, from Nowra, from all over the place. Every hotel is full, every restaurant is buzzing, and we are employing around 400 people."

"The industry is running on its live business. And what radio and all those other outlets does is promote where the money is coming from and where the life blood of those artists come from, which is what we do – we perform. You can have your recording and listen to it whenever you want, and you can listen to your radio, but there’s one thing you’ll never be able to put in a bottle, and that is a performance."

KLP (Kristy Lee Peters) spoke on the need for music education and the role the SongMakers high school program, of which she is a mentor.

“Because of SongMakers, you don’t have to fumble your way into the music industry. You learn terms like booking agent, artist manager, topliner, which you really can’t in any other classroom," shared Peters. "And it helps set you on a career pathway to being a songwriter, a musician or maybe an industry professional.”

Emerging Sydney act Spruced Moose were also announced as the winner's for the 2018 AHA NSW Rockin’ The Puburbs competition. The initiative aims to support live music throughout NSW and to create opportunities for the next generation of musicians.