20 Years Of AIR

As the CEO of the Australian Independent Record Labels Association – AIR for short – Nevin stands right in the thick of every hurdle and hallmark that independent local artists can face today, from copyright lobbying to album charts. The organisation has been around for 20 years, a tremendous milestone that is capped by the tenth anniversary of the AIR Awards. As Nevin explains, the musical landscape has changed quite drastically over that time.

“In Australia, AIR was one of the first independent trade associations to be formed, well before the UK and the US,” he explains. “We were quite groundbreaking when we formed 20 years ago, when a couple of label guys saw the need to support independent music. Back then, and still today, independent music hasn’t quite been given the love and attention by commercial radio, by the retail industry, as much as the majors have. So that’s one of the main founding purposes, though obviously things have changed over 20 years. Back then we had lots of discounts for CD manufacturing, for barcodes, all those sort of things. Because the industry has changed so much nowadays we do less service-oriented stuff, and we’re more along the lines of advocacy, lobbying with government, with industry, with corporate. Really driving the importance of independent music to those sectors, as well as the general public. That’s why we have things like the awards and the charts. We want to spread our message as far as we can.”

Arguably the greatest catalyst for change in the music industry in this period has been the development of digital technology, with streaming services changing not only the physical transaction of songs, but the very patterns by which we are exposed to and experience music. While this has been a shift that even the majors had to surmount, the challenges facing emerging artists remain exhaustive.

“I think it’s harder for those emerging, grassroots artists to sell their product now, to get their records into retail environments – whether that is bricks-and-mortar stores or online,” says Nevin. “They can certainly get their new releases up on streaming services and online retailers a lot easier than they can in physical stores, but there’s also the flipside, and that is their profile. I think there’s a real challenge [for] not just grassroots artists, but many established independent artists, building that profile.

“That’s why we meet with places like Spotify, Google, Apple; we’re there talking regularly and highlighting the successes of Australian independent artists. And of course, all of our labels are trying to do this themselves, but sometimes they just can’t get a foot in the door with some of those bigger companies. All artists are seeing less sales and need to focus on other forms of revenue. So we’re there talking on behalf of the sector as a whole.”

In addition to the backstage work, there are of course the AIR Awards, serving as both the public face of the association (in addition to the weekly charts) and as an ever-growing celebration and testament to the endurance and talent of Australian independent artists and labels.

“This year is our 20th anniversary, so to us as an organisation it’s probably more of a milestone, but it’s obviously not as sexy as the anniversary of the awards,” Nevin laughs. “Those are more public and artist-facing. For my money, it’s a testament to the strength of the independent music scene in Australia. To be able to not just hold awards for ten years running, but to have built them to such a degree.

“When you look back to 2006, it was just a small gathering at a hotel in Sydney with four awards, maybe one or two performances, that was it. Over the years we’ve hit this point now where the production quality is amazing. Five or six performances from key independent artists, it’s something we’re really proud of. Not just because it has grown, but because it has grown in importance for the sector.

“The calibre of artist nowadays is amazing. There are so many independent Australian artists out there now touring the world, doing headline tours, playing festivals. It really showed us just how many of our artists are out there having international success.”

With the awards spread out over 12 categories, they are certainly a comprehensive portrait of the strengths and successes of Australian music today – successes that owe a large debt to outfits like AIR, APRA AMCOS, ARIA and the like. Having previously celebrated musicians such as Courtney Barnett, John Butler, Paul Kelly, Hermitude and many others, this year’s awards night promises to be just as memorable.

“There’s nothing else out there that celebrates the hard work, the effort that goes in, the commitment from our independent artists. These people aren’t making millions of dollars, but they’re sticking at it. And these awards, they’re not like the Grammys. It’s not just handing out awards. It’s really paying homage to the award-winners, to all of the nominees, to the genres that make up the sector, to the presenters, to all of those people involved. It’s really a once-in-a-year opportunity for everybody in the independent music sector to get together and celebrate how we’ve grown and where we’re going.”

[Pictured above:AIR’s Dan Nevin]