Music Policy Recommendations for the 2004 Federal Election
The Music Council of Australia has prepared a set of policy objectives which it is recommending to all Federal political parties.
NOTE: The Labor Party adopted a music policy based in part on the Music Council's recommendations. It proposed to fund the establishment of new community-based regional conservatoria of music. The funds were to be assigned to the Music Council, which would work to establish the conservatoria and serve as the conduit for Commonwealth financial support.
TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click on the headings below to view the contents)
MUSIC FUNDING
- Funding through the Australia Council
- Australia Council status
- Other Commonwealth funding
- Re-open the issue of funding to small to medium performing arts organisations
- Funding to orchestras
- Aboriginal music
- Regional music
BROADCASTING
- Australian Broadcasting Corporation
- Australian music quotas for commercial broadcasters
- Government support to community radio and television
INTERNATIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS AND CULTURE
- Australia/US Free Trade Agreement
- Future bilateral, regional and multilateral trade agreements
- UNESCO Convention for Cultural Diversity (now renamed)
MUSIC INDUSTRY
PERFORMERS' RIGHTS
MUSIC IN COMMUNITY
MUSIC EDUCATION
MUSIC RESEARCH
VALUING MUSIC AND MUSICIANS
FUNDING
1. FUNDING THROUGH THE AUSTRALIA COUNCIL
In the first year, restore the lost value of funding to the arts through the Australia Council over the years in which increases have not kept up with inflation. (Exclude funding to the Visual Arts Board and the Major Performing Arts Board, which in recent years have had real increases.)
For 5 subsequent years, increase the funding to the Australia Council overall by inflation plus 5% a year.
RATIONALE
Funding to the arts is based firstly on a recognition of the arts' value to society and the individual:
Funding to the arts is based secondly on a recognition that due to market failure, much of our most valuable artistic activity cannot take place without financial assistance:
- The costs to artists in presenting work, even were they to work without remuneration, can exceed the possible income1
- Although artistic innovation is a most valued and encouraged contribution to our society, and the means by which national identity is discovered, innovation by definition outruns the experience and taste of a general audience and its price can be a reduction in audience size and box office
- Excellence in musical performance depends upon weeks, months or years of practice and rehearsal, for which no recompense is paid by the market; in non-artistic professions, this unpaid preparation ceases when qualifications are awarded; in music, it extends throughout professional life, regardless of genre
- the classical music of most interest to a larger public is orchestral music; this requires a large number of performers, rehearsing and performing together to meet so far as is possible the international standards expected by the audience; the core financial problem is one of balancing the possible box office income against the costs of maintaining such a large ensemble.
Some considerations about Commonwealth funding to the arts through the Australia Council:
- The artistic activity supported through the Australia Council is the core arts activity in Australia: supporting excellence in international and traditional arts, risk taking in arts innovation and arts participation in the community.
- Funding to the arts through the Australia Council is at the core of Commonwealth arts support.
- If the major performing arts organisations (recent additions to the responsibilities of the Australia Council) and film (removed in the 70s) and the new funding to the Visual Arts after the Myer Report are excluded, funding through the Council has declined in real terms.
- Furthermore, because the arts are labour intensive and in many genres do not benefit from efficiencies brought by new technologies, it is likely that inflation in the arts is higher than the CPI, so the loss of buying power of the Australia Council allocation is again higher than indicated above.
- Over the same period there has been a population increase. Funding per capita has declined.
Some further considerations:
- Artistic innovation comes especially from smaller arts groups and individual artists although it is they who have most been left out of the funding provision.
- This creativity can be accelerated by funding that allows greater artistic risk-taking. When arts groups are on the edge of financial viability, as is unreasonably and increasingly the case at present, they must play it safe in order to survive.
- Artistic achievement is also encouraged by the enthusiastic support of an artistically informed populace. This skill in the audience depends in part upon adequate opportunities at community level for arts participation. Such opportunities should be available for all Australians and this can be facilitated by government. (For economic benefit, see the first dot point under MUSIC INDUSTRY below.)
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2. AUSTRALIA COUNCIL STATUS
Reconfirm support to statutory independence and arm's length from government for the Australia Council. This is to say, the government has the prerogative to give policy direction to the Australia Council, and tag funding to specific policy initiatives, but may not instruct the Council to fund specific recipients.
RATIONALE
- This ensures that the government can set and achieve its policy objectives without having to take direct responsibility for decisions some of which over time are bound to be controversial
- This ensures that decisions follow upon the expert assessment of applications for funding provided by the Australia Council
- Governments can inform lobbyists that while they welcome arguments about policy directions, they cannot entertain representations to fund particular recipients and that such representations should be directed to the Australia Council under its normal processes
- Since the arts have a role in fearlessly reflecting Australians, their beliefs and works, for better and for worse, it is important that they not be constrained by any particular ideology as manifested by the government of the day; this is another important reason that arts funding should be at arm's length from government. (Note that there are conservatives and radicals among artists, as in any other sector.)
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3. OTHER COMMONWEALTH FUNDING
For other Commonwealth funding to the arts for which the Department for the Arts is the conduit, all applicants should be subjected to an expert, transparent and, unless inappropriate because the applicant is a major national institution such as the National Gallery, competitive assessment process, and funding decisions should be made on the basis of this assessment and government policy objectives.
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4. RE-OPEN THE ISSUE OF FUNDING TO SMALL TO MEDIUM PERFORMING ARTS ORGANISATIONS
The new inquiry should give special attention to music since, as the recent review discovered but did not address in its recommendations, music is subject to special problems.
- The inquiry into the sector was patently inadequate. The Music Council's review of the report offers abundant detail of the inadequacies.
- For instance, to conclude that additional financial assistance is not an issue because organisations are not in deficit is inappropriate; that is just a sign that they live within their means. The issue is: how well served is Australia and the arts by what they are able to produce?
- Acknowledging that the arts sector will always attempt to do more than its resources can justify and will always claim a need for more government support than is given, there are nevertheless major difficulties within the small to medium organisations.
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5. FUNDING TO ORCHESTRAS
The Music Council of Australia supports the government's initiation of a review into the symphony orchestras. The Music Council asks that the government should take whatever actions are necessary to ensure a vibrant orchestral sector covering all states and territories.
It notes that:
- The orchestras are at the core of activity in the classical music tradition in Australia, the centuries old tradition which is one of the great achievements of Western culture. It is inconceivable that an advanced Western society would not have a vibrant classical music sector. Without the orchestras, this live classical music activity in Australia would not be viable.
- The orchestra is a very labour-intensive entity. Unlike most other enterprises, it can be made only marginally more efficient through modern technology. Its costs increase faster than those of other enterprises that benefit from technological efficiencies, and therefore, faster than overall inflation. This places it at risk.
- Orchestral music is an international activity, subject to international competition and standards. Australian orchestras are not exempt from this international dimension. They must compete internationally for musicians, and audience expectations of orchestral performances are conditioned by the international standards available to them through live performance and electronically.
- The orchestral review probably will show that audiences for orchestral music are increasing in Australia. The service to the Australian population is therefore not decreasing.
- Nevertheless, some orchestras are in financial difficulty.
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6. ABORIGINAL MUSIC
Provide support for contemporary Aboriginal music in training, creative development, recording and national and international promotion. Provide incentives for the music industry to develop and promote Aboriginal recording artists. Introduce initiatives to raise the profile of Aboriginal musicians.
- There have been some minor successes in Aboriginal contemporary music but in general Aboriginal artists have not gained the status and respect that they deserve.
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7. REGIONAL MUSIC
a) Provide better resources in rural and regional Australia for music performance and the development of new locally created music and music theatre works.
b) Create better access for rural and regional audiences to music performances and workshops by touring national and international musical artists.
c) Support touring by regionally based professional musicians and music groups, thereby bringing music with a regional voice before a larger public and making it more viable for professional musicians to base themselves in the regions without sacrificing their professional careers.
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BROADCASTING
1. AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION
Restore funding to the ABC so that, inter alia, it is able:
a) To give more vigorous support to Australian cultural production including musical production.
b) To take a place at the leading edge of digital broadcasting and new media.
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2. AUSTRALIAN MUSIC QUOTAS FOR COMMERCIAL BROADCASTERS
a) Require the Australian Broadcasting Authority to actively monitor the commercial radio broadcast sector's compliance with its own local content standards.
b) If the sector is not complying with the standards, reregulate the sector.
NOTE: Under the current self-regulatory regime, the monitoring body has not met nor reported since the year 2000.
c) Impose a 10% expenditure requirement on subscription television channels with a music format.
NOTE: This would be permitted under the Australia/US Free Trade Agreement provision for 'arts' channels.
d) Alternatively, if the US Trade Agreement is not ratified, impose a 25% local content quota for subscription television. If this is not immediately feasible due to a shortage of local music video product of adequate quality, begin with a 15% quota and increase it by 5% every two years until 25% is achieved.
e) Conduct an inquiry to explore the best means of ensuring that a sufficient level of Australian music can be accessed on new media.
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3. GOVERNMENT SUPPORT TO COMMUNITY RADIO AND TELEVISION
Increase Commonwealth support to assist the sector to build music program diversity, quality and audiences.
- Commercial radio broadcasts music in genres and styles suited to the international popular music market. The range of styles is narrow and market forces discourage deviation from international stylistic expectations. The community sector broadcasts music in all of the styles avoided by the commercial sector. It is from these musics that a distinctive Australian character and identity, as sought by the Broadcasting Act, will grow.
- The community sector is perforce efficient but under-resourced. With greater resources, it could grow larger audiences. With larger audiences will come greater financial support to musical diversity.
- The Commonwealth has given commendable but modest support to the community sector.
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INTERNATIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS AND CULTURE
1. AUSTRALIAN/US FREE TRADE AGREEMENT
a) Consent to the Agreement only if there is a total cultural exemption.
b) Failing that, consent to the Agreement only if the following conditions are met.
c) Concerning the local content quota on free to air radio, either remove the 25% cap on the quota, or increase the cap to, say, 55%, the current quota and cap for Australian product on television.
NOTE. This is not an imposition of such a quota, but ensures the freedom of the industry or the government to impose quotas up to that level.
NOTE that these quotas already are higher in other countries.
NOTE that in its new free trade agreement with the USA, tiny Costa Rica was able to set the cap at 50%!
d) Concerning music channels on subscription television, 1) The government should have the right to impose an expenditure requirement for local music content on cable television at the same level as is imposed for other categories of content; it is not totally clear whether this is possible under the category 'arts' channel; 2) The government should have the right to impose a local music content quota of up to 55% on cable television stations broadcasting music in genres for which product is provided by the music industry.
NOTE. Once again, this is a freedom to impose a requirement. The actual percentage requirement imposed would be negotiated taking into account the level of supply of suitable product.
e) Concerning 'interactive media': the term 'interactive media' is probably too limiting and needs to be changed. Other submissions may have suggested a term that is more likely to encompass all 'new media'. 'Digital media', perhaps. Remove the requirement to invite "participation" by 'any affected parties' in any preparations to change the regulations in interactive media because in effect, it translates into a de facto requirement for approval by the US. Remove the requirements that both Australia and the USA have to agree that Australian audiovisual content or genres thereof are not 'readily available' to Australian consumers and that access is not 'unreasonably denied'; that the parties have to agree on all or any of the following: that measures to address such a situation are 'based on objective criteria', are the 'minimum necessary', are 'not more trade restrictive than necessary', are not 'unreasonably burdensome'.
f) Concerning e-commerce: a total cultural exemption should apply to cultural content in e-commerce.
NOTE: The agreement in its present form would seem to exempt from the e-commerce provisions only those digital arts products or services that are specifically referred to in the Annexes
g) Concerning government organisations and qangos: government investments in and procurements of Australian cultural product and services (using the definition of 'culture' in the Singapore FTA), should be exempt from the US FTA
h) Concerning performers' rights: these rights should be extended to include audiovisual formats such as music videos, in which a visual element is added to a musical performance created initially for public release in an audio-only format such as a CD. The language for this revision could be available from legal policy documents or proceedings, presumably available through A-G's which, we are informed, had already assumed that such a right would be legislated.
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2. FUTURE BILATERAL, REGIONAL AND MULTILATERAL TRADE AGREEMENTS
Insist on a total cultural exemption on the model of the Australia/Singapore Free Trade Agreement.
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3. UNESCO CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION AND PROMOTION OF THE DIVERSITY OF CULTURAL EXPRESSIONS
Support the vote in UNESCO for the Convention as a normative multilateral instrument protecting governments' prerogatives to support their own culture. Australia currently shows signs of not supporting this initiative.
Once voted into existence in UNESCO, Australia should quickly ratify the Convention.
- The Convention, previously known as the International Convention for Cultural Diversity, is now being drafted by UNESCO, following upon consideration of an initiative from the International Network for Cultural Policy, a network of Cultural Ministers of which Australia has chosen not to be a member.
- This Convention will support governmental policy for a total cultural exemption from international free trade agreements, which was well considered Australian policy under GATS and in the Australia/Singapore Free Trade Agreement but which yielded under pressure in the negotiation of the Australia/US Free Trade Agreement. The prior existence of the Convention would have given support to Australia's preferred position in AUSFTA and have obviated the situation where in taking that position, Australia was a lone voice in negotiations with an opposing giant trading partner.
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MUSIC INDUSTRY
a) Conduct an inquiry to explore the means of improving the export performance of the Australian music industry.
NOTE: Sweden conducted such an inquiry which noted the source of its extraordinary performance (7 times better than Australia's) is partly in music education provision at the community level and partly in some particular characteristics of the Swedish music industry. The problem needs to be considered comprehensively.
b) Create an industry/government collaboration to implement convincing recommendations of the report.
c) Support an industry/government collaboration to collect comprehensive statistical data about the performance of the music sector.
d) Introduce a Commonwealth investment fund, in the spirit of the Film Finance Corporation, to support the production of Australian musical recordings and videos by record or other companies or by the artists themselves, partly with a view to export.
e) Devise and implement strategies to strengthen music industry investment in the full diversity of Australian music.
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PERFORMERS' RIGHTS
a) Implement legislation dealing with performers' rights which would, amongst other benefits, enable Australia to accede to the WPPT (the performers' treaty).
b) Ensure that remuneration for the performers' right is assignable only to a royalty collection society.
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MUSIC IN COMMUNITY
a) Support financially or by whatever means community initiatives to develop music organisations and projects, e.g. community music councils, community music schools, rehearsal facilities, musician and composer residencies, multicultural programs, programs for the disadvantaged or disabled, the elderly, at-risk youth; the specially talented, the ordinarily talented, urban and regional etc.
b) Include in the support mechanisms, partnerships with state government, local government, the private sector.
- The primary objective is widespread active participation in music making. Music is for everyone regardless of age, culture, socio-economic status, educational level, presence of disability etc.
- The schools can provide musical experiences only for school-aged children
- There are many forms of music that are essentially community based
- In many other countries around the world, and almost all European countries, music education is provided in a parallel system of community music schools, almost absent in Australia
- To the extent that community arts participation is organised in Australia, it tends to be dominated by visual arts and theatre, with music as a minor partner.
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MUSIC EDUCATION
a) Give positive consideration to immediate practical support for the recommendations of the current Ministerial Review of music education in schools, when they appear.
b) Ensure the provision of compulsory music education taught by musically and pedagogically competent teachers for all Australian children aged 5-12.
c) Provide Commonwealth funds to support music specialists in government primary schools.
d) Ensure that tertiary education institutions are providing high quality training for specialist primary and high school music teachers and for primary general teachers.
e) Explore the means of requiring education departments to collect adequate data about their provision of music education programs in schools so that achievements can be known, deficiencies identified and policies can be developed on a basis of fact.
f) Coordinate the development of a national standards curriculum for school music, identifying a common body of musical knowledge that should be accessible to every Australian child.
g) Provide the mechanism for the identification of the talent potential of very young musicians in all areas of music.
h) Recognise the extra costs required internationally to train concert artists in conservatoria, because of the need for individual instruction in instruments or voice. Make special provision to cover these costs. Do not put Australian artists at an educational disadvantage in competition with foreign artists.
i) Recognise the need to train and develop contemporary musicians to be competitive in the international music industry.
j) Move to recognise artistic production as research, in the internal funding assessments of the universities and in the external research funding assessments of the Australian Research Council. Introduce artistic work categories in the National Research Data Collection.
k) Provide Commonwealth funds to support community-based music education initiatives.
l) Provide Commonwealth funds to support music teaching in regional and rural Australia.
m) Encourage the expert provision of music in preschool education programs.
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MUSIC RESEARCH
Give funding support to music research projects that focus on Australian music, Australian music making, Australian music education and the Australian music industry.
- This is essential for Australia to be able to interpret itself to the international community. Australia's musical future depends on gaining better understandings of how musicians can flourish in national and global contexts.
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VALUING MUSIC AND MUSICIANS
Take pride in the accomplishments of Australian composers and musicians.
a) Promote the value of music, music making and of musicians in Australian society.
b) Provide opportunities for participation in music making for all Australians.
c) Disseminate the knowledge that music participation can contribute to physical, mental and emotional health at every age.
d) Elevate the status of professional musicians in Australian society by providing better opportunities for training, employment and career development.
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Note 1:Say a high end musical group wishes to present a performance at The Studio of the Sydney Opera House - a high profile venue in a subsidised facility. The rent is $6,500, with extra payment to be made for any but the most basic light and sound. The group will have to purchase liability insurance - around $2,000. The normal configuration for the venue offers 230 seats. There is a $2.50 charge per seat for selling tickets through the box office - another $575. If every seat is sold (not a prudent assumption), the cost per seat is $39.46. A prudent budget would assume an 80% house, with a per seat cost of over $49. This cost alone nearly doubles the conceivable ticket price for, for instance, an Australian jazz performance and is around the upper limit of prices for a classical music performance. Other costs to be incurred must include marketing, production, possibly royalties, administration, rehearsal, and performance fees. Of course, cheaper venues exist, less attractive to audiences, but this nevertheless is a real life dramatisation of the problem. |
