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: A series of TikToks have caused a storm in the world of Australian politics, after various parties used an AI deepfakes of politicians to make videos of their political opponents dancing. The videos have been described by one politician as a “turning point in democracy”. Words by Lachlan Hodson. Source: Pedestrian.
🎵 Music: The lineup for triple j’s returning One Night Stand festival has been unveiled, featuring some of Australia’s biggest musicians. Words by Lauren McNamara Source: Mumbrella.
📰 Media: Nine execs make eleventh-hour offer, and ‘remain hopeful of a resolution’ as staff strike looms. Words by Nathan Jolly. Source: Mumbrella.
💰 Advertising: Netflix Q2 2024 results: Ad tier drives subscriber growth + partnerships yes, bundling no. Words by James Manning. Source: Mediaweek.
📲 Tech: Google has been quietly renewing deals worth tens of millions of dollars with Australian publishers but has added a clause allowing it to cancel them after each year. Words by Sam Buckingham-Jones. Source: The AFR.
📜 Government: The future of Australia's live music industry is being questioned at a federal government inquiry after a challenging year of venues closing and major festivals cancelling events. Words by Ned Hammond. Source: ABC News.
🌶️ Spicy: Rupert Murdoch is locked in a secret legal battle against three of his children over the future of the family’s media empire, as he moves to preserve it as a conservative political force after his death, according to a sealed court document obtained by The New York Times. Words by Jim Rutenberg & Jonathan Mahler. Source: The New York Times.
Strength: Big Announcements, Big Sound
More exciting announcements and lineups are coming out of two key music and ideas festivals.
👉 SXSW Sydney has revealed that Will Page, one of the most respected and globally recognised experts in music economics, will unveil new research into the Australian music and streaming landscape, at the event in October.
👉 The game-changing session comes thanks to two Sound Story clients Spotify Music and UNIFIED Music Group, who have partnered on the report.
👉 UNIFIED Music Group’s UNIFIED Artist Management, along with Community Music and Lonely Lands Agency, also announced which artists will be performing at its BIGSOUND Showcase on 5 September.
👉 The lineup includes rising star Vinnie Brigante, dreamy vocalist Azure Ryder, pop-folk songwriter ISHAN, captivating folk-soul maestro Cap Carter, and an acoustic set from four-piece rock sensation, Stand Atlantic.
👉 With BIGSOUND getting closer, it’s time to start planning your calendar!
Weakness: Where To Now For #MeToo?
The #MeToo movement has faced a number of setbacks and challenges in recent years. A few outlets this week have been exploring recent developments.
👉 Mumbrella had journalist, commentator and activist Tracey Spicer on the One-on-One Mumbrellacast podcast recently. You can listen to it here.
👉 In the podcast, Tracey discussed why a number of people escaped consequence free, despite a number of prominent people and high-powered media networks knowing about their actions.
👉 “We did have a lot of other names, but Australia’s defamation laws are utterly crippling and had a chilling effect on any more investigative journalism in that area, unfortunately,” she said.
👉 She added: “So until we have less hierarchical structures and a flatter kind of power situation at the networks, very little will change.”
👉 Rolling Stone AU/NZ’s Poppy Reid also explored what’s happened to a number of music industry executives since they were called out for their alleged behaviour.
Opportunity: Going Global
We’ve talked a lot in SWOT about the opportunity for Australian music to become an exporting powerhouse – and this week we found out who’s on track to do just that.
👉 Spotify Australia has unveiled its new Australian Music Global Impact List for the first half of 2024.
👉 The list recognises the Top 30 tracks from local artists which have resonated with global audiences.
👉 Melbourne hip-hop artist Lithe topped the list with his song ‘Fall Back’, which took off on various platforms online.
👉 Royel Otis’ triple j Like A Version cover of Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s 2001 smash ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’ also made the top five.
👉 Spotify Australia’s Artist & Label Partnership Lead, Leah Harris, said: “Now that we are in our second year of publishing our Spotify Australian Music Global Impact List, it’s been fantastic to see how both emerging and established acts continue to make a big impact overseas. The latest list, topped by Lithe, is an excellent snapshot of local artists having an impact on the global stage. We’re proud to be playing our part in helping Australian artists be discovered by global audiences to gain meaningful career growth and viable, long-term success as a result.”
Threat: Blue Screen of Death
There’s nothing like a Friday afternoon global technology meltdown. While we can’t offer any tech solutions (beyond ‘turn it off and turn it on again’, which may or may not have been the solution this time), we can offer advice on: How can companies embroiled in these issues respond when it feels like the whole world is melting down?
📌 Zanda: The Crowdstrike outage provided a different challenge for companies heavily affected compared with recent other outages connected with local telcos. The fact it was a global issue meant that companies in Australia and various other markets were faced with customer backlash as a result of an issue that they ostensibly couldn’t have done a whole lot to prevent, and in many cases, didn’t really understand (at the time at least). Despite this, the impact was stark, and the latest reports suggest the total cost to Aussie businesses could be over $1BN, with US Fortune 500 companies suffering to the tune of US$5.4BN. When faced with a situation you might not fully understand, a comms response needs to balance transparency with steps to resolve the matter. It has become clear in recent years that the interconnected nature of the world is resulting in more outages, bugs and cyber-attacks which have wide-reaching impacts. Businesses caught up must ensure that they have learned from what has come before, that their crisis comms strategy is up to date, and regularly practise what to do in such scenarios. It’s hard to imagine this is the last time such an incident will occur.
📌 Jane: Most of us have experienced data breaches, bugs or cyberattacks, but the idea that a botched upgrade could cause a global Microsoft Windows outage, crippling businesses, is shocking. This meltdown, caused by a cybersecurity company meant to prevent breaches and protect institutions like banks, media organisations, airlines, EFTPOS services and supermarkets, highlights the vulnerability of our technology-dependent world and how ill-prepared businesses are to manage this type of fallout.
Although CrowdStrike took responsibility and provided timely updates on what went wrong, investigations revealed their processes could have been better. Like most businesses, changes are only implemented after a crisis.
Despite last Friday’s outage, many companies won’t change their processes or recognise the need to have a clear communications plan to handle various scenarios or identify potential issues. Ongoing data breaches, outages, scams and privacy violations prove that businesses are not prepared. As society relies more on technology, a cashless economy, and data collection, we become more vulnerable, and this incident is unlikely to be the last. Unfortunately, many businesses will likely continue to rely on hope rather than proactive measures.
The Fun Stuff
Quote of the Week: “I personally was quite emotional. After everything we went through, to have an audience actually follow you from one station to another is quite big and personal. I honestly felt like for the first time, we belong,” new Nova Melbourne Breakfast co-host Jase Hawkins talking about being booted from KIIS FM, finding a new home at Nova 100, and the ongoing ‘radio wars’ with inter-city broadcasters Kyle & Jackie O.
📺 Show of the Week: Stuff the British Stole - Season Two (ABC)
Starting off as a podcast hosted by Walkley-award winning journalist Marc Fennell in 2020, ‘Stuff The British Stole’ is a hugely entertaining look at the various artefacts, paintings, and other antiquities taken by the British Empire throughout its reign. It became a fully fledged ABC TV show in 2023 and season two is currently airing (and available on iView). ‘Stuff The British Stole’ is both exactly what it says on the tin and so much more. Fennell’s interview style allows him to speak respectfully with experts on both sides, but he also doesn’t shirk away from asking tough questions of those in control of the places where artefacts have ended up. Should the British Museum and various other private collections give everything back to the respective countries from where it was originally taken? Absolutely. But Fennell dives into the reasons why in most cases this isn’t currently happening, as well as the grass roots movements trying to return ‘stuff’ to its place of origin.
🏆Win of the Week: UNIFIED Music Group, Lonely Lands Agency, Sound Story and Reconnected recently worked together to curate the first ever Nando’s Australia Chicken Shop Sessions. The event took place on Saturday – the same weekend which should have played host to Splendour in the Grass – and features ISHAN, CHAII, Nina Las Vegas and Coterie. Everyone was stoked to work with a brand which cares about music and wants to do more to support emerging creative talent. Check out the highlights HERE.
