M+N Exclusive: AIR Responds
News posted Tuesday, October 5 2010 at 04:00 PM.
Related: AIR Awards.
General manager of the Australian Independent Record Labels Association NICK O’BYRNE responds to some of the online criticism of last Friday’s Jagermeister Independent Music Awards, including Nova’s sponsorship and acknowledging acts with major label ties.
For AIR, an independent label is a company that is 100 percent Australian, owns the master rights for recorded music and “exploits” it for commercial gain. It’s a broad definition that includes some of the countries biggest music companies such as Shock, Inertia, Liberation and MGM through to micro-businesses and labels like Tall Poppy, Rice Is Nice, Aarght!, Newmarket and Room 40.
AIR was set up 15 years ago by a bunch of independent record labels who weren’t altogether happy with the representation they were getting through ARIA. ARIA’s constitution is designed so that major label board members have the power to veto any decision made by the independent representatives on ARIA’s board. It means when major and independent interests don’t align, Independent labels miss out.
AIR estimates there are more than 300 functioning Australian independent record labels and literally tens of thousands of artists who self-release. They combine for a market share of approximately 30 percent of sales of Australian music but release well over 80 percent of the different titles on our record store shelves.
The independent sector is so huge, so outrageously diverse in terms of business structures and genres, and it fosters such passion from true music fans that herein lies the problem that causes such an emotional response from indie purists, bloggers, tweeters when someone like AIR dares to use the word “independent” in a commercial context. So, in order to alleviate some concerns (or insight a new round of online vitriol/debate) here’s a justification for what I perceive to be the two most controversial aspects of AIR’s Independent Music Awards:
1. Nova’s media partnership with AIR
AIR is an organisation dedicated to representing and promoting the business interests of our members; we are trying to open up pathways for artists and labels to sell more records. Our “brand alignment” with Nova is not about recognising their contribution to independent music in the past, it’s about fostering a better working relationship in the future. Like it or not, mainstream commercial radio has more selling power than any other medium. A relationship like this one is the starting point for increased Australian Independent music on our airwaves.
I’ve said this before but it bears repeating. If an artist wants to remain underground, away from any commercial limelight then we support and encourage that. If an artist wants to reach a wider audience through commercial airplay then we’re taking steps to make that a possibility.
2. The classification of Liberation and Ivy League as independent labels.
Cloud Control (Ivy League), Little Red (Liberation) and Kasey Chambers (Liberation) all won awards on Friday night for great releases. There was a raft of blog posts and articles published yesterday about the label and artists’ relationship with Universal and whether or not it constitutes a lack of independence. Marcus Teague wrote the most prominent of these yesterday on The Vine. This debate is healthy, we don’t shy away from it, but I also wonder why there was no uproar when Rowland S Howard was nominated? Pop Crimes was released through Liberation but he was an Australian Punk hero. I doubt whether it would have changed Marcus’ opinion but I do wonder why there was no outcry at the time his nomination was being applauded.
The fact is that Liberation and Ivy League are 100 percent Australian owned and funded. They are reasonably big companies in terms of the Australian music industry, but still independent. They fund and own the masters (along with the artists) and their relationship to a major label record company is purely through means of distribution of physical product.
“The fact that there are legions of fans and critics crying about the sanctity of independent music right now is a good thing.”
Liberation and Ivy League handle all sales, A&R, marketing, all digital sales, royalties and business affairs. There are similarities between Liberation and Ivy League’s relationship with Universal to that of Boomtown and their distributor Shock, Elefant Traks to Inertia and Jarrah to MGM. These distributors provide a service to the labels and artists; a service that is paid for by those labels. Michael Azerrad's description of independence (that if an artist has any ties with a major label then that artist cannot be called independent) was right on the money 20 years ago, but the nature of the business has changed since he wrote it, and the role of independent labels, relationships with majors and their distributors has changed markedly, especially in this country.
We made a deliberate and pragmatic choice this year to expand eligibility for the awards by defining "independence" by the ownership of the masters. We'll never please everyone but we're happy with the current situation and we'll be sticking to it as long as it makes sense to us and (most importantly) our member labels. We discussed the change at length with key members (Inertia, Shock and MGM, in particular) before we went through with the change in criteria.
AIR is genuinely working for the betterment of the industry and we stand by the awards. We disagree with much of the criticism levelled at us, but the fact that there are legions of fans and critics crying about the sanctity of independent music right now is a good thing.
The list of winners and nominees from the Jagermeister Independent Music Awards is exceptional. When we put together the original shortlist for presentation to 250 judges (from community, ABC and commercial radio, streetpress, mainstream press, music publications, online publications, blogs, promoters, bookers, managers and record labels) we had artists on labels as diverse as Chapter Music, Love + Mercy, Two Bright Lakes, Newmarket, Jazzhead, Jazzgroove, Rice Is Nice, Other Tongues, Vitamin, Resist, Boomtown, Future Classic, Aarght! and dozens of self-released artists. These are still the only awards that will specifically recognise much of the great independent music in this country and work towards putting them on a pedestal on a national level. We’ll continue doing that.
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Oh! Well played.
Much respect to Nick and AIR for a thoughtful, considered response.
blogs
good piece!
is it muscles?
guns babes lemonade!
I take my hat off to Nick.... Well done sir. Well done.
so when does the whinging start?
I understand what Nick is saying above and while I don't knock them for pairing with Nova, I still question why it was necessary to have a Nova host knock publications like M+N who genuinely support Australian independent music (even if their name isn't in the award ceremony).
Maybe it was funny on the night, and maybe it would've been funnier coming from someone within the blogging/M+N circle. As it stands, it just looks like a commercial radio presenter taking shots at a publication while dressed in cricket whites (funny!) and who was blatantly advertising Danii Minogue's autobiography in his on-air banter earlier in the week.
I don't think any harm was meant by the M+N fun poking..
Dudes, the recurring M+N hipster was funny on the night. Dools wasn't being disrespectful, it was just a playful jab. (Maybe justified, too, considering the BAM! fiasco..)
Anyway, stop taking the M+N hipster thing seriously!
can I ask something out of just because I don't know. does a label have to be a member of AIR to be considered for nomination?
Meanwhile, the cognoscenti of M+N have avatars of cats wearing anoraks, take venomous potshots at extremely successful Australian independent professional musicians and discuss Hollywood movies at much greater length than small time musicians.
Cheers Andrew. I think Nick has made a strong case for everything else, just wanted clarification from someone who was there on the night. I thought perhaps it sounded a lot bitchier in post-award coverage than it came across on the night.
Let's high-five our Dunlops in a job well done, NiteShok!
I ask...because...I was a member of AIR in 02 with greenriver publishing but it was a self distributed label of classical/improvised music moreover.... now I own EEO which is distributed by MGM and I just never had EEO join AIR only because I forgot, so I'm wondering..../// I can join shortly, it's just one of them things I haven't got around to do. but can someone fill me in?
There's no mention of ABC Music. where do they sit in the indie-scape?
Hey, good call. They fit the above criteria, surely.
well written.
You don't have to be a member of AIR to be in contention.
my label fits too. but do I need to be a member for artists on my roster to be considered? or is it simply the criteria of 100 percent etc etc
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You do know that, aside from whether it's ''indie'' or not, Australian radio want the local music quota reduced, too?
I think it's at 20% now.
applauds chewbacca's insightful rant
I love a good rant.
I would think the term ''exploitation for commercial gain'' covers everything from selling CD's at gigs to ad placement it doesn't imply the musicians are being exploited.
''Exploitation'' in the language of capitalism is not meant to be a negative term, and in this case refers to the exploitation of the work or product, rather than the artist. Still, one doesn't have to be a hardened cynic to read the phrase a different way.
I'm talking about the business practices of the majors and major publishers that go beyond simple pressing & distribution and putting ads in street press.
eg: young musicians being coerced into selling their publishing rights when they first start out for 20% of what it will be worth in 5 years time and their songs immediately being used in advertising/brand alignment.
of course there are artists/bands/labels who want these things. who would love to have their songs associated with brands and exposed as much as possible. I just hope they don't, like AIR, expect to hang on to their credibility as well.
opens can of worms on topic of ''what is credibility?''
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or to use a colloquialism ''If you lay down with dogs, you wake up with fleas''
Frankie that's what I meant, everybody is exploiting their music in some way already.
exploitation is a damn frustrating word..I am suggesting that it is the moment that the relationship/association between music and advertising of a brand/product (other than the music itself) is formed exploitation as in ''exposure'' becomes exploitation as in ''take advantage of''...
That is the point chewbacca I think in this article the term exploitation for commercial gain, has to be differentiated from exploitation of musicians, it simply means making money from the product (recorded music).
yes, I am differentiating - I am also trying to highlight that in situations where the artists doesn't have ownership of the sound recording rights, ie: the ''recorded music'' or complete ownership of the publishing rights of the songs themselves, then they aren't the ones making money and that these awards make is ''seem'' as if this industry is making money for its artists.
the profits, the real cashflow (I know this because I have done the accounting) is being made by the majors & larger independents (because they own the sound recording rights), the advertising executives, the commercial radio stations, Coke, McDonalds ie: what I call ''the corporate sector''
It is rarely the artist, or the smaller sub-labels who, if they have been given advances for touring, recording or marketing, remain indebted to the major/distributer without any sign of ever regaining the rights to their works...and they are given advances and kept in a debt situation in order to enable the majors/distributers to gain financially from the continued ownership of their rights.
there are obviously exceptions to this rule and it is those labels, the exceptions, that I feel deserve more acknowledgment.
OK, out of the nominees listed I doubt any of them are making much money, but who are chained to the wheel by 'the corporate sector' ?
ah that would mean naming names! no can do.
go work in the industry yourself for a while, and after your soul has been completely obliterated and you take to drink to cope with the stress of 55 hour weeks, get back to me and we'll discuss.
I'd rather focus on the idea that it would be a great if there was an industry body that represented labels who allow and encourage their songwriters, bands and artists to retain ownership of their rights, who believe in long term artistic development over short term gain and who nuture the industry at a grass roots level. I would be more than happy to volunteer my services if ever that happens...until then..
I worked in the industry full time for many years, seen the worst of the industry up close and had to get out before losing my mind. I do agree with you on a lot of your points chewbacca, the music industry is generally horrible and I have been screwed many many times which is why making records had to become an enjoyable after hours part of my life and not my primary source of income. But I think most of the artists nominated for these awards are deserving of some recognition and support.
ah, I think you've misunderstood who my criticism is directed towards.
I think you'll find I've left my personal opinion of the artists out of it. In fact I am a huge fan of labels like Aaarght!
and also I commiserate on your experience of working in the industry. times of hell ;P
Best Independent Album: Cloud Control for Bliss Release
Breakthrough Independent Artist: Cloud Control
Best Independent Artist: Dan Sultan
Best Independent Blues and Roots Album: Dan Sultan
Best Independent Single or EP: Little Red for Rock It
Best Independent Hard Rock or Punk Album: Parkway Drive for Deep Blue
Best Independent Hip-Hop/Urban Album: Urthboy for Spitshine
Best Independent Dance/Electronica: Midnight Juggernauts for The Crystal Axis
Most Popular Independent Artist: John Butler Trio
Best Independent Jazz Album: Stu Hunter: The Gathering
Best Independent Country Album: Kasey Chambers, Poppa Bill & the Little Hillbillies
wow how comprehensive these awards are, they certainly explore so many facets of what independent music is in this country is and obviously offer NOVA many new ways to expose there 'sounds different' audience to a wide array of musical styles from 'punk' to 'urban' to 'jazz' to 'country' and off coarse the big 'general' awards showcasing some very difficult listening and is certainly risque of NOVA to side with, gee i home they don't loose any of there target audience!!!
I've just worked out who chewbacca is. Bit slow on the uptake.
haii kuro waves
couldn't remember my old email