Meet Joel Edmondson, the new Executive Officer for QMusic who has big plans to revitalise the state music industry association, including a relaunch of QMusic membership.
Joel took time out to answer questions we had about the intended changes and his vision for the future of the Queensland music industry.
What was your motivation for joining QMusic?
I have always had a fantasy about living in a world where music was at the very centre of everyone’s lives, and musicians (regardless of how famous or rich) got the same kind of social respect as people in professions like law and medicine. Perhaps that’s a bit self-serving, but I think there is something sacred about music that gives life real meaning. The great paradox is that everyone loves music and benefits from it but most people completely take for granted where it comes from and musicians are subject to a lot of unhelpful stereotypes. In other words, music is valued but musicians are not. I want to do what I can to change that. The Executive Officer job becoming available after nine years was a big motivator as well!
What previous experience are you bringing to the organisation?
I’ve been lucky to have diverse experience in a range of professional settings, and the great thing about my job at QMusic is that I can bring all the skills I’ve learnt together in one job. I know what it’s like to try to operate a venue and a label, having been involved in running the Hangar in Red Hill, and our now defunct label, Lofly. I’ve spent years at university studying the social, psychological and biological benefits of music. For the last seven years I’ve been working in culture change and leadership development, helping not-for-profit and government organisations learn how to solve problems collaboratively. Despite the fact that I don’t have much time to create my own music these days, I will always see myself mostly as an artist and I think that it’s important in my job to be able to sympathise with and understand the challenges of trying to bring an artistic vision to market.
As Executive Officer, what can you achieve with QMusic for the state music industry that you could not achieve in another role?
As the EO of QMusic, I have the unique privilege of providing services to our industry to help it succeed. I can also speak publicly on behalf of the industry to help others better understand the challenges we face, and gain their support.
If the 'elite performing arts' such as ballet and opera account for only a small percentage of national ticket revenue, why do they still receive substantial funding from the Federal government. Is a change in the perception of contemporary music necessary to secure more federal funding?
The ring-fencing of the elite performing arts is just a reflection of a greater social and economic transition that’s been underway for quite some time, which is that the privileges of a small number of people who are already very privileged are being both protected and expanded at the expense of everyone else. The marginalisation of independent artists is the product of the same mindset that is leading to the marginalisation of the poor and vulnerable in our society. What’s strange about this is contemporary popular music is highly productive economically, but this isn’t being recognised by our governments. A change of perceptions about contemporary music is absolutely central to securing more federal and state funding.
Part of the problem is that different parts of the bureaucracy can influence the industry from different angles – arts, education, small business and tourism all have a different kind of interest – but there is no holistic approach. I want to see a cross-portfolio approach to the music industry at state and federal level capable of responding to our industry’s complexity and interrelationship with other industries. Anything less jeopardises the economic potential of an industry already worth $7 billion a year nationally.
What are the characteristics of a healthy, local music industry?
Part of the visioning exercise we are about to undertake with artists and industry will involve finding out what people think makes a healthy, local music industry. From my own perspective, a healthy, local music industry is one in which effective infrastructure exists to ensure artists and music-business people have the best chance of succeeding. That includes a diversity of live performance opportunities, spaces for emerging artists and music business to incubate, up-to-date professional development opportunities, a genuine sense of community, and legislation, policy and funding that works for and not against the industry’s efforts to thrive.
In your opinion as a musician, teacher and now QMusic Executive Officer, what is the state of Brisbane's live music scene, especially in terms of opportunities for young aspiring musicians?
I think there are a lot of great new venues opening within 3km of the CBD, but not all of them can offer performance opportunities to really raw acts. Operating a live music venue in the Valley or the City is a precarious business and numbers through the door count, something that emerging acts can’t always offer venue owners. I’d like to see regulations relaxed to encourage more DIY performance spaces in light, industrial zones, giving music entrepreneurs at the start of their careers the opportunity to create venues that could incubate our emerging talent.
Also, sometimes I drive past different parkland stages across Brisbane and wonder why there isn’t a culture here of having new music being played on them every weekend, year-round. That could be amazing for young aspiring musicians. Unfortunately the public dialogue about this is more often than not focused on who that ‘noise’ might offend, and not about who it will benefit.
What are the realities of reduced government funding? Does this mean looking to the private sector for funding from corporate entities?
For QMusic, the ongoing reduction of government funding has meant the inability to deliver the level of service we would like to the Queensland music industry, the level we think the industry needs to overcome some of its key challenges and thrive in a changing, social economic and technological landscape. Private sector funding is potentially part of the solution, but only in instances where there is mutual benefit for both parties. You would have to be completely naïve to the commercial realities of the corporate world to think that private sector organisations will invest in contemporary music unless there is something in it for them. That said, our industry is attractive to corporations that want to align with its ‘cool factor’.
How has the QMusic membership program been revised?
QMusic wants to create a greater sense of community between our members. From July we will be staging quarterly QMusic members networking parties at venues around Brisbane, and eventually in regional locations. The July event will be open to the public. Sign up to our digital broadcast on our website for more information. We are also slashing the member rate for our music action planning service by almost 50 per cent, to only $70 for individual members and $130 for bands. This gives you an hour with an established music industry professional who will assist you to get some clear direction about what you are trying to achieve professionally with your music. For a small investment you can get some advice that will potentially save you years of trying hard doing the wrong things. We’re also working really hard to generate discounts for our members through corporate partnerships. Virgin Australia have recently announced that our members will be eligible for up to seven per cent off domestic fares, and even more to some international locations. That’s extremely helpful if you’re a touring musician.
What are the current challenges you face in this role?
Public sector misunderstanding of the cultural importance and economic potential of the music industry is the main challenge QMusic faces. Helping philanthropists understand the value of supporting emerging artists in the absence of a meaningful public sector commitment is also going to be a key focus in coming times. BIGSOUND is a juggernaut with a life of its own, and it takes up a lot of our time, but what I’m most interested in at the moment is what the other 362 days of the year look like in terms of what we do to help build a sustainable music industry in our state.
If there was one thing I would most want to leave as a legacy in my role, it would be the transformation of our regional cities and towns into places where original, live music is a valued part of their cultural fabric. Queensland’s regional touring circuit was a source of great jealousy 20 or 30 years ago, and the fact that touring those areas isn’t seen as viable now also means we don’t see anywhere near the same number of interstate acts coming to Brisbane these days. Pokies and the power of pub conglomerates have killed all that off, but I believe with the right kind of organising skills and solidarity, people who are passionate about original, live music in the regions can prove to publicans there is an audience for it.
You speak of facilitating 'a shared vision for the Queensland Music industry by gathering input from everyone who is interested'; not everyone who is interested will necessarily share the same vision, how do you plan on reconciling these differences of opinion and interests into a united goal?
Not everyone in our industry is trying to achieve the same things, and that’s great – diversity is strength. Facilitating a shared vision is achieved by taking diverse viewpoints and trying to find the commonalities among them. Those commonalities are the things that unite us, and they are the very things that QMusic will focus its efforts on in response. The degree to which we can attract funding will determine our capacity to service those common needs. I see this as a very important activity because the music industry is undergoing a transformational change at the moment and many people feel victimised by the changes underway. Traditional music business models aren’t working for many. I think it’s QMusic’s role to do something to stimulate discussion about the future we want for ourselves, rather than wait around for everything to happen to our industry. Again, please subscribe to our Broadcast newsletter for an update on how to contribute over the next couple of months.
What about those who work in technical production in the Queensland music industry? How do they fit into what your vision for the Queensland music industry?
Historically, I don’t think we have given enough support to our producers and sound engineers, especially given the enormous financial risk many take to establish studios. This group are facing an even bigger challenge in the future if the business case for investing in expensive recorded music continues to be undermined by diminishing sales. I think the likely scenario is that more and more people will be producing their own music as digital music technology becomes more affordable and higher quality. There will always be a role for specialist technicians, but it will most likely be redefined within a very different music marketplace.
There never seems to be a 'perfect' time to get into the music business. What advice do you give to young people expressing their desire to work in the industry?
Learn how to listen with great honesty and clarity to what you are creating. Be true to yourself and your vision, because that’s how you find your real audience. Define what success means to you, not what other people think it is. However, remember the music business is an industry and therefore you have to create something that is of value to other people if you want to make a living. The act of creating and performing music is a basic human experience that doesn’t have to be shared or sold if you don’t want to, but if you want to succeed in the music industry you need to be aware of its commercial realities. If you can start from that realisation, then you can exploit what the real opportunities are, instead of waiting around for the world to recognise your genius and spending years wondering why you haven’t miraculously become a rockstar.
