With Gratitude, Wrapping Up 2020
Published 20 December, 2020
The introduction session from Fair Play: Equity, Inclusion and the Victorian Music Industry. In partnership with Diversity Arts Australia, participating businesses included Mushroom Group, UNIFIED Music Group, Untitled Group and White Sky Music.
It’s hard to believe the end of the year is really here, isn’t it? For many of us in the Victorian music industry, we are feeling a mixture of relief and excitement, yet we are still acutely aware of the road ahead with our sector’s recovery. 2020 has left its mark and the impact cannot be understated.
Thank you to everyone who has connected with the Victorian Music Development Office this year. In order to adapt to the times, just like our incredibly resilient industry did, we pivoted. The Networking Breakfast event was moved to an online format, rebranding as VMDO Virtual Networking Breakfasts and 13 Zoom events were delivered from March - December. The Experts in Residence program delivered additional rounds, which were selected to help businesses navigate the changing landscape, whilst in survival mode.
In a time where innovation is no longer optional, the VMDO presented numerous forward-thinking programs in order to better prepare music businesses for a sustainable future. This included CLOCK Your Skills, a program validating skills and experience acquired through work; Victoria’s Digital Creator Program, a series of YouTube workshops in collaboration with Changer Studios and Film Victoria; the Interactive Festival Forum, connecting 30 festival professionals to attend as virtual delegates; High Score: Composition and Sound Art in Gaming and the Indie Games x Indie Devs project, resulting in a Bitsy game called HOPE that is about learning to rely on others and fighting against hopelessness, together. Thank you to each and every participant, these projects flourished because of your enthusiasm and willingness to take on new challenges.
This year we co-designed a new pilot program, Fair Play: Equity, Inclusion and the Victorian Music Industry. The participating businesses (Mushroom Group, UNIFIED Music Group, Untitled Group and White Sky Music) worked closely with the Diversity Arts Australia team over three months to develop their business skills and capacity in working with First Nations people, people from underrepresented cultural and linguistic backgrounds and Deaf and Disabled people. Thank you to everyone who took part, the feedback we have received from this program and its impact has been truly outstanding and we look forward to supporting this vital work ongoing for the sector.
First Peoples led projects aimed to celebrate, champion and support in 2020. Key programs included the First Nations Women in Music Victoria group (lead by Maylene Slate-Burns, Allara Briggs Pattison and Monica Jasmine Karo); Strategic Planning (with Jirra Lulla); Sound of the Future: Ableton Mentoring Program (with Davey Norris); Music Production for Women and GNC Mentoring (with Candice Lorrae from The Merindas) and Discover Your Power: Artist Mentoring Program for First Peoples (with Same Way Nation). We thank Neil Morris for his lasting impact on the VMDO office and First Peoples in music and also to Kiernan Ironfield and Uncle Robbie Bundle of Songlines Aboriginal Music.
Among the central roles of the VMDO is research, in order to analyse and better understand the sector. Earlier this year we delivered and publicised Career Paths: The Victorian Music Business Career Life Cycle, in partnership with RMIT. And in mid-2020, survey and interview data were collected for the forthcoming COVID-19 Music Industry Impacts report, in partnership with RMIT and the Office for Women, Fairer Victoria. Throughout the year, we kept Victorian music industry professionals up to date with grants, resources and assistance programs through our COVID-19 Resource page (which was first published in mid-March).
The VMDO’s inaugural GM Bonnie Dalton was seconded to Creative Victoria part time, as Music industry Liaison. One major outcome of Bonnie’s secondment was developing the $15 million Victorian Live Music Venues Program, providing a vital lifeline to venues across the state. And in October, Bonnie finished up at the VMDO to take on the role as Creative Victoria’s Senior Manager of Contemporary Music. Thank you Bonnie, for shaping the VMDO into what it is today and continuing to be one of the strongest advocates for the our industry.
To you the reader, please continue to reach out to us, our programs are very much shaped by your feedback and music business needs. We acknowledge you, the Victorian music industry and your remarkable resilience throughout this time. It’s been a year to remember, even though many of us would like to put it in the past. Thank you also to Creative Victoria, Music Victoria, the VMDO team and the countless contractors, businesses and organisations whom we’ve worked with this year.
As we look towards the future, the VMDO is committed to continue delivering at a high level, ensuring quality programs are available to those in need and creating opportunities to build the industry back better, in terms of skill development, equitable business practices and ongoing connectivity.
Please note our office will be closed from today, Friday 18th December and will re-open on Monday 11th January. Have a safe and restorative festive season as we look towards a prosperous and musical 2021.
Katie Stewart, VMDO General Manager
We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we live and work, the people of the Kulin Nation. We acknowledge their enduring connection to music, culture and community and pay our respects to this history and its future. We also pay respect to elders, past, present and emerging and to all First Peoples.