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: Dawn Singleton’s family launch legal action against Nine, Sydney Morning Herald. Words by Michaela Whitbourn. Source: The Sydney Morning Herald.
🎵 Music: Has SXSW abandoned music? Words by Stephen Green. Source: TheMusic.com.au.
📰 Media: Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer announce hit Aussie comedy Colin From Accounts to return for Season 3. Words by Christine Estera. Source: News.com.au.
💰 Advertising: Bonds taps Robert Irwin and Tkay Maidza for US debut. Words by Lauren McNamara. Source: Mumbrella.
📲 Tech: Google is allegedly paying some AI staff to do nothing for a year rather than join rivals. Words by Charles Rollet. Source: Tech Crunch.
📜 Government: The Australian government spent nearly $3m of taxpayer dollars advertising on Twitter/X in the first year after the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, took over the platform, despite warnings of brand reputation damage that caused the government to initially pause ads. Words by Josh Taylor. Source: The Guardian.
🌶️ Spicy: The Age’s Nick McKenzie rushes to stop chair-wielding assailant in Melbourne. Words by Daanyal Saeed. Source: Crikey.
Strength: Aussie Artists Recognised For Their Mammoth Year
The winners of the 2025 American Apparel Rolling Stone Australia Awards have been revealed.
👉 Amyl and the Sniffers had a massive night, taking home gongs for Best Live Act and Best LP/EP for Cartoon Darkness.
👉 Best Single, meanwhile, went to Thelma Plum for ‘Freckles’, while First Nations hip-hop collective 3% won Best New Artist.
👉 The Rolling Stone Global Award went to Dom Dolla, and the audience voted Readers’ Choice Award went to Keli Holiday.
👉 Iconic Aussie pubrockers Icehouse took to the stage to perform, and were crowned Rolling Stone Icons, an honour previously bestowed upon Tina Arena and Crowded House.
Weakness: Police Admit to Unlawful Actions at Music Festival
The New South Wales Government has admitted there was “no lawful basis” to strip search a woman at Splendour in the Grass in 2018.
👉 Despite the admission, the State maintains its position that the searches of thousands of other festivalgoers were lawful.
👉 NSW Police declined to comment when contacted by The Music Network, but the position will be tested at a class action, scheduled to commence on 5 May.
👉Rory Walsh, Slater and Gordin’s Practice Group Leader in Class Actions, said over 3,000 people have registered with the firm about the allegations.
👉 Redfern Legal Centre Supervising Solicitor, Sam Lee, said: “For decades, people have been humiliated, intimidated and often left traumatised by these experiences of police officers abusing their powers. This class action is about securing justice for those individuals and ensuring we put an end to these invasive and unlawful practices. This isn’t just about music festivals. It’s about the rights of everyone and the need for police to follow the law. Strip searches should never have been allowed to become routine practice.”
Opportunity: Multimillion-Dollar Investment in Australian Music
Spotify has launched Turn Up Aus, a multi-faceted marketing and engagement campaign to connect audiences to Australian music.
👉 The campaign features a new editorial hub, creating a home on the Spotify platform to spotlight Australian music, as well as three exclusive fan events, and industry education initiatives to better empower artists and teams.
👉 Turn Up Aus will also be highly visible, with an outdoor and social media campaign, enticing Australians to try new Australian artists on the platform.
👉 Spotify AUNZ Managing Director, Mikaela Lancaster, said: “We want to continue to grow this market. There's growth left. I know people question that, but Australia, according to the latest MIDiA research, grew faster than any of the other English-speaking markets, and a lot of that was driven by streaming. Having a healthy local, domestic market helps Spotify drive a healthy, thriving business and more revenues for artists.”
👉She added: “We designed Turn Up Aus to drive those real fans who drive active streams, which follows through to repeat listening through that user's own library, but then they're added to the user's Release Radar, their daily mixes, they have concerts recommended to them. Artists are going to ultimately be generating ongoing income by building those real fans.”
Threat: Iconic Venue Faces Closure
Justin Stanford, the owner of The Night Cat in Melbourne, has launched a campaign in a bid to halt the venue’s closure.
👉 For decades, The Night Cat has been a home for live music, playing host to artists including Amyl and the Sniffers, Charli XCX, Sampa The Great, and The Teskey Brothers.
👉 Owner Justin Stanford says The Night Cat now requires over $60,000 of upgrades, such as soundproofing and sound monitoring equipment as a result of increasing compliance demands from new developments in the area.
👉 He has turned to crowdfunding in a last-ditch effort to save the venue, saying: “As an independently owned venue, we simply can’t shoulder these costs alone and continue to operate.”
👉 You can read more about the campaign here, or donate here.
The Fun Stuff
Quote of the Week: “We finally buried the hatchet! I went to see Elton John perform on SNL [Saturday Night Live] this weekend! WOW. I remembered when I was in high school, I snuck out of the house one night to see Elton perform live in Detroit. It was an unforgettable experience that helped me understand the transformative power of music. Seeing him perform when I was in high school changed the course of my life. I had always felt like an outsider growing up, and watching him on stage helped me to understand that it was OK to be different – to stand out – to take the road less travelled by. In fact, it was essential. Over the decades, it hurt me to know that someone I admired so much shared his dislike for me publicly as an artist. I didn’t understand it. I was told Elton John was the musical guest on SNL and I decided to go. I needed to go backstage and confront him. When I met him, the first thing out of his mouth was ‘Forgive me’, and the wall between us fell down. Forgiveness is a powerful tool. Within minutes, we were hugging. Then he told me [he] had written a song for me and he wanted to collaborate. It was like everything came full circle! And you can tell everybody, This is Your Song,” Madonna, on ending her decades-long feud with Elton John (via Instagram).
🎧 Podcast of the Week: Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel recently appeared on The Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett. The topical (but long) conversation covers a lot of ground, but gets super interesting when he gives his take on Facebook, Meta and their Founder Mark Zuckerberg. You can listen on Spotify here.
👋 Team Tidbit: Welcome, Brooke Boland, who has joined Sound Story as a Consumer Communications Specialist! Brooke is a PR specialist with over 10 years of agency experience working with major consumer brands including Contiki, Levi's, Adore Beauty, and Hayu. Brooke also has a strong background in social and influencer marketing. Welcome, Brooke!
