Dear friends, Are you an independent musician who would love to have access to better working conditions, representation and industry support? Will you help us raise awareness of independent music in Australia and (among other things) assist us in holding the ABC accountable to its Charter obligations in supporting Australian music and arts? We need your help! Members of the #saveRNmusic campaign have recently joined forces with the MEAA (Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance) to begin addressing these issues. We're asking independent musicians to participate in another survey; this time, one we've contributed to shaping. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfIEw3poo9Gmy4QAyfXql0ocmdDzkWA3v0nH7H1Djwe78VqVA/viewform A statement issued by MEAA Director of Music Paul Davies today: "There are millions of musicians in Australia spending their time and money entertaining, inspiring, educating and amusing us. It's a culturally vital, universal and enduring art that enriches all aspects of life. But the cliché isn't quite right: music is not its own reward. It doesn't actually put food on the table or money in the bank. It doesn't pay the bills. It doesn't give you a retirement income. Despite the fact that the music industry generates huge amounts of money, a significant percentage of musicians do not make a living from it. The recording industry is broken, and in many communities, the live performance sector is struggling. The situation is chronic and complex and it's hard to see a solution. But that's no reason not to try. MEAA is reaching out to musicians to help answer these questions. We want to tap into communities and networks; we want to hear what you do, what's important to you, what needs to change. We want to start conversations and help build on the things that we've got going for us. We're not coming to you with a ready-made model. We're coming with a desire to invest in activities that can build momentum. We want to work with you to get louder, more insistent, and to create real change. That's why we need you to do fill in this questionnaire and to SHARE it with your friends. The information it provides will identify the most important issues and help us build stronger networks and make better arguments about the need for change. There'll be a lot that we will need to get busy on once we have set a stronger platform, but for now we simply need to reach out, make contact and start collecting the stories. Can we count on you to help"? https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfIEw3poo9Gmy4QAyfXql0ocmdDzkWA3v0nH7H1Djwe78VqVA/viewform IF YOU'RE A MEMBER OF A MUSIC ORGANISATION, MEAA would also love to include you in the consultation process. Please contact Paul Davies: paul.davies@meaa.org So why is the #saveRNmusic campaign team joining forces with the MEAA on this? We believe that independent music needs to be more widely supported and represented in Australia. Initiatives such as this will help us to lobby the ABC and other arts organisations to recognise the contribution independent music makes to Australian culture. It will also give independent musicians a better understanding of the problems and successes of colleagues and help build a stronger, more influential lobby group. We remain in touch with ABC management in regard to the representation of independent music on the ABC and we have not given up. The ABC is in turmoil after the governments' recent budget announcements. While we stand by in horror at the announcement today of another 37 job losses at the ABC, we also remain committed to fighting for the future of the ABC itself. Please also consider contributing to this fund to assist the CPSU lobby politicians into the next election: https://www.proudtobepublic.org.au/protect_abc All the best from the #saveRNmusic team