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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Welcome to SWOT by Sound Story, your weekly inside track on the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats looming for the creative industries.
⚡ Trending: Disney seeks to dismiss wrongful death lawsuit over widower’s Disney+ free trial. Words by Anna Betts. Source: The Guardian.
🎵 Music: Why Ziggy Ramo turned to vinyl to share his message about righting past wrongs. Source: SBS News.
📰 Media: ‘It’s an industry-wide issue’: Top lawyer says ‘more people coming forward’ after Four Corners’ Seven investigation. Words by Nathan Jolly. Source: Mumbrella.
💰 Advertising: The advertising industry is shifting to a more junior staff base, as mid level to seniors lose their jobs and new roles remain scarce. Source: AdNews.
📲 Tech: APRA AMCOS has just released the most comprehensive study of its kind in the region, shedding light on the profound impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the music industry in Australia and New Zealand. Words by Jessica Lynch. Source: The Music Network.
📜 Government: 'We're being softened up,' says Labor backbencher on government's move to water down gambling ad changes. Words by Jacob Greber. Source: ABC News.
🌶️ Spicy: Company’s anonymous staff survey backfires. Words by Alex Turner-Cohen. Source: News.com.au.
Strength: Podcast Powerhouses
There’s been some noticeable momentum behind a couple of local independent podcasts in recent weeks, pointing to the strength of the medium, and Australia’s creative output in this space.
👉 This piece in The Australian Financial Review charts the rise and rise of the Shameless Media empire – which encompasses podcasts including Shameless, The Shameless Book Club, Style-ish, Scandal, Everybody Has A Secret and the forthcoming Glass.
👉 “Because Shameless was built without the backing of a media organisation, it is uniquely positioned to dodge the challenges inherent in Meta’s ban on news, and the advertising struggles that dog traditional media,” the piece by Lauren Sams muses.
👉 And one of Australia’s most successful podcasting exports Toni and Ryan has tapped into yet another international fan base, taking the show to London for its third birthday.
👉 The birthday bash was held at a (what turned out to be a not-so) secret location, with fans coming from far and wide to celebrate three years of content, laughs and chaos.
👉 The podcast has churned out over 700 episodes, and is now looking to what’s next after signing with Acast.
Weakness: What’s Going on With Patrick Delany?
Sometimes when you’re reading a story about a media executive, you think “Well, this can’t get any worse”. Well, as it turns out, sometimes it can get worse.
👉 Such was the case for former Fox Sports turned full Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany.
👉 You might remember Patrick from previous episodes of “Media Execs Doing/ Saying Offensive Things” from the 2022 season, when he described Game of Thrones’ Emilia Clarke as “the dumpy-looking girl…”
👉 His latest instalment started when a decade-old photo was uncovered by Crikey, appearing to show him doing a Nazi salute.
👉 Delany’s apology was emphatic, but his explanation for the egregious event was less clear. It seemed he couldn’t quite remember why he would do such a thing, but perhaps he was demonstrating its similarity to a gesture done by some sports fans… Maybe?
👉 And then the video resurfaced, showing that’s not exactly what happened. Damage control started again for Patrick, who must be starting to wonder who’s been holding onto this damaging material, why it’s coming out now, and what could be next…
Opportunity: A Mammoth Week for Music Festivals
Local music festivals are back in the headlines, and it seems like there might be a reason to celebrate.
👉 Untitled Group’s Beyond The Valley has released what triple j has described as a “thumping line-up” for a “New Years rager”.
👉 Tickets go on sale next week, but online and industry sentiment for the line-up – which includes FISHER, Ice Spice, Royel Otis, Natasha Bedingfield, Confidence Man, Sugababes, The Rions and BARKAA – has been overwhelmingly positive.
👉 Good Things also got in on the action this week with Korn, Sum 41, Violent Femmes, Bowling For Soup, Killing Heidi, The Living End and Jet just some of the acts to hit Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane later this year.
👉 Bluesfest also revealed its line-up for what is being touted as its final-ever festival.
👉 Crowded House, Ocean Alley, Vance Joy, Tones And I, Brad Cox and multiple international acts have made it onto the bill. With such a strong line-up, and the ensuing enthusiastic response, could this be a ‘John Farnham-style’ “final” outing for Bluesfest?
Threat: Hall of Headlines
And finally, a local music conversation which really should be positive and celebratory is turning out to be anything but. We refer, of course, to the ARIA Hall of Fame dialogue.
👉 Last year, Jet (part of the Good Things line-up above) received the honour, which was met with some cynicism as it conveniently coincided with an upcoming tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of the band’s debut album.
👉 It seems that cynicism has only intensified with the news that Australian music trailblazer Missy Higgins will be inducted this year.
👉 Bernard Zuel prosecuted the case that “Missy Higgins is a star, but the decision to induct her into the Hall of Fame is ridiculous”, arguing that the music industry body is “developing a habit of comical misjudgement now”.
👉 Poppy Reid was on the defence, contending the current dialogue is “dark”, “illuminating” and filled with “inconsistency” – all of which could point to “something more sinister” (being an oppressive and sexist diatribe).
👉 Given the lack of agreement, and the opportunity to celebrate deserving Aussie talent, perhaps it’s time to revive the idea of a standalone Hall of Fame event for ARIA? This might help reward more of those we all want to see recognised, redress the gender imbalance, and offer up another chance to elevate the local industry.
The Fun Stuff
Quote of the Week: “To my late dad, who on the first day going to Channel 7 he said, ‘Just be nice to everyone’. That was 40 years ago and I remember it to this day. After a while he said, ‘Hey, how is it going?’, and I said ‘Dad, there are so many arseholes in this business,” Larry Emdur during his Gold Logie acceptance speech.
📺 TV Show of the Week: Some of the Sound Story brains trust are following a dysfunctional team of MI5 agents — and their obnoxious boss (the notorious Jackson Lamb) — as they navigate the espionage world's smoke and mirrors to defend England from sinister forces. Three seasons of Slow Horses are streaming now on Apple TV, with S4 scheduled to drop next month.
🏆 Win of the Week: Earlier this month, the CEO of Sound Story client UNIFIED Music Group, Jaddan Comerford, went to India to attend and speak at the All About Music conference in Mumbai. One of the Group’s artists, ISHAN, also played his debut pop-up show in Mumbai. Read more about Jaddan’s experience here.
