CANBERRA — The kids are alright, and they don’t want to lose their connection to music. On Wednesday, March 25 a delegation of 30 young people, aged 16-25, made that clear when they travelled to the nation’s capital, Canberra, to present a 10-year roadmap that advocates for music to be treated as a public necessity.
The National Plan for Young Australians and Music, led by The Push, Australia’s leading youth music charity, is a coordinated approach that calls for stronger national infrastructure to enable all young people to participate, regardless of their postcode.
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Along with the plan, The Push has submitted a A$13.4 million ($9.3 million) budget request to the Australian government to continue to deliver all-ages live music experiences, school tours and career pathways for over 160,000 young Australians.
“The Push’s new National Plan provides a clear message: your age, background, where you live or where you go to school, should not dictate your ability to access and participate in music,” comments Tony Burke, federal minister for the arts. “Music was like oxygen for me growing up – it is a core connector for young people to express themselves, and find their place in the world.”
Australia was the first country to travel down the path of social media reform, a measure that bans under-16s from accessing TikTok, X, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and other services, citing research that shows overexposure to social media can accelerate mental health problems for young people. Although critics have been largely drowned out, the ban does remove primary pathways to access music, community and culture, notes The Push, which conducted with YouGov that found some 72% of young people believe access to live music is essential for staying connected in a post-social media environment.
“For too long,” says Kate Duncan, CEO of The Push, “access to music for young Australians has been left to chance. We build consistent national pathways in sport, so let’s back music with the same level of clarity and coordination.”
The Push this year celebrates its 40th anniversary. In 2023, the organization expanded out of Victoria and into a national program that delivers contemporary all-ages music programs, all of it dedicated to creating safer, fairer and more inclusive music communities for young people.
Just last month, The Push secured a first-of-its kind, multi-year arrangement with Spotify, which sees the streaming giant donate A$200,000 ($142,000) to help create pathways for young people into music.
“Access to music and awareness of the music industry is often unattainable to young people, especially those not already embedded in creative circles or without personal connections,” comments Marcke De Vera, a former mentee of The Push. The plan “is a necessity in bridging that gap, by providing young people not just with insight, but with the direction and real-world experience to turn their passion into a career.”
Another day, another mission to Parliament House for a forward-looking initiative. On Thursday, March 26, the country’s creative and media sectors made the case for licensing in the age of AI by hosting panel discussions.
The session, entitled “Powering Intelligence: Media, Culture and the Future of Innovation,” was supported by ARIA and PPCA, APRA AMCOS, The Guardian Australia, News Corp Australia, and other creative and media organizations, and gathered parliamentarians, senior public servants and policy advisers.
The event follows Canberra’s decision last year not to introduce a TDM exception, despite lobbying from the tech sector, instead legislating for commercial AI developers to obtain permission for the use of copyrighted material for training.
“The government has been clear for some time that there are no plans to weaken copyright protections when it comes to AI,” comments the Attorney-General, the Hon Michelle Rowland MP. “This includes explicitly ruling out a Text and Data Mining exception, which I was extremely proud to announce last year.”
Published Dec. 19, and handed to the government on Dec. 10, the Productivity Commission’s final report on Harnessing data and digital technology concluded it would be “premature to make changes to Australia’s copyright laws.”
Speakers on Thursday included Jonathan Dworkin, executive VP, digital business development, Universal Music Group, who remarked: “We didn’t defeat piracy by turning off the internet. Ultimately, we prevailed because streamers built a better product than piracy. That’s what we hope to do with AI.”
According to Creative Australia, the nation’s creative sector contributes A$67 billion ($46 billion) to the national economy. Licensing arrangements for AI training are falling into place. Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group and Sony Music have struck agreements with large AI platforms, while Merlin, the independents’ rights agency, has negotiated with Udio.