MCEC in tune with Australian music industry

Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) has announced, 7 September, that it is supporting the Australian Recording Industry Association’s ‘Our Soundtrack Our Stories’ campaign by playing Australian music across the venue. Our Soundtrack Our Stories is intended as an open invitation from Australia’s music community to the rest of Australia to discover, champion, share, and consume more local music. The initiative arrives exactly one week after Jack River, real name Holly Rankin, posted the now viral call-to-arms for Australian media and business to get behind homegrown music as it struggles under the pressure of a new wave of lockdowns, all but eliminating prospects for live touring for the foreseeable future. The initiative calls for a public commitment from media and business to increase the inclusion of diverse local artists in the commercial and mainstream landscape. MCEC suggests the support could not come at a more important time, with over $64m (US$47.4m) in revenue lost since 1 July 2021 among just 2,000 respondents to the I Lost My Gig survey. With 99% of that revenue revealed to be uninsurable, the real figure is significantly higher.