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: Is the Oasis comeback coming to Perth? Here’s why it makes sense. Words by Lars Brandle. Source: The Music Network.
🎵 Music: Even with an ongoing cost-of-living crisis raging, a majority of punters have shared that live music is a “priority expense,” per the third annual State Of Play report. Words by Mary Varvaris. Source: The Music.
📰 Media: Which media executives took home the fattest bonuses? Words by Daanyal Saeed. Source: Crikey.
💰 Advertising: Advertisers concerned as Privacy Act changes enter Parliament this week. Words by Aimee Edwards. Source: B&T.
📲 Tech: Seven West Media has set up the Seven AI Factory, a Generative AI and machine learning team. Source: AdNews.
📜 Government: Will Labor's media reforms run out of time before the election? Words by Tim Burrowes. Source: Unmade.
🌶️ Spicy: The Sydney Morning Herald has apologised after putting a photo of the wrong man, labelled as ‘crime boss’, on the front page. Words by Nathan Jolly. Source: Mumbrella.
Strength: New Era for ARIA Hall of Fame
There was a lot of noise at BIGSOUND this week – whether it be music industry friends and executives chatting on high stools in bars, Tones and I delivering an uplifting keynote about grit and creativity, or the multiple showcases from artists showing why they could (and should) be the next big thing.
👉 One thing a lot of people were making noise about though was the conference address from ARIA CEO, Annabelle Herd.
👉 Herd revealed that in 2026, its Hall of Fame accolade will break out into a separate, standalone event, inducting many deserving artists in the process.
👉 Herd said: “It’s something we’ve had in the pipeline for some time and a decision that was made by the board to recognise the incredible contribution many others have made to the Australian music landscape and we’ll be announcing more details next year because being inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame is a special moment and an important one for an artist.”
👉 She said: “We know that there are still many, many deserving artists who have yet to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. But as much as we exist to celebrate great art and artistry, we also exist to promote Australian artists and the Hall of Fame is a two-way street.”
👉 She also noted that traditionally, each year one artist is selected “to give them their true, deserving moment in the spotlight closing out the awards and we want that artist to be just as excited about their entry as we are. Believe it or not, there are artists we approach who aren’t just aren’t keen, or aren’t keen yet, to be inducted.”
Weakness: Turning Super Fans into Toxic Fans?
We’ve talked a lot about ‘superfans’ before, and they were on the agenda this year at BIGSOUND with a packed room and a powerhouse panel.
👉 The ‘Fangirl’ panel delved into what separates a casual fan and a superfan, the sense of community that comes with superfandom, how superfans drive much of the music economy, the role and importance of teenage girls and women in superfandom and purchase decisions, and the lessons from superfandom that can be implemented for those working in the music industry.
👉 The panel also touched on the competitiveness and toxicity that can emerge within these spaces.
👉 Jess Dale from Tiny Triumphs Management (and a Pearl Jam superfan) said: “It can be pretty nasty, but I think… most people try to stay away from it. There’s a lot of competitiveness in terms of people lining up for the queue for GA [general admission] spots. There’s also a lot of competition around merch as well, and people getting collectibles and that kind of thing. Particularly I’ve seen some weird behaviour around band interactions as well, some jealousy comes out in people in nasty ways. But I choose to stay away from that.”
👉 Kamran Haq, the National Promoter and Senior Booker for Download Festival, said of his experiences with the negative side of superfans: “It’s come to the point where sometimes we get some people who are actually obsessed with our curation of the festival, that we don’t book the right bands. We’ve had people give us death threats, abuse online… We’ve had one case that actually went to court… It’s pretty stressful to say the least, especially when you’re trying to do your job, essentially.”
👉 Mardi Caught from The Annex admitted she’s on the fence when it comes to who’s to blame for superfans crossing the line: “I know as a marketing person, we actually engage and, last year everyone kept using the word ‘superfan’. And fans have always been around. A lot of people don’t recognise that fans are actually audience. And respect to what [Chappell Roan] is saying about boundaries being crossed, but at the same time, labels are using tech that will create a leaderboard and pit the fans against each other… So you kind of can’t have it both ways where we’re encouraging and indulging in trying to harness and market to the superfan, and then also go ‘Nah, we don’t want you’.”
👉 On a more positive note, Caught also noted how superfan enthusiasm and engagement can help the music industry tap into trends and deliver what audiences are seeking, where they’re seeking it: “I think it’s mote that [superfans] become indicators of where you are actually gaining traction. So, for example, with Royel Otis when we knew that actually this was bigger than just one thing was when we were seeing fan pages go up and when someone comments “Come to Brazil” [that’s when you know]. So for us it was a really great indicator of ‘Actually there is more to this than what we think it is”.
👉 UNIFIED Artist Management’s Ash Hills similarly uses the positives of superfandom to get more for her artists: “Teen Jesus [and the Jean Teasers] have some really beautiful fans, and then we’ve got quite a few fan-created Instagram accounts that often find news about the band before I do… But we’ve filtered a lot of their fans into Facebook Groups and Discord channels and we communicate directly to them and the band communicate directly to them in there, and they get first notice about shows, merch, everything, and it’s a beautiful community.”
Opportunity: Fixing the Charts
ARIA CEO, Annabelle Herd, also used BIGSOUND as an opportunity to talk to the music industry and media about the opportunity in front of us to fix the ARIA Charts – and to get it right.
👉 On the recent criticism about the current state of the ARIA Charts, she said: “Either they are irrelevant to artists and audiences and everyone, or, they are the single cause for the failure of Australian music, not just in Australia, but globally. Sometimes both at once.”
👉 She also wants you to know, that she already knows there is an issue: “I just want to be 100% clear, despite some really great recent results – and they are great and we absolutely should be proud of them and singing from the rooftops – we are fully aware of the problem we have on the ARIA main Charts… And for that reason, for the best part of this year, we’ve been looking at options around how the Charts are calculated. We are definitely not ignoring the chance to change or evolve the Charts. But the time and resources required to assess potential changes that would actually benefit Australian artists are significant. It does take time.”
👉 So, what next? “I want to be really clear that it is finding the benefit to Australian artists that’s what is important here and what’s important to us. And there’s a lot of suggestions around things that could or should be changed, but at the end of the day, no one actually knows if any of that would actually help. There are also different views in industry, particularly around the weighting of physical versus streaming. And I can tell you, for example, that after many months of modelling the New Zealand chart changes, in our market we can show that it shows very minimal improvement for Australian artists. We’re currently modelling the U.K. chart rules to see what impact that has. We’re open to looking at other practical suggestions and we are looking at some ourselves to see what is feasible and what will have an impact. But it will take time and we want to get it right, and we won’t make changes unless they move us forward.”
👉 She continued: “And we do also have to make sure that our Charts are rigorous and broadly consistent with international standards as they currently are. The key to understand though is that we are working towards positive change, we just have to get it right, because the Charts are very important both as the comprehensive data source in Australia, but also as a marketing tool for music. But they are neither the cause or the solution for the current situation. And I recognise that they are a punching bag, and I get the frustration, and that is fine. But for those who are keen to engage, we really need to be realistic about what changing the Charts can achieve.”
Threat: Remaining Relevant
Another BIGSOUND speaker, was Korda Marshall, who spoke to The Music Network's Lars Brandle ahead of his session.
👉 In the chat, Marshall explored the ongoing difficulties of breaking through the noise:“It’s always been really, really hard to break artists, and it’s always been really, really hard to have a hit, by definition of the processes. It is harder now, when there’s 100,000-120,000 songs being uploaded each day to every DSP.”
👉 He added: “You can’t sit around waiting for a record label anymore, and ultimately you have to just be really, really, really good, which you always had to be really. But now you have to be even better. And that’s true in every measure of society, whether you’re a cabinet-maker or a filmmaker. All the mediums are changing.”
The Fun Stuff
Quote of the Week: “I stand here today as an artist that cannot be managed, I am proudly the worst artist to manage. I don’t take no for an answer. I’m tough as nails. I have 20 weird ideas a day. I do everything in my own way, which usually involves a lot more work for everyone but a better outcome,” Tones And I delivering her keynote address at this week’s BIGSOUND conference.
🎵 Musicians of the Week: The Sound Story team saw so many showcases at BIGSOUND this week, it’s hard to know where to start, but why not check out ISHAN, Vinnie Brigante, total tommy, Azure Ryder, Cap Carter, Gypsy Schmidt, Y.O.G.A., Stand Atlantic and Wade Forster.
🏆 Win of the Week: Lonely Lands Agency has exclusively revealed to The Music Network that it's hired Adam 'Monty' Montgomery, bringing artists such as Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers, Cap Carter, Hooligan Hefs and South Summit with him into the booking agency's fold.
