Well wouldn’t ya know, we bloody love us some independent music. Froth on some indie bangers in our ear-holes. Also-fuckin-lutely go off like a frog in a sock for ’em.
It seems the swing toward independent music and artists is very solidly riding, considering a massive 30% of music recorded and sold between 2014 and 2015 were straight from the independent sector.
In a report from Australian Independent Record Labels Association (AIR), the momentum that the independent music community across Aus is gaining is exciting and only picking up speed.
Over the year studied, the music industry pulled in a solid $400million through sales and streaming. A huge 30% of that was from independent artists – almost half of those being Australian musos. Out of all those independent artists recording and producing music, 95% of them were new releases. So not only are we absolutely loving artists that aren’t attached to the big dog record companies, but we’re going hard on their new music.
That figure is indicative of our eternal lust to be on the front foot when it comes to new releases and music; something that we struggle to make happen with other mediums like film and TV.
44% of that whopping $400m comes directly from digital sales, which shows that although there’s been a strong move to digital music like iTunes, physical sales like CDs, vinyl, and cassettes are still big players.
Who can we thank for this massive rise in independent artists being supported by the back pockets of Australians? Triple J‘s Unearthed, for starters. They’re undoubtedly the biggest mover and shaker in the indie scene, and have been the launch pad for acts like Grinspoon, Killing Heidi, Meg Mac, Ball Park Music, Polish Club, Flume, Big Scary and Gretta Ray. Having a space like Unearthed has clearly done wonders for the local music community, and we’re bloody lucky to have it tbh.
Supporting independent music is so bloody important, now lets outdo ourselves and make it to 50% by the next report.
