Why supporting Australian music is essential, and the valuable role it can play for brands

This Wednesday, November 20th, the 2024 ARIA Awards in partnership with YouTube, return to showcase the achievements of our homegrown music talent over the past year.

It’s the second year of a new category, Best Use of an Australian Recording in an Advertisement, an award designed to promote the use of homegrown music in advertising. Homegrown talent is not just essential for a thriving local music industry – it’s also a powerful vehicle for brands.

Australian music reflects our unique experiences, stories, and perspectives. It helps to shape our national identity and showcases the diversity of our culture to the world. Music brings people together: live music events, festivals, and local gigs foster a sense of community and belonging. 

Australian music reflects our history and heritage, from Indigenous music traditions to contemporary genres. Supporting Australian music helps to preserve and celebrate this rich cultural heritage for future generations.

The Australian music industry can also be a significant contributor to the economy, generating revenue and creating jobs across sectors like performance, production, touring, and merchandise. But our local music industry needs our support now more than ever before. 

Compared to other sectors, the Australian music industry receives limited government funding and support, hindering its growth and development. Venues and festivals face increasing costs for rent, utilities, insurance, and artist fees, making it difficult to operate profitably. Many live music venues, particularly smaller ones, have closed down in recent years due to economic pressures, noise restrictions, and urban development.

For Australian artists, with the dominance of streaming and the low royalty payments from streaming services, it’s hard for them to earn a living from recordings alone. 

Using Australian music in advertising can be a powerful vehicle for brands to drive cultural relevance with audiences.

Australian music helps brands tap into our collective identity and shared experiences. By featuring local artists, campaigns can resonate more deeply with local audiences, fostering a sense of authenticity and familiarity.

Iconic Australian songs evoke powerful feelings of nostalgia and shared cultural memories, creating a deeper emotional connection with audiences. This can be particularly effective for brands targeting older demographics or aiming to tap into a sense of national pride.

Australia has a thriving contemporary music scene with diverse genres and emerging artists. With her bubblegum-pink aesthetic and catchy-as-hell pop anthems, Peach PRC is a force to be reckoned with.

Teenage Dads’ infectious indie-pop tunes and energetic live shows have earned them a devoted following. They even snagged the Michael Gudinski Breakthrough Artist ARIA Award in 2023.

Jesswar’s energetic flow and powerful lyrics make her one of the most exciting voices in Australian hip-hop right now. Featuring cutting-edge Australian music is not only an opportunity to support and further the careers of emerging talent, but can also position a brand as modern, relevant, and in touch with current cultural trends.

Supporting Australian music talent not only helps to future proof our rich and diverse music industry but also helps brands create a powerful sense of cultural relevance, build stronger connections with audiences, and enhance their overall brand image.

This collaboration can now go deeper than ever before. The combination of opportunities across live appearances, product development, brand ambassadors and advertising now provides brands with a multitude of deeply engaging ways to connect with their audiences.

Ross Berthinussen is the ANZ president of 72andSunny. 

72andSunny, last year, together with Campfire X, won the inaugural ARIA for Best Use of an Australian Recording in an Advertisement, for its Google campaign featuring Baker Boy. This year, it has been shortlisted for the same award for a campaign with realestate.com.au for their Keep Moving campaign featuring music by the Eurogliders. 

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topics 2024 ARIA Awards 72andSunny Advertising ARIA ARIA Awards Australian music music Ross Berthinussen

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