Australia was the only nation to perform ‘live-on-tape’ in the first Eurovision semi-final. Some suggest this hindered our chances, but taped performances may be the way of the future.
Record label chief, promoter, TV producer, Michael Gudinski’s career stretched from Skyhooks to signing Kylie Minogue to charity feats and nurturing today’s talent on TV music shows such as the ABC’s The Sound.
Nick Cave’s ongoing letters to fans, begun after a period of intense mourning over the death of his son, have much to say about suffering, mercy and meaning-making.
Aspiring singers can now use apps to record professional-sounding songs from their phones. This has the potential to disrupt the recording and publishing industry.
Prince was a musical genius, but he didn’t come of age in a vacuum. A human geographer explains how Minneapolis’ unique musical culture nurtured and inspired the budding star.
From a quiet start to cultural dominance, Beyoncé’s work over the last decade is groundbreaking. But it is also filled with questions and contradictions.
Long known as a spectacle of quirky Euro-kitsch, this year’s contest more closely resembled singing TV shows such as The Voice. Notable exceptions, however, were Iceland’s Hatari and our own Kate Miller-Heidke.
There is a long list of bands that fell apart over artistic differences. But conflict between band members – and even some creative sledging – can be crucial to making better music.