01 Aug 2021 | 3 mins

We’ve got some insanely talented homegrown music artists in Australia, so it’s only fair that we back them when they need us the most.

From bringing us joy every single day through our Spotify playlists to being deadset legends when we see them at festivals - they should be supported and rallied around. Especially as their industry has been one of the worst hit.

 

The Sydney lockout laws implemented in 2014 ruptured the gigging scene, unethical festival management damaged the relationship between artists and our country - the music industry has survived through a lot but that begs the question, can they come back from a global pandemic?

According to I Lost My Gig Australia, 82,983 gigs have been cancelled from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021, with a massive 23,100 canned since the start of last month. Surveying industry professionals, only seven percent said they’d return to pre-Covid business, 60 percent would explore other industries and 35 percent would seek opportunities to work overseas.

$300 million has been lost in revenue for the industry that generates $4 to $6 billion for the economy according to Music Australia. We can do our part - stream their music, buy and wear their merch, support digital events but in such a massive loss, what can the bigger corporations and networks do to support our artists?

Jack River has called on Channel 7 and corporate Australia to play local music in their Olympics coverage, as well as in supermarkets, when people are on hold, adverts, banks - anywhere to keep local music alive.

 

Her message was loud and clear, with music greats like Lime Cordiale, Set Mo, Cub Sport, Kita Alexander, G Flip, Rüfüs Du Sol, Montaigne and Vera Blue all getting amongst it and charging the way. They’re sharing this on their platforms, tagging fellow artists, journalists and the big corporations to get on board.

Sunrise television host and Channel 7 journalist, Edwina Bartholomew responded by reposting with her following, that the Olympics arvo coverage will be blasting Aussie tunes and asked for requests + to tag our favourite musicians. So far, Channel 7 has lived up to this promise and are playing local artists - we love to see it!

The massive outpour of support has got Coles jumping on board now, stating that they’ll be adding more Aussie tracks to Coles Radio to play throughout their supermarkets within the next week. Bloody amazing news and super keen to hear it on my next shop!

 

For an industry that has been utterly decimated during this pandemic, the impact goes beyond just lost wages. These artists need to be kept afloat, be given the recognition and support they deserve to make sure they get through this. Heck, I have a lot to thank the artists and the industry for but my support can only go so far.

While this is a small win for our Aussie artists, there is still a long way to go but we'll still be here backing our artists all the way!