Jack River Calls for Aussie Music to be Played on TV and in Shops | Music News

At the end of July, Jack River dropped an open letter calling for more Aussie music airplay at the Olympics.

A slew of Aussie artists have backed calls by Jack River for Channel 7 to play Australian music during the network’s coverage of the Olympics, as the country’s artists continue to endure yet another wave of gig cancellations and postponements due to the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, restrictions and border closures.

“How great would it be if you played all Australian music in your coverage of the Olympics? These are Australian moments, they deserve Australian music,” said Jack River.

“And while we’re here, how good would it be to hear Aussie music in Coles, Woolies, Aldi, in banks, on hold, in stores and on ads being shown to Australian for the next few months?” she added.  “We need you more than ever. We wanna be your soundtrack.”

River’s call was met with support from artists like Lime Cordiale, Annie Hamilton, B Wise, Vera Blue, Cub Sport and Jaguar Jonze, who wrote, “HELL YES. Our domestic music quota is so low compared to other countries supporting their own artists.”

Unveiled Thursday (Aug. 5), Our Soundtrack Our Stories is a cross-industry project which calls on corporations, media and “anyone willing to listen” to soundtrack Australian lives with homegrown music.

The indie artist and entrepreneur’s words didn’t fall on deaf ears. Channel 7, Channel 9, Coles, 7-Eleven and Bank Australia listened and have taken action.

Last week, River launched the Our Soundtrack Our Stories campaign, which invites the wider business community and beyond to discover, champion, share, and consume more local music, which, in short time, will generate essential streaming and sales royalties for struggling artists.

The gameplan is a simple one. Play more Australian music, more of the time.

A factsheet shared by the pool of partners recommends business owners play local music in their stores and business (and, of course, obtain the right license by visiting OneMusic), spin a radio station that champions local artists, and share the campaign social assets.

To join the movement, artists are encouraged to work their social accounts, push the assets, tag businesses that should do more (and give a shout-out to the supporters), create and share themed playlists, and get creative.

The industry’s hardship is brought into sharp focus in a new report from I Lost My Gig, which found artists and professionals had lost $64 million in revenue lost since July 1, with almost the entire sum uninsurable. The real figure is likely significantly higher.

To play a part in Our Soundtrack Our Stories, use the hashtag #OurSoundtrackOurStories on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter.

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Homebrewed is a radio program and podcast dedicated to supporting the Australian Music Industry. Cameron Smith and Eamonn Snow have been presenting Homebrewed since November 2017 and have received excellence awards and the admiration of local bands for their presentation of Homebrewed and their continued support of the Australian music scene. This podcast is designed so you can enjoy conversations with musicians, industry representatives and music media personalities.