Lyrics by Christie Eliezer

Mushroom & Coles Mentor First Nations Musos, 131 Victorian Halls Get Funded & More!

Not up to date with all the recent happenings in the music industry? We don’t blame you. Here’s a roundup of all the biggest Australian music industry news from the past fortnight.

Headlines :

• Mushroom & Coles Mentor First Nations Musos.
• 131 Victorian sites obtain funding.
• The Australian Court dismisses Viagogo’s appeal.

Keep up to date with the latest industry news here.

Festival Pass considers entry into Australia

US live event service Festival Pass, which allows punters to enjoy thousands of events for a monthly subscription, is coming to Australia.

Founder Ed Vincent told Billboard it was expanding globally outside of the United States — first in Europe, then Australia, followed by Asia and Latin America.

“Our roadmap timing will be driven by regional needs for our product or service and will allow us to find associates to help us mature in almost any location,” he said.

Festival Pass events feature cover music, film, food and wine, art, sports, theater and technology.

Vincent says a global live community has been created in the huge post-pandemic demand and evolution of entertainment to Web 3.

US subscriptions range from $19 to $99 per month. It’s too early to tell what additional benefits Australian subscribers will get.

But Americans pay up to 30% less for 80,000 events, get early access to artist NFTs, and can get big hotel discounts.

The global event industry is expected to reach US$200 billion in 2026, and the online event ticketing market size is expected to reach US$68 billion by 2025.

ARIA prices on the move

The ARIA Awards are moving to the Hordern Pavilion on Sydney’s Gadigal Land this year and will be held on Thursday 24 November.

They air on the Nine Network and stream to the rest of the world on YouTube.

This is the fourth year of its partnership with YouTube, with last year’s awards racking up more than 1.7 million views on YouTube, according to ARIA.

Over the past 12 months, 67 Australian releases have landed in the Top 10 of the ARIA Albums Chart, and 13 Australian albums have reached No. 1.

Mushroom & Coles Mentor First Nations Musos

Mushroom Group and Coles have partnered to mentor First Nations musicians.

It’s via the Coles First Nations Trail which was originally set up for the sport and designed by Mushroom, with heralded mentors like Emily Wurramara and Nooky.

The program will teach young aspirants how the music industry works, increase their skills and help them land jobs.

Coles Radio will play more indigenous music and ask mentors to host dedicated segments.

Mushroom was among the first to champion Indigenous artists like Archie Roach and Yothu Yindi and today is affiliated with Dan Sultan, Emily Wurramara, Troy Cassar-Daley and Baker Boy.

Coles Group is one of the largest private sector employers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) people and has had an ATSI plan since 2009 focusing on employment, supply chain, partnerships community and cultural learning.

131 Victorian theaters get funding

The Victorian government has awarded 131 metro and regional venues grants of up to $65,000 under its Concert Hall Support Scheme.

Targeting only small and medium-sized rooms (capacity of 50 to 1,200 seats), find the list here.

Creative Industries Minister Danny Pearson traveled to Queenscliff to make the announcement to Blues Train, one of the recipients.

Since 1994, the Blues Train has taken 300,000 guests on a local heritage journey punctuated by local blues and roots musicians.

Another local recipient has been Queenscliff Town Hall, which opened as a concert venue last year as part of a partnership between the Queenscliff Music Festival and the Borough of Queenscliff to address the lack of rooms in the region.

QMusic Launches Theater Safety Program

Queensland Music Association QMusic has launched Safe Places, a pilot program that promotes respectful, safe and inclusive behavior for women, First Nations and LGBTIQA+ members in music venues.

“Across the music industry, we need to start the conversation about change, create safety in our venues, improve customer confidence, and educate people on how to get help,” Kris said. Stewart, CEO of QMusic.

The pilot begins with a small and a large hall, The Zoo and The Fortitude Music Hall.

Last week, their staff received training from the MATE program, to learn the skills to be proactive in recognizing and resolving problem behaviors, which prevents problems.

It started last Friday during the Holy Holy show at Fortitude Music Hall, followed by the Bronx concert at the zoo on May 24.

The leadership training follows a Queensland Government roundtable QMusic attended to discuss safety in hospitality and music venues.

Data presented at the roundtable revealed a 30% increase in reports of sexual offenses in or around licensed locations, compared to 2016; It is estimated that sexual assault reporting itself is under-reported by up to 70%.

Australian court rejects Viagogo’s appeal

Australia’s Full Federal Court has dismissed an appeal by Viagogo of an April 2019 Federal Court ruling that found the Swiss-based ticket retailer had misled consumers and, in October 2020, imposed on it a fine of seven million dollars.

These involved not disclosing additional fees like a 27.6% reservation fee until later in the transaction, claiming to be the official reseller of certain tickets and that certain tickets were rare.

The appeals court said May 18 that Viagogo failed to prove the original judge erred.

Viagogo, which said it had changed its practices since the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission brought the case in August 2017, called the $7 million penalty “grossly excessive”. But the new discovery said he had to spit.

Learn more here.

Synch Watch: G Flip for Subaru, The Kid Laroi for Maccas

Subaru Australia Ambassador G Flip has created a catchy tune and music video for the campaign behind the Subaru XV compact SUV.

G Flip said, “I have loved cars since I was a kid and grew up with Subaru in my family.

“My dad used to drive me to school in his Subaru and my earliest childhood memories are of road trips in that car.

“So when Subaru invited me to be their ambassador, I was thrilled!”

McDonald’s has Kamilaroi man The Kid Laroi on his first local Famous Orders campaign, featuring his new single ‘Thousand Miles’ from this week.

In the ad, his order is a no-pickle cheeseburger, medium fries, medium frozen Coke, and six-piece chicken McNuggets with barbecue sauce.

What age group listens to Eurovision in Australia?

Eurovision can come across as a glitzy pop Gen-X event with heavy social media interaction.

To be sure, last year’s global breakdown saw the TV share of the 15-24 group at 52%, an increase of 7%.

Of the 50.6 million people who watched this week on the official YouTube channel, 71% were in the 18-34 age bracket.

But a report by research firm Luminate reveals the image is now only applicable to France, Portugal, Spain and Ireland.

Australian viewers are mostly baby boomers, he says, as are the UK, Germany, Italy and Poland.

Their weekly music consumption is at the lower end of the scale, averaging 11 hours per week, similar to Ireland.

Italian viewers, at the other end of the scale, tune in an average of 22 hours a week.

But there is still a large amount of Australian consumption of all things Eurovision, especially this year when Sheldon Riley made it through to the final before collapsing.

According to SBS, the grand finale drew 400,000 viewers (a 38.9% increase), including 196,000 for the 5 a.m. live broadcast and 204,000 for the evening replay.

The second semi-final, with Riley, drew 221,000 viewers. In February, Australia Decides peaked at 189,000.

Australia’s initial Eurovision deal expires next year. Its local representatives have held talks with the bigwigs and believe the deal will be extended.

The United States is joining Eurovision, with New Zealand and Canada also looking keen to get on board.

Go here to find out more about Eurovision.