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Soundtracks: Please don’t stop the music

Every year, fewer and fewer Australian films and television shows are releasing soundtrack albums. Once considered a valuable promotional tool, changes in both the screen and music industries are threatening their existence. Aravind Balasubramaniam reports.

It is a sign of the times when the #1 Australian film of the year, aimed at a young demographic, chooses not to release a soundtrack album. Ten years ago, it would have been seen as an excellent opportunity to  promote both the film and a record company’s selection of up and coming bands, but in 2010 Omnilab Media’s Tomorrow, When the War Began was only released a single on iTunes.

“When you walk into a record store that used to have a soundtrack section, it has become highly evident that the section has shrunk remarkably over the last few years” said Underbelly score composer Burkhard Dallwitz.
ABC Music is the label that has published the soundtracks to films such as Samson & Delilah and Balibo, as well as the pop-oriented album for the ABC3 show Dance Academy. According to its director Robert Patterson, it’s difficult to estimate the exact size of the soundtrack market in Australia because the Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) doesn’t measure it as a standalone genre. Instead, film scores tend to be counted towards the classical charts, while pop music soundtracks are considered compilations.
“Overall the market is very small and certainly smaller than 10-15 years ago when there were a number of very commercially successful albums for Braveheart, Shine, Titanic or Gladiator. The experience internationally is similar to the Australian one,” he said.
In the Australian market soundtracks tend to sell poorly, and even worldwide blockbusters like Twilight are struggling to shift units. There are, of course, exceptions; the US musical show Glee has done remarkably well, and local efforts like the Packed to the Rafters albums have seen strong enough results to justify the launch of a third volume.

The reason behind the contraction in the music market, particularly in terms of physical copies, is the sales decline that began with the birth of internet-based download services – from the free Napster in the late
90s to today’s iTunes model.
Soundtracks, being specialised product, have suffered, but they’re still very much alive. For ABC Music, soundtracks are a small but important part of the release slate: “There will always be a market for them. While they do not generally generate significant revenues, there’s still a demand for them. We’ll become more selective about those we can release as physical CDs as that market declines, and digital-only releases will become increasingly commonplace.”


NOT A MONEY MAKER

Broome musician Stephen Pigram, member of the folk/rock band The Pigram Brothers, has previously worked on the music for the SBS series The Circuit, as well as Bran Nue Dae. He’s also one of the producers behind Brendan Fletcher’s film Mad Bastards.

To promote the release of the film, The Pigram Brothers and singer/songwriter Alex Lloyd will perform after a series of special screenings/Q&A sessions to be held around the country. The album will be released by
independent label MGM.
“In a sense, we’re basically a bunch of musicians that made a film. The fact that the film premiered at Sundance and that we could get the soundtrack up on iTunes USA, where it’s doing really well, means that there
is a connection [between audience, film and music].

That connection has proven successful for many Australian producers. Eleven years ago, producer Robyn Kershaw experienced the popularity of the Looking for Alibrandi soundtrack (Sony), featuring Killing Heidi’s
breakout single “Weir”.
For the release of her 2010 musical Bran Nue Dae, things had changed radically. The album managed to sell between 14,000 and 15,000 copies, and approximately 3,000 of those were digital sales – some tracks proved to be more popular than others: “With downloads you can buy one track; you don’t have to buy the entire album. In the case of Bran Nue Dae, a particular listener may have just liked one track, and that track can be purchased on its own.”
Being a musical based on existing material and performed by some of the most popular young performers, Kershaw never doubted that an album should be released as an integral part of the project.
“It’s part of the environment to encourage people to purchase a ticket, but you can’t just have the soundtrack on its own. It’s all part of a bigger picture.”

Two of ABC Music’s best-selling soundtracks are radically different, yet both use music extensively and have been successful as a direct result of their respective screen project: Dance Academy and Samson & Delilah.
The producer of the latter, Kath Shelper, admits there was no strategy around a potential soundtrack album: “I don’t think anyone is under the illusion that soundtracks make money; we just thought we had some good music and everyone seemed to really like it so we thought, why not? ABC Music were happy to do it, and it was another prong in the fork for increasing awareness of the film… another item on the shelf with our key art on it. It was also good as an item for promotional giveaways, and it was useful on radio, to have the tracks played either side of an interview, both in Australia and overseas.”
The album was not available digitally, but the CD sold well. Despite the positive experience, Shelper will not release a soundtrack for her latest production, Beck Cole’s Here I Am: “Even though we have a rocking
soundtrack, the bottom has fallen out of the market and it’s just not financially worth it for the company to release a CD.”
Balibo director/producer Robert Connolly argues that there is still great value in having a soundtrack album in release, but questions the current business model.

“You’d be crazy to think you’lll make a fortune out of it; I never think of it as a revenue-generating tool, that’s why I’d be more than happy to give it away for free. I’m kind of curious, with my future films, to see whether the market will increase online, and whether a soundtrack album can be something that doesn’t necessarily sell conventionally like a CD in a shop, but that you might be able to use in new and interesting ways – perhaps as free added value for people who see it at the cinema.”
Connolly agrees that the success of a soundtrack is related to the success of the project it represents, and the profile of the musicians involved.
“Composer Lisa Gerard has a huge following from her own music, so she has an audience around the world. This generates an interest in the soundtrack; we allowed her to sell the Balibo soundtrack off her website directly to her fans… I’m quite flexible about this,” he said.
A CREATIVE PACKAGE
No producer Encore contacted doubts the potential of an album as part of their project’s overall strategy.
The problem, however, is when producers overestimate this exercise thinking it will be a meaningful source of revenue. It could happen, but Patterson believes expectations are better placed in the promotional
benefits. In order for it to work, producers and record labels must understand that the partnership requires cross-promotional efforts and can result in a powerful synergy between the screen and the music product.
“Soundtracks are generally not an expensive undertaking for the producer if the label is responsible for the release and marketing of the album. It benefits the general awareness of the film, and good soundtracks
win awards, helping extend the life of the project as an additional element of critical acclaim.”
Patterson recommends producers to consider three elements before deciding to release a soundtrack:
“First, look at the quality of the music. Will it stand up as a good listening experience? Is there enough to make up a whole album? The second consideration is how central/integral is music to the film or show. Is the music a memorable aspect of the experience it provides?

“Record labels should also consider the profile and size of the project, and whether the overall marketing and promotion of the film/show will be significant enough to generate awareness in the existence of a
soundtrack, and justify how much they’re going to spend on marketing it.”
In the end, nobody wants to see soundtracks disappear. It would be a shame Connolly believes, if people stopped producing them.
“They’re a great document of the film and, on occasions, a great work in themselves. I hope we’ll see them having a life in the online world, which is where music in general has shifted because of the low costs. I
will always do soundtracks; I love them and they’re part of the whole creative package,” he said.

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