In this week’s State of Affairs, we talk Sydney lock out laws, look at the growing music market in Germany, announce the Queensland Music Awards nominees and look at the AIR charts for the week!
Lock-out Laws: Episode VI – Return of the Musician
Over the last week, the boiling tension behind Sydney’s Lockout Laws have come to a head after Premier Mike Baird’s statement via Facebook.
The statement defended the widely criticized lock-out laws and claimed Sydney was “more vibrant than ever’ despite a recent report stating foot traffic was down across .
A number of Australian musicians on the global stage including Flight Facilities, Nina Las Vegas and Alison Wonderland have taken to social media to address the impact the laws are having on Sydney’s music industry.
Among the arguments laid out by members of the industry include the closure of businesses leading to less gigs, less exposure and ultimately less income for musicians.
As well as the earlier bed time inhibiting Sydney’s ability to compete on a global scale with a shallow nightlife warding off interest from overseas acts and industry figureheads.
“Let’s start with a statistic about Sydney’s nightlife that matters: alcohol related assaults have decreased by 42.2 per cent in the CBD since we introduced lock-out laws,” said Baird’s Facebook post.
These statics have been met with skepticism after a commenter points out that publicly accessible crime data suggests this decrease has been happening over the last 12 years and can be attributed to licenses introduced in 2004, not the lock-out laws.
Reclaim the Streets will be gathering on March 19 to protest the lock-out laws and demand their dance floor back. For more information click here.
Germany’s Recorded Music Market Grows 3.9%
According to a new report Germany’s recorded music market has grown 3.9% in the last year to a substantial €1.54 billion.
This was the first time since 2009 that the recorded music market had exceeded the €1.5 billion barrier, hopefully signalling a rejuvenation of the industry in Germany.
Germany is the world’s third biggest recorded music territory by value according to the IFPI following Japan then the US at number 1 valued to be worth US$6.9 billion, Australia sits at number 6.
A significant growth can be found in the revenue of subscription streaming services whose contribution to that market has almost double in the last year from €108 million in 2014 to €213 million in 2015.
“2015 was a very important year, especially for music from the cloud… No doubt due to the considerable media attention they have received.. the high growth dynamic shows, streaming services are now reaching a broader public,” said BVMI Managing Director Dr. Florian Drucke.
Here’s a cheeky little pie chart.
Queensland Music Awards Announce Finalists
The finalist have been announced for the 2016 Queensland Music Awards, with 14 genres and 21 awards the night will showcase and recognize the best of Queensland music.
Over fifty judges from across the country have selected a list of finalists across the various categories, including Eves The Behavior, Velociraptor, Violent Soho, Avaberée, Caligula’s Horse, Sahara Beck and many more
Another highlight of the night will be the awarding of Arts Queensland’s $10,000 Billy Thorpe Scholarship to an emerging Queensland based contemporary musician or band. The scholarship is an initiative of the Queensland Government to support new local talent. The four finalists in the running for this award are Babaganouj, FOREVR, Leanne Tennant and Luke Peacock.
The 2016 Queensland Music Awards will be held on March 21 at the Brisbane Powerhouse, New Farm featuring performances by The Belligerents, Ayla, Astro Travellers, Amy Show, Standby Empire and more. For more information and to view the list visit their website.
AIR Charts Round Up
This week in the AIR independent singles charts we see Flume holding to the number 1 position for its third week in a row with Never Be Like You. The Rubens hold on to their Hoops at number 2 riding the wave of hottest 100 victory and Flume recieves another entry at number 3 with Smoke & Retribution.
In the independent albums charts we see plenty of new entries including SIA’s new album ‘This is Acting’ taking up the top spot in its first week.
An inspiring piece from the album charts comes from unsigned and independent Sydney metalcore act Polaris having pulled into #2 on the album charts upon the release of their EP The Guilt and the Grief.
100% INDEPENDENT SINGLES
10. Flight Facilities – Down To Earth
Check out the rest of the charts here.
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