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The Age
3 hours ago
- The Age
Aussie musicians flee Spotify as ARIA shores up awards partnership
'Being an independent artist ... you're free to speak your mind,' he said. 'Spotify used to be a necessary evil. Now it's just evil ... We can't be complicit in death technologies.' Melbourne singer-songwriter Leah Senior had cited the same grounds for withdrawing her music weeks earlier. 'Something just snapped,' she told The Music Network. 'Artists are made to feel like we need [Spotify] … I'm saying we don't.' Through his venture capital firm Prima Materia, Ek led a $1.08 billion round of funding in Helsing, a defence technology company developing AI systems for battlefield surveillance and drone operations. He also serves as chairman of the company, which supplies the militaries of Germany, Sweden, Ukraine, the UK and more. Asked to address musicians' concerns, a Spotify AUNZ spokesperson said they were unable to comment. Outrage over Spotify's expropriation of musicians' work to these ends rises as the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) tightens its embrace of the controversial streaming service. In June, Spotify was named as the presenting partner of the ARIA Awards for the next three years. The arrangement will 'translate into real export opportunities,' ARIA chief executive Annabelle Herd announced, while Spotify AUNZ managing director Mikaela Lancaster hailed 'an exciting new chapter for Australian music'. Neither indicated any financial relief to artists who continue to decry minuscule royalty payments, even as streaming profits boom for Spotify and the major labels. Among those who see the platform as both exploitative and ethically compromised, the sponsorship deal has been widely received as inappropriate. 'Why would ARIA support a platform that's ultimately eating its constituents?' asked Paper Jane singer-songwriter Buck Edwards on social media. Writer Nick Milligan suggested the deal was like vegan activist 'Morrissey partnering with Lone Star Steakhouse'. 'There goes the last of the ARIAs' credibility, at a time when more independent-minded musicians are pulling their work from Spotify,' posted Canberra singer Simone Swenson. 'The ARIAs lost relevance years ago,' wrote Melbourne jazz composer Aaron Searle. 'This is just further evidence of how out of touch they are.' Loading The major labels' affiliations with Spotify are no secret. They were given equity in the company in 2008 as part of music rights negotiations. But the ARIAs pairing is 'tone deaf', says Sydney manager/promoter Jordan Verzar, 'at odds with the beliefs and value systems of the majority of artists who make up the charts that ARIA compiles'. Russell Kilbey from veteran Sydney indie band The Crystal Set was pointed about saddling ARIA with Spotify's 'demonic and unconscionable' baggage. 'ARIA may have a big problem selling this marriage to the war-weary public.' An ARIA spokesperson told this masthead they 'respect anyone's decision to raise concerns, but this partnership will deliver an unprecedented global platform for Australian music … [by] leveraging Spotify's global scale and expertise in music discovery.' The context of streaming profits being channelled away from creators' pockets is especially pertinent to independent artists. Aside from tiny royalty percentages, smaller acts lose again under a pro rata system where listener subscriptions are distributed according to who gets most streams globally, not which tracks were actually streamed. But leaving Spotify, with its vast global reach and majority market share, is not an easy option for many. For Warren Fahey, whose Rouseabout Records has issued more than 200 Australian albums this century, 'it would be financial suicide'. Loading 'Now that CDs have stopped, Spotify is the label's primary source of income,' he says, although he stresses that income 'relates to the number of active releases in our catalogue. An indie with half a dozen releases, or a DIY artist, cannot access this advantage.' Matthew Tow of indie band Drop City sees the current impasse as temporary, and the market leader's decline as inevitable. 'Change will come when musicians feel they can get their music to a wider audience without the need for Spotify. There are many other platforms around.' Meanwhile, the optics are stark: independent artists removing their music in protest, while our national music awards unites unapologetically with a platform whose chief executive is personally invested in the military-industrial complex. Memories tend to be short in the music business and protests short-lived. Neil Young and Joni Mitchell famously removed their catalogues in objection to Spotify's platforming of COVID misinformation in 2022. Today both artists have dozens of albums backed up and streaming. This time, objections strike deeper to questions not just of content moderation but of the platform's ethical foundations. Whether more artists will speak out against Spotify or withdraw from the ARIA Awards in protest remains to be seen. But the disconnect is widening, and whispers of dissent are rising to a chorus.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Aussie musicians flee Spotify as ARIA shores up awards partnership
'Being an independent artist ... you're free to speak your mind,' he said. 'Spotify used to be a necessary evil. Now it's just evil ... We can't be complicit in death technologies.' Melbourne singer-songwriter Leah Senior had cited the same grounds for withdrawing her music weeks earlier. 'Something just snapped,' she told The Music Network. 'Artists are made to feel like we need [Spotify] … I'm saying we don't.' Through his venture capital firm Prima Materia, Ek led a $1.08 billion round of funding in Helsing, a defence technology company developing AI systems for battlefield surveillance and drone operations. He also serves as chairman of the company, which supplies the militaries of Germany, Sweden, Ukraine, the UK and more. Asked to address musicians' concerns, a Spotify AUNZ spokesperson said they were unable to comment. Outrage over Spotify's expropriation of musicians' work to these ends rises as the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) tightens its embrace of the controversial streaming service. In June, Spotify was named as the presenting partner of the ARIA Awards for the next three years. The arrangement will 'translate into real export opportunities,' ARIA chief executive Annabelle Herd announced, while Spotify AUNZ managing director Mikaela Lancaster hailed 'an exciting new chapter for Australian music'. Neither indicated any financial relief to artists who continue to decry minuscule royalty payments, even as streaming profits boom for Spotify and the major labels. Among those who see the platform as both exploitative and ethically compromised, the sponsorship deal has been widely received as inappropriate. 'Why would ARIA support a platform that's ultimately eating its constituents?' asked Paper Jane singer-songwriter Buck Edwards on social media. Writer Nick Milligan suggested the deal was like vegan activist 'Morrissey partnering with Lone Star Steakhouse'. 'There goes the last of the ARIAs' credibility, at a time when more independent-minded musicians are pulling their work from Spotify,' posted Canberra singer Simone Swenson. 'The ARIAs lost relevance years ago,' wrote Melbourne jazz composer Aaron Searle. 'This is just further evidence of how out of touch they are.' Loading The major labels' affiliations with Spotify are no secret. They were given equity in the company in 2008 as part of music rights negotiations. But the ARIAs pairing is 'tone deaf', says Sydney manager/promoter Jordan Verzar, 'at odds with the beliefs and value systems of the majority of artists who make up the charts that ARIA compiles'. Russell Kilbey from veteran Sydney indie band The Crystal Set was pointed about saddling ARIA with Spotify's 'demonic and unconscionable' baggage. 'ARIA may have a big problem selling this marriage to the war-weary public.' An ARIA spokesperson told this masthead they 'respect anyone's decision to raise concerns, but this partnership will deliver an unprecedented global platform for Australian music … [by] leveraging Spotify's global scale and expertise in music discovery.' The context of streaming profits being channelled away from creators' pockets is especially pertinent to independent artists. Aside from tiny royalty percentages, smaller acts lose again under a pro rata system where listener subscriptions are distributed according to who gets most streams globally, not which tracks were actually streamed. But leaving Spotify, with its vast global reach and majority market share, is not an easy option for many. For Warren Fahey, whose Rouseabout Records has issued more than 200 Australian albums this century, 'it would be financial suicide'. Loading 'Now that CDs have stopped, Spotify is the label's primary source of income,' he says, although he stresses that income 'relates to the number of active releases in our catalogue. An indie with half a dozen releases, or a DIY artist, cannot access this advantage.' Matthew Tow of indie band Drop City sees the current impasse as temporary, and the market leader's decline as inevitable. 'Change will come when musicians feel they can get their music to a wider audience without the need for Spotify. There are many other platforms around.' Meanwhile, the optics are stark: independent artists removing their music in protest, while our national music awards unites unapologetically with a platform whose chief executive is personally invested in the military-industrial complex. Memories tend to be short in the music business and protests short-lived. Neil Young and Joni Mitchell famously removed their catalogues in objection to Spotify's platforming of COVID misinformation in 2022. Today both artists have dozens of albums backed up and streaming. This time, objections strike deeper to questions not just of content moderation but of the platform's ethical foundations. Whether more artists will speak out against Spotify or withdraw from the ARIA Awards in protest remains to be seen. But the disconnect is widening, and whispers of dissent are rising to a chorus.
News.com.au
20 hours ago
- News.com.au
Hunger for growth ‘missing' from economic policy, productivity tsar says
Decision makers must adopt a 'growth mindset' to fix the productivity problem plaguing the economy, according to Australia's productivity tsar. Labor's highly anticipated Economic Reform Roundtable will kick off on Tuesday, bringing together 'a range of people with a range of views', as described by Anthony Albanese. The point of getting unions, business leaders, and policy experts in the same room as politicians is building consensus on how to boost productivity, or how efficiently an economy produces goods and services. Productivity Commission (PC) chair Danielle Wood will use a major speech on Monday to call on fellow roundtable attendees to be bold as they 'thrash out potential reforms to kickstart Australia's flagging productivity growth', warning that failure could bust the 'generational bargain' of handing over a better country to the future. 'I'm thrilled by the new appetite for economic reform that the roundtable has created over the past two months,' Ms Wood will tell the National Press Club, according to a copy of her speech seen by NewsWire. 'Ultimately the government will be judged on its actions and the outcomes they achieve. 'But it has taken an important step by recognising and pursuing economic growth, and the productivity that drives it, as a prime goal of policy. 'This 'growth mindset' – an elevation of growth and the benefits it brings – has been missing from Australian policy for far too long.' Faced with challenges posed by geopolitical turmoil, climate change and an ageing population, she will point out that young Australians do not believe they will have 'better lives than their parents'. 'The expectation that life will get better for each successive generation is Australia's generational bargain,' Ms Wood said. 'For many generations we have fulfilled its promise. Until, perhaps, this one. 'Overwhelmingly, young people today believe they won't live better lives than their parents did. 'As chair of the Productivity Commission, I'm worried too.' She will note that the PC has already given the Albanese government some options. Her agency released five reports over the past month zooming in on key areas, ranging from increasing economic agility and workforce training to harnessing artificial intelligence and the net zero transition. On economic dynamism, the PC proposed reforming Australia's corporate tax system to encourage business investment, which has declined since the Global Financial Crisis. It would cut the corporate tax rate for most businesses to 20 per cent and introduce a 5 per cent cashflow tax on all businesses, with a view to creating friendlier conditions for investors. The result, according to Ms Wood, 'would increase investment by $7.4bn and GDP by $14.6bn'. 'Big enough to get out of bed for, I would think,' she will say. On AI, the PC warned against a new overarching regulatory framework for AI and instead update existing regulations to address risks like fraud and discrimination. 'This would translate to an additional $116bn in economic activity – equivalent to boosting incomes for each Australian by $4300 a year over that period,' Ms Wood will say. 'A growth mindset means that we must not regulate our way out of this opportunity.' Less regulation was an overarching theme in all the PC's reports. Using those the reports as guides, Ms Wood will put forward three 'lessons about what a growth mindset looks like'. 'Regulate with growth in mind,' she will say, calling for 'leadership from the top when the policy sausage is being made'. In a nod to AI, she will say, 'Real growth comes from new ideas and technology,' arguing that productivity growth comes from new ideas, products, processes, and ways of managing people. While physical inputs have limits, human ingenuity does not, Ms Wood will say. Therefore, a growth mindset should focus on fostering innovation and enabling Australia to benefit from its own inventions and those of others. Her final lesson is that productivity 'is a game of inches'. 'There is simply no single policy reform that can bring productivity growth back to its long-term average of 1.6 per cent,' Ms Wood will say. 'To shift the dial, governments will have to make a lot of pro-productivity decisions.' Though, acknowledging the mammoth task, she will say she is 'optimistic that there is a package here that can make a difference to Australia's prosperity'. 'Governments must embed the importance of growth in every decision they make,' Ms Wood will say. 'This means engaging with trade-offs, better program delivery and design, and the 'boring but important work' of reducing administrative burden. 'We must ensure that governments pursue a growth agenda, for the benefit of businesses and workers today and, more importantly, for the generations to come. 'And that's worth a few days locked in a room.'
