Following Jack River’s call-out, Australia’s industry launches ‘Our Soundtrack Our Stories’ campaign
With Australia in lockdown and the country’s Olympians going for gold overseas, the music industry is waving its flag with a new campaign.
Unveiled Thursday (Aug. 5), Our Soundtrack Our Stories is a cross-industry project which calls on corporations, media and “anyone willing to listen” to soundtrack Australian lives with homegrown music.
Our Soundtrack Our Stories invites the wider business community and beyond to discover, champion, share, and consume more local music, which, in short time, will generate essential streaming and sales royalties for struggling artists.
#OurSoundtrackOurStories https://t.co/vuRlu7JCJm
— ARIA (@ARIA_Official) August 5, 2021
Organisers want it to spreads like a virus, one that actually helps the music industry.
Right now, more than 16 million Australians are restricted in their day-to-day movements. Melbourne is in its sixth lockdown, tens of thousands in Brisbane are in quarantine and the music community is in a particularly dark place.
The industry’s hardship is brought into sharp focus in a new report from I Lost My Gig, which found artists and professionals had lost $64 million in revenue lost since July 1, with almost the entire sum uninsurable. The real figure is significantly higher,” reads a statement announcing the Our Soundtrack campaign.
“This push will invite everyday people to view this country’s music in a new light.”
Launched today, is an initiative to soundtrack Australian lives with Australian music. One simple move will have a monumental impact on the lives of our homegrown, globally-loved, local artists whose livelihoods have been rocked by the ongoing pandemic. #OurSoundtrackOurStories pic.twitter.com/ZWXGEoQ60D
— Jimmy Barnes (@JimmyBarnes) August 5, 2021
The gameplan is a simple one. Play more Australian music, more of the time.
A factsheet shared by the pool of partners recommends business owners play local music in their stores and business (and, of course, obtain the right licence by visiting OneMusic), spin a radio station that champions local artists, and share the campaign social assets.
To join the movement, artists are encouraged to work their social accounts, push the assets, tag businesses that should do more (and give a shout-out to the supporters), create and share themed playlists, and get creative.
“It exists to promote our artists, promote the enormous economic and cultural contribution of local music, and to ensure a bright, bold, diverse and exciting future for the next generation of musicians and music lovers alike,” a statement reads.
The word is out. Jimmy Barnes, Nina Las Vegas, Jon Stevens, Ben Lee, ARIA, Frontier Touring, APRA AMCOS and many others are pushing the campaign from their social accounts.
I can't stress to the Independent artists looking over the #OurSoundtrackOurStories info – please please please make sure your APRA AMCOS / PPCA registration is current and up-to-date.
— Nina Las Vegas (@ninalasvegas) August 5, 2021
Can I also suggest educating yourself about "one stop" clearances!
https://t.co/jd5EWfpRMD
Our Soundtrack Our Stories arrives on the heels of Jack River’s impassioned plea to Channel 7 to sync Aussie music with its Olympics coverage, and for other big business to lift their game.
The indie artist and entrepreneur’s words didn’t fall on deaf ears. Channel 7, Channel 9, Coles, 7-Eleven and Bank Australia listened and have taken action.
As previously reported, 7-Eleven pledged to pump Aussie tunes from its 700-plus network of stores from Aug. 1.
To play a part in Our Soundtrack Our Stories, use the hashtag #OurSoundtrackOurStories on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.
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