tag:theconversation.com,2011:/columns/catherine-strong-17003Music Matters – The Conversation2017-07-31T23:15:07Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/816892017-07-31T23:15:07Z2017-07-31T23:15:07ZWhy are there so few women screen composers?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180162/original/file-20170728-18839-1jhl76r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Lisa Gerrard performing in Budapest, 2012. She is one of Australia's few successful female composers for screen.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Balazs Mohai/EPA</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Just 13% of those composing music for screen are women, according to membership figures from APRA AMCOS, the organisation that looks after <a href="http://apraamcos.com.au/about-us/faqs/general-faqs/">copyright for songwriters, composers and music publishers in Australia</a>. </p>
<p>Female screen composers sit at the intersection of two industries – music and film - that have both been recognised as <a href="https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/sa/new-directions/gender-matters">being</a> <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/by-the-numbers-the-gender-gap-in-the-australian-music-industry/8328952">male-dominated</a>. To better understand the pathways and barriers for women in this field, and why women in music are underrepresented more generally, APRA AMCOS commissioned research in this area early this year (conducted by myself and Fabian Cannizzo), which has just been released. </p>
<p>Using surveys completed by 159 screen composers and in-depth interviews with 28 of them, our research found there was a gulf between men and women in their understanding of gender issues in the industry. (All participants in the research identified as either male or female). For instance, 67% of women participants agreed with the statement that “gender discrimination is common in the industry”, compared with only 32% of men.</p>
<p>In interviews, women talked about the screen composing industry as being a “boys’ club”. They perceived this as operating in many different ways, from male-dominated networks that proved almost impossible to break into, to studio cultures that were covertly or overtly misogynistic, through to actual sexual harassment. </p>
<p>Men, on the other hand, were more likely to talk about the industry as being a “meritocracy”, where the only factor that mattered was talent. In responses to the survey, some men were openly antagonistic towards the idea that questions should even be asked about gender issues in the first place. At the same time, the men who could see there was a problem often had difficulty articulating exactly what it was or what the effects were.</p>
<p>Men and women agreed that a meritocracy was an ideal goal to work towards, but men’s understanding of women’s experiences – and therefore the ways in which they might be contributing to women’s marginalisation – was limited. </p>
<p>Numerous other factors emerged as barriers to women in screen composing. Many of these have been identified as issues for women in a range of other careers. For example, having children had a much more negative effect on women’s careers than on men’s.</p>
<p>Working as a screen composer is precarious - most work on a project-by-project basis and reported “feast or famine” type schedules with little control over when work needed to be done. Factoring caring responsibilities into this mix limited or ended women’s careers in many cases. </p>
<p>The women who successfully negotiated this life change had often established professional partnerships that meant networks and industry knowledge could be maintained. However, in a highly individualised field, establishing such partnerships is not always possible.</p>
<p>The research also found there was a common perception that men and women composed different types of music. Women’s compositions were seen as more suited to the work of women directors, or to films or TV shows that dealt with “women’s issues”. Given the continued gender imbalance both behind the camera and in the stories that are told on screen, this idea that women can only compose for or about “feminine” topics makes it less likely again that they will be hired.</p>
<p>We also found that far fewer women than men are enrolling in higher education courses related to screen composition. Education institutions we consulted reported around one-tenth to one-third of their students were female. This appears to be related to the wider issue of women’s relationship with technology, as many of the courses related to screen composition were tech-focused.</p>
<p>These and other factors that emerged connect back to essentialist ideas about what men and women can or should do. </p>
<p>So what can be done to counteract these trends?</p>
<p>While we wish to avoid making this discussion “about men”, finding ways to engage men in equity initiatives seems important. With men still in the majority of decision-making roles in the music, film and television industries, making change on a large scale will be difficult to achieve without men recognising and working to combat gender inequality. </p>
<p>Asking men to at least think about how their practices and decision-making processes may be negatively impacting women, and to acknowledge that women’s experiences of the industry may be very different to their own is a simple starting point, but one that needs to go much further.</p>
<p>Other strategies such as finding ways for women to network and develop partnerships that help sustain their careers should be considered. Highlighting the careers of women who have succeeded in this area, such as <a href="http://www.lisagerrard.com/Default.aspx?">Lisa Gerrard</a>, <a href="http://www.caitlinyeo.com/">Caitlin Yeo</a> <a href="http://www.amandabrowncomposer.com/Welcome.html">Amanda Brown</a> and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1245217/">Bryony Marks</a> and providing mentoring and access to role models, is a starting point here. </p>
<p>It is encouraging to see APRA AMCOS committing to taking actions along these lines, through establishing mentorship programs and masterclasses. It is also working to increase women’s participation across the board, from membership numbers to positions on award panels and beyond. </p>
<p>More research is still needed, especially to widen the focus to create a more intersectional understanding of inequality in music. However practical and measurable changes such as these are important steps in moving towards equality.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81689/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<h4 class="border">Disclosure</h4><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine Strong undertook this research for APRA AMCOS. </span></em></p>Just 13% of those composing music for screen are women, according to membership figures from APRA AMCOS, the organisation that looks after copyright for songwriters, composers and music publishers in Australia…Catherine Strong, Senior Lecturer, Music Industry, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/692792016-11-25T01:58:45Z2016-11-25T01:58:45ZSmash it up, burn it down: should Joe Corré set fire to punk history this weekend?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/147456/original/image-20161124-15348-8u9df.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A painted bus sculpture entitled 'Punk'ed' by artist Valerie Osment at Trafalgar Square in 2014.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Luke MacGregor/Reuters</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In March this year, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/shortcuts/2016/mar/20/joe-corre-burning-sex-pistols-collection-memorabilia-punk-anniversary">Joe Corré announced</a> that on November 26 he would burn his collection of punk memorabilia. As the son of Malcolm McLaren (manager of the Sex Pistols) and renowned fashion designer Vivienne Westwood (whose clothes helped define the punk aesthetic), Corré’s collection is somewhat more impressive than that of an average punk fan. </p>
<p>The items he is threatening to destroy include a pair of Johnny Rotten’s trousers, a Sid Vicious doll, and test pressings of Sex Pistols records. The collection has been estimated (by Corré himself) to be worth more than 5 million pounds. </p>
<p>The burning is a protest against what Corré describes as the co-optation of punk by the establishment and the mainstream, and the way that “rather than a movement for change, punk has become like a fucking museum piece or a tribute act”.</p>
<p>In particular, he is protesting against <a href="http://punk.london/about/">Punk London</a>, a year-long series of events commemorating the 40th anniversary of punk. Sponsors of Punk London include the Mayor of London (which was Boris Johnson at the start of the events) and the National Lottery. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/147457/original/image-20161124-15362-hfq8uk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/147457/original/image-20161124-15362-hfq8uk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/147457/original/image-20161124-15362-hfq8uk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/147457/original/image-20161124-15362-hfq8uk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/147457/original/image-20161124-15362-hfq8uk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/147457/original/image-20161124-15362-hfq8uk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/147457/original/image-20161124-15362-hfq8uk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/147457/original/image-20161124-15362-hfq8uk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Joe Corre.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Neil Hall/Reuters</span></span>
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<p>Among those opposed to the burning is ex-Sex Pistols front man John Lydon. Although Lydon himself once burned a number of rare punk items in a <a href="http://www.mtv.com/news/501701/john-lydon-destroys-sex-pistol-rarities-for-television-pilot/">pilot for a reality tv show</a>, he has <a href="http://www.nme.com/news/music/john-lydon-2-1195814">described Corré as ‘selfish’</a>, suggesting that he should sell the items and give the money to charity instead, a call that has been echoed by many other critics of Corré’s plan.</p>
<p>This argument runs into trouble though if we think about Corré’s threatened actions as a type of artistic statement. Destruction has always had a place in art, and the deliberate ruining of something valuable can be an effective way to draw audiences’ attention to a statement an artist is trying to make. This tactic has been used by artists like <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2014/feb/18/ai-weiwei-han-urn-smash-miami-art">Ai Wei Wei </a>, or, in an example very similar to the punk burning, by the band the KLF in 1994 when they <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6q4n5TQnpA">burned one million pounds</a>. The KLF were criticised on the same grounds as Corré, for not making ‘better use’ of the money. </p>
<p>Considered as a form of art, however, the idea that the money that the punk items represent, or that the KLF burned, could or should be spent better elsewhere should also be applied to any other works of art. All artistic endeavour – including institutions like galleries or art schools – could be thought of as using resources that could be directed to more practical ends. </p>
<p>This leaves us in a situation where either we accept that money spent on artistic endeavours should more ethically be spent on helping the poor or put towards other utilitarian outcomes, or we accept that creating art is seen as a legitimate end in our society. Most people would lean towards the latter.</p>
<p>Another criticism made of Corré, however, is that the value of the items is not about money, but about heritage and memory. The historical legacy of the artefacts, the argument goes, is not really something that can belong to one person, regardless of the legal ownership of the items, and so it should not be up to Corré to decide what happens to them. </p>
<p>This argument is not entirely straightforward either, as it connects back to questions about what punk is. Corré’s suggestion that it is against the spirit of punk for it to be institutionalised, or put in museum cases, cannot be lightly dismissed. Punk has always had connections to commerce (as Mclaren and Westwood’s involvement with the movement – selling clothes out of a shop - demonstrated), and has cycled through moments of greater and lesser ‘mainstream’ success. But since its inception, there have always been forms of punk that have offered genuine resistance to what it is that capitalism offers. </p>
<p>Examples include record labels like <a href="https://www.dischord.com/history/">Dischord Records</a>, that for 36 years has been run on a not-for-profit basis and uses money made to support bands from the local area, or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dial_House,_Essex">Dial House</a>, an art commune established by the band Crass in the 1980s. The ideals of punk continue to take hold and flourish in pockets around the world, most of which are focussed on local community and exist under the radar of mainstream culture.</p>
<p>The punk that turns up in museum exhibits is very far removed from the still-living punk movement. The safe containment of punk items in exhibition cases (including those seen as part of Punk London) inevitably drains these items of at least some of their controversy and rebelliousness, and puts them out of the reach of fans and audiences. </p>
<p>What, then, is the more meaningful way to maintain the legacy of punk - to reverentially preserve its artefacts, or to express its spirit of disruption through an act of destruction? </p>
<p>While artefacts from popular music (like other important cultural items), are valuable and deserve preservation, the shock value of the burning is likely to be far more effective in drawing attention to questions of what punk is, and how culture should be treated in our society, than almost any other approach.</p>
<p>For that reason, I hope Corré actually goes through with his plans on Saturday. Burn, baby, burn.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/69279/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
In March this year, Joe Corré announced that on November 26 he would burn his collection of punk memorabilia. As the son of Malcolm McLaren (manager of the Sex Pistols) and renowned fashion designer Vivienne…Catherine Strong, Lecturer, Music Industry, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/693332016-11-24T00:12:46Z2016-11-24T00:12:46ZARIA there yet? Causes galore and some poop talk at the music industry awards<p>It was the 30th ARIA awards last night in Sydney, an anniversary that saw some reminiscing on past glories included throughout the show. The event was top and tailed by some dead-set Aussie legends (mate), with Barnsie (alongside Jessica Mauboy) starting the show, and none other than Farnsie himself finishing the show with a stirring (as always) rendition of You’re the Voice. In between these two, we saw Crowded House inducted into the Hall of Fame, and clip packages highlighting a variety of other classic acts (Midnight Oil! Kylie! Silverchair! Powderfinger!).</p>
<p>So how did the current crop of Aussie musos hold up in the midst of all the canon-creation going on around them?</p>
<p>While The Veronicas were perfectly adequate as hosts of an Australian awards ceremony, their glitter-encrusted performance of In My Blood was a definite show-stopper, and made up for some of their general awkwardness otherwise. Flume came out on top award-wise, grabbing five ARIAs, with Troye Sivan also doing well. The real winner, though, was causes. </p>
<p>A common way for artists to create a bit of controversy at awards ceremonies is to make a political statement of some sort. It’s a neat way to get a bit of extra publicity – both for yourself and the cause you’re discussing. This probably only works, though, if everyone isn’t doing the same thing, which is what we saw last night.</p>
<p>Let’s go through the politics artist by artist…</p>
<p>Flume started off early with a statement against the lock-out laws in Sydney when accepting his award for Best Dance Album. On point, certainly, and relevant to the crowd, this was warmly received.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/147279/original/image-20161124-19685-1al5xwr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/147279/original/image-20161124-19685-1al5xwr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/147279/original/image-20161124-19685-1al5xwr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/147279/original/image-20161124-19685-1al5xwr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/147279/original/image-20161124-19685-1al5xwr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/147279/original/image-20161124-19685-1al5xwr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/147279/original/image-20161124-19685-1al5xwr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/147279/original/image-20161124-19685-1al5xwr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Troye Sivan talked about LGBTI youth on acceptance of his ARIA award.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://one.aap.com.au/#/asset/20161123001289955934">Paul Miller/AAP</a></span>
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<p>Troye Sivan talked about the importance of making LGBTI youth feel accepted, and giving them ways to express themselves. Given that most of his career so far has been about getting this message out there it actually would have been sort of weird if he didn’t mention this, and his comments seemed the most natural of any of the statements made. He pretty much became the nation’s adorable younger brother last night, if he wasn’t already.</p>
<p>Later, we had Angie Green from Marriage Equality Australia accepting the Best Female artist on behalf of Sia. Green got a standing ovation from the crowd for her message that (and I’m paraphrasing somewhat) maybe it’s time for politicians to stop dicking around and just get marriage equality done. </p>
<p>This was then backed up by Kylie Minogue and her fiance Joshua Sasse. Fun fact - looking up Joshua Sasse led me to discover that he stars in a “fairy tale-themed musical comedy” TV series, which I then had to go watch some of. Learn from my mistake - it is truly appalling. Thanks, ARIAs.</p>
<p>We weren’t done yet though for causes! Ben Lee and John Butler (of course) let us know that they stand with Standing Rock, while John Butler’s hat let us know it was against fracking. Hilltop Hoods also let us know that they are all about helping out Canteen.</p>
<p>The most bewildering cause-embracer, and one of the highlights of the evening, was Montaigne. When accepting the Breakthrough Artist award, she took to the stage with “People over profits” scrawled across her chest Riot Grrrl-style (respect).</p>
<p>On twitter, #peopleoverprofits is connected to Standing Rock, but before the ceremony, Montaigne made some statements that were <a href="http://thefix.nine.com.au/2016/11/23/19/08/arias-2016-female-artists-make-a-statement-tove-lo-montaigne-samantha-jade">maybe about the lock out laws</a>. Confusing her message further was her speech, which was somewhat about philosophers, but mostly about butts and poop, and included the revelation that she only goes three times a week. Montaigne, please see a doctor.</p>
<p>Despite the number of different messages that we were getting, it was great to see so many Australian artists being prepared to use the platform they’ve been given to try to make a difference to something. </p>
<p>While there are always some people who think entertainers should stay out of politics, music has had a long history of being connected to activism. These ARIAs might be an indicator of a new resurgence of political music, maybe prompted by some of the worrying social trends away from tolerance that have become obvious recently. </p>
<p>What was disappointing, though, was the way that despite Matt Okine being “controversial” in taking the ARIAs to task last year for <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/arias/6979186">not including enough women</a>, last night, despite an improved representation of women among the nominees, we again saw almost every award taken home by men - sixteen out of twenty, to be precise. More work might still be needed closer to home in the Oz music industry.</p>
<p>And, finally, mention has to be made of the least political, but (according to Twitter) most “Australian” moment of the night - Violent Soho being down in the bar having a beer instead of on stage accepting their award for Best Group.</p>
<p>Onya blokes, that’s the true ARIAs spirit.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/69333/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
It was the 30th ARIA awards last night in Sydney, an anniversary that saw some reminiscing on past glories included throughout the show. The event was top and tailed by some dead-set Aussie legends (mate…Catherine Strong, Lecturer, Music Industry, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/668252016-10-12T05:49:19Z2016-10-12T05:49:19ZARIAs still matter to artists, but what do they say about us?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/141145/original/image-20161010-3909-1gqbl8w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Best Classical Album winners Flight Facilities, playing at the ARIA award ceremony last year. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tracey Nearmy/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>High-profile awards ceremonies are often only as interesting as the controversies they create. The 2016 ARIA Awards has started strongly in this area. Although the main ceremony is still a month away, the Fine Arts and Artisan Awards awarded on October 5 raised eyebrows when the <a href="http://www.ariaawards.com.au/news/2016/2016-aria-nominated-artists-announced">Best Classical Album award was given to electro-pop band Flight Facilities</a>. The winning recording featured the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, which was enough, in the eyes of the judges, to classify it as being “a publicly recognised classical style”. </p>
<p>The decision has <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/flight-facilities-classical-aria-award-was-a-controversy-waiting-to-happen-20161006-grwbrq.html">drawn protests</a> from classical labels and other artists in the category, whose recordings of Mozart and Bach seem more in line with what would be expected to win.</p>
<p>This comes a year after criticism of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/commentisfree/2015/oct/08/why-has-an-indigenous-artist-won-best-world-music-in-his-own-country">Indigenous singer Gurrumul’s win in the category of World Music</a>. The label “World Music” itself has <a href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9901EED8163EF930A35753C1A96F958260,&pagewanted=all">long been criticised</a> for being a catch-all for the huge variety of un-Western, non-English music – that is, “ethnic” music, “other” music. The idea that an Indigenous Australian singing in the Yolgnu language would be classified in this way was seen as dismissive and another use of institutional power to marginalise Indigenous voices.</p>
<p>In light of these controversies, it’s worth having a look at the categories used in the ARIAs, and how artists are divided among them.</p>
<h2>Why do artists get the nominations they do?</h2>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/141146/original/image-20161010-3900-ccsabg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/141146/original/image-20161010-3900-ccsabg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/141146/original/image-20161010-3900-ccsabg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141146/original/image-20161010-3900-ccsabg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141146/original/image-20161010-3900-ccsabg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141146/original/image-20161010-3900-ccsabg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141146/original/image-20161010-3900-ccsabg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141146/original/image-20161010-3900-ccsabg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Australian singer Gurrumul arrives at the 25th Anniversary ARIA Awards in Sydney.</span>
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<p>Artists and their labels choose which categories to submit their work to. At the end of the day, the consideration for artists can often be which category is most likely to deliver a win, regardless of how appropriate it is.</p>
<p>Gurrumul and his management recognised that it was unlikely he would win in more “mainstream” categories like Best Album, but also recognised the value of a win in any category. The World category was simply his best option, especially given the general marginalisation of Indigenous music in Australia.</p>
<p>The odd outcomes of these types of plays for a win can be seen across awards ceremonies – commentators on the Oscars refer to it as “<a href="http://variety.com/2015/film/in-contention/oscar-category-fraud-lead-supporting-actor-1201650427/">category fraud</a>”. The Emmys have recently reworked their rules after the drama Orange is the New Black was <a href="http://www.vox.com/2015/7/16/8976181/emmys-nominations-comedy-drama">nominated in the comedy category</a>. </p>
<p>That artists such as Flight Facilities aim for a win in a not-quite-right category tells us that these awards are seen as valuable (despite the criticism they are <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-16/hyland---arias/5026292">often subjected to</a>). Getting a nomination anywhere can be a valuable piece of publicity, particularly for up-and-coming bands. </p>
<p>For example, psych-rock band King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard were <a href="http://www.tonedeaf.com.au/460329/king-gizzard-have-been-nominated-for-best-jazz-album-at-the-arias.htm">unlikely nominees in the Jazz category</a> in 2015, but have scored nominations in five non-genre categories this year. However, that fact that artists like Gurrumul are highly unlikely to get a look-in in the more “mainstream” categories is a reflection of what Australia values both musically and socially.</p>
<p>The categories themselves tell us what is dominant in the Australian market. Pop and rock continue to be held up as the staples of musical production in this country. While there are genre categories, like Jazz, Country or indeed World, these are used to recognise different types of music while still preserving the attention-grabbing awards such as Best Album, which are usually the domain of predictable (and generally white) rock and pop outfits. </p>
<h2>What is ‘Adult Contemporary’?</h2>
<p>That some of these genre awards, including Jazz and World Music, are presented at a separate, much lower-profile event to the televised award show reinforces their marginal status. Some genre categories, such as “Adult Contemporary” and “Adult Alternative”, aren’t easily defined by a casual observer, and give rock and pop artists yet another possibility for a win.</p>
<p>Changes to these categories happen very slowly. The strong shift towards RnB and hip hop that is increasingly obvious in the USA – as evidenced by a recent MTV Music Video Awards ceremony that had <a href="http://www.billboard.com/articles/events/vma/7488030/for-those-looking-to-rock-at-the-2016-vmas-a-disappointing-show">no rock acts performing</a> – is not at all apparent in Australian-grown music, if the ARIAs are any indication. The Urban award remains a catch-all category that includes RnB, hip hop, funk, reggae and soul. Despite the success of <a href="http://www.ariacharts.com.au/annual-charts/2015/australian-artist-albums-chart">many Aussie hip hop outfits</a>, they have made little inroads into the general categories at the ARIAs to date.</p>
<p>On the other hand, the Hard Rock/Heavy Metal category was only instituted in 2010, despite being one of the biggest selling genres worldwide, and the presence of a strong metal scene in Australia. A separate Indigenous category, which would have been an obvious home for an artist like Gurrumul, was abolished in 1998 (although such a category could also potentially be divisive in other ways).</p>
<p>If awards are still taken seriously then decisions about categories influence what type of music is seen as important. Changes to categories, and the lengths artists will go to have their music recognised, ultimately may be more about social attitudes than musical value.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66825/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
High-profile awards ceremonies are often only as interesting as the controversies they create. The 2016 ARIA Awards has started strongly in this area. Although the main ceremony is still a month away…Catherine Strong, Lecturer, Music Industry, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.