The Hook: Was the Government right to award Empire of the Sun a touring grant?

30 August 2010

Tim Levinson (Urthboy)
Managing Director Elefant Traks

It’s understandable that people get upset at Empire of the Sun being supported, but we should be more pissed off that the Government doesn’t really believe in original Australian contemporary music. The real issue here is that Government funding for original work is a fraction of the funding for operas and orchestras, who rarely perform original work.

Classical music and operas receive somewhere around 90% of the funding and the rest of us are fighting for the crumbs. And the perceived commercial viability of each grant is a significant component of the judging criteria. For those of us involved in making -- or in the business of – creating contemporary music, it makes better sense to work together to obtain a fairer portion of the funding pie.

David Vodicka
Managing Director, The Rubber Group of Companies

It’s a very fine line. When you start making judgement calls because you think a band is successful enough, you don’t really know what goes on behind the scenes.

The outward trappings of success isn’t always the reality. If Empire of the Sun applied for the grant and met the criteria, and the Council elected to give it to them, then they’re totally in their rights to receive it. If people have a problem with that, it should be taken up with the Australia Council in terms of the application criteria and who they give these grants to. Everyone’s free to apply.

And if you meet the guidelines, people can’t then turn around and say ‘it’s not fair’. You can’t complain about Empire of the Sun. But perhaps you maybe speak to the Australia Council and say that’s not the way to do it.

Stuart Watters
Founder, Morph Consulting

All power to Empire of the Sun. What’s unacceptable is that we have bands at this level and degree of success seeking and receiving Australia Council support. Considering they have major-label backing, a great publisher in Sony/ATV, double-platinum sales here and UK gold, plus a reported $1 million from MasterCard, the question worth asking is: who just missed out?

What impact would that funding have had on the two or three bands overlooked to a band that likely has a great cash-flow. Admittedly, a bucketload of money has probably been tipped into that band on many fronts. That’s not the tax-payers’ problem.

That said, there are many Australian artists released through major labels who don’t get the support required to undertake tours and service international markets.

Paul Mason
Director, Music, Australia Council for the Arts

These touring grants are assessed on their artistic merit, export readiness and good planning. If you have a record label or publisher, you also have to show what their contribution is.

So a lot of things have to come together to be funded. We bring in experts from the industry to assess the applications and we look to support the best music with the best plan. International Pathways is just one part of a bigger Australia Council international strategy for contemporary music that supports musicians across the spectrum.

We also fund the Sounds Australia initiative, as well as quick-response grants for showcases, and provide support for managers through our Track Record program. It’s an overall strategy we developed with industry feedback but it’s always being refined.