Welcome to SWOT by Sound Story, your inside track on the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats looming for the creative industries.
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⚡ Trending: John Farnham has detailed abuse he suffered at the hands of his first manager, who drugged, manipulated, was sexually aggressive towards him in the early stages of his career and “used to treat me like a piece of meat”. Words by Angus Delaney. Source: The SMH.
🎵 Music: Untitled Group’s Pete Sofo, Yours and Owls’ Adam Smith Among New Faces on AFA Board. Words by Lars Brandle. Source: The Music Network.
📰 Media: ABC’s triple j refreshes brand identity after 15 years. Words by Matthew Leong. Source: Mumbrella.
💰 Advertising: There is an exciting opportunity for brands to connect with emerging filmmakers and artists as the next era of creative entrepreneurs. Words by Domenic Scriva. Source: LBB.
📲 Tech: Universal Music uses AI voice cloning tool to create Spanish-language version of Brenda Lee’s hit ‘Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree’. Words by Murray Stassen. Source: Music Business Worldwide.
📜 Government: Live music venues in NSW will gain extra protection against threats to their survival under new measures introduced by the Minns Labor Government. Source: NSW Government.
🌶️ Spicy: ‘Do better than me’: Raygun’s latest ‘cringe’ move savaged by Aussies. Words by Matthew Sullivan. Source: News.com.au.
Strength: Australia on the World Stage (Well, Screen)
This week was a huge one for the local independent music scene.
Local Australian screen productions are being taken international via the streaming giants, and are finding fans across the world.
👉 It was only last year that The Sydney Morning Herald was lamenting and questioning: “Why does it appear as though Australian TV is failing to punch through?”
👉 Now, some 20 months later, we are exporting The Office Australia to the world, seemingly to great success. The show has become the most-watched locally produced title ever on Prime Video, and has also topped the charts in New Zealand and Singapore. It's in the top 3 shows in 37 countries, the top 5 in 65, and top 10 in 102.
👉 Sarah Christie, Head of Australian Originals at Amazon MGM Studios, said: “Since 2019, Prime Video has commissioned 30 local originals, building a reputation for delivering an entertaining and diverse catalogue of Aussie shows. We are so proud of The Office and thrilled to see Hannah Howard and her team at Flinley Craddick resonate so strongly with Australian and international audiences.”
👉 This content export success story follows the likes of Colin From Accounts, Boy Swallows Universe and, of course, Bluey finding a slew of viewers and fans abroad.
👉 As The SMH said last year: “We should be aiming for something that has never happened before: exciting, fresh and engaging Australian TV across a range of genres that resonates locally, and shows off the breadth of Australia to the world.”
Weakness: Albo’s Myriad Missteps
The Prime Minister certainly isn’t short of a communications challenge this week.
👉 Anthony Albanese’s (most recent round of) messaging missteps started when news emerged he had bought a coastal property while many of his constituents struggled.
👉 His fallback/ default position of reminding the voting public that he grew up in social housing – “I also know what it is like to struggle. My mum lived in the public housing that she was born in for all of her 65 years” – didn’t dispel people’s distaste.
👉 People who revel in labelling the PM a “Champagne Socialist” were given yet more fodder when countless stories started emerging about his close relationship with former embattled Qantas CEO, Alan Joyce, and the favours/ upgrades he may have pulled while in public office.
👉 The Sydney Morning Herald said his “bewildering behaviour” of late has been rubbing people the wrong way, and “doesn’t pass the pub test” – even if the elusive and exclusive Chairman’s Lounge “is a deplorable influence-peddling exercise that catches just about all federal parliamentarians and senior bureaucrats in its web”.
👉 Despite the PM’s denials of wrongdoing, his slow response – because his team needed “to check decades of communications” to confirm the facts – has not eased his PR nightmare.
Opportunity: It’s Time! Ausmusic Month is Here!
It’s the most wonderful time of the year…
👉 November is Ausmusic Month!
👉 In previous years, Ausmusic Month has prompted a raft of initiatives aimed at boosting the profile and prominence of Australian music.
👉 This included TikTok launching a dedicated music hub and programming lineup, and the ever-popular Coles Radio ramping up its spins of local tunes.
👉 This year, a bunch of brands are already on board for Ausmusic T-Shirt Day on 28 November. The day aims to celebrate local music and talent, while raising funds for Australian music workers in crisis, via Support Act.
👉 You can buy a T-shirt, sign up to fundraise, or donate to HERE.
Threat: Culture Wars and Culture Flaws
As some of the country’s largest hospitality and media giants have their internal wars and flaws laid bare, they all have significant work to do to fix their communications and their cultures.
👉 Seven West Media’s Director of News and Current Affairs, and Editor-in-Chief, Anthony DeCeglie, came out swinging with a wide ranging speech at the Melbourne Press Club, which covered everything from calling for subsidies, to an exploration of the company’s “high-performance culture”.
👉 He also claimed to enforce a “no dickheads policy” at the media giant, which certainly raised some eyebrows.
👉 SWM is, afterall, a company which has faced the communications and cultural challenges of having someone who was declared a war criminal to a civil standard as their General Manager in Queensland; not to mention all its other dramas and debacles this year.
👉Dickheads, of course, do not exist exclusively at Seven. Nine is facing its own ongoing fallout from the report into its culture which revealed systemic abuse issues with a real human cost.
👉 And a slew of other big-name companies – including NSW hospitality giant Merivale – could yet to have their own reckoning after revelations in Nine’s papers about sexual harassment, exploitation and drug use.
The Fun Stuff
Quote of the Week: “I’ve worked on this upcoming album for four years and I’ve poured everything I have into it, so I need to pay respect to that effort and the art I’ve created. Whoever has the audacity to take my chair, don’t get too comfortable… I will wrestle for it back with zero dignity when I’m ready to return,” Guy Sebastian on taking “a break from the best red chair on the planet” and giving up his role as a coach on The Voice Australia (via Instagram).
🤳 App of the Week: Broad Radio has recruited a stellar lineup of co-hosts, presenters and guests – including Music Director Tracee Hutchison – for its daily programming. Everyone from Jo Stanley to Marieke Hardy, Ella Hooper, Michala Banas, Leila Gurruwiwi and Nelly Thomas are involved in the game-changing project, so why not give it a listen? You can download the app here.
👋 Team Tidbit: The Sound Story team is growing, and we have a talented new duo to introduce. Welcome to Geoff Cope-Watts and Mick Walsh. We’re so happy to have you on board.
