The Australian Sound

[2010]

If you could describe “Australian music” in ten words or less, what would you say? Could you do it? Is there a true Australian sound, and if so—what is it? Is there a real difference between Oz rock and American rock, or did Australian rockers of the 1970s and 1980s merely emanate the power chords and rebellious lyrics that they heard coming from America? Do Australians always do what the Americans do, and have they always copied their musical trends? My research will investigate how and why the Australian popular music industry has drawn so heavily from American music throughout the twentieth century. This is important because by examining the relationship between Australian and American music, I hope to discover why the Australian music industry doesn’t exploit its own musical resources, creating an industry with a unique Australian sound and a strong sense of national identity. According to Lesley Sly in The Power and the Passion: A guide to the Australian Music Industry, the Australian music industry is worth two billion dollars and employs over 80,000 people. It has provided the world with some truly fantastic musicians and musical acts:  AC/DC, Olivia Newton John, Midnight Oil, and Buckcherry, to name a few. Furthermore, Australian indigenous music has recently made its away to popular music status, with musical acts such as Yothu Yindi making the charts in the early 1990s. It is obvious that Australia is full of valuable musical resources; why are they not utilized? In addition to my main research question, I hope to address other issues revolving around Australian popular music, such as whether or not a true Australian sound exists (distinctive from its American model), what it sounds like, how Australian popular music is created, whether or not its business model is similar to that of the American music industry, the role of the Australian government in the intervention, regulation and creation of Australian popular music, and the impact of Australian music on the international popular music market.

I have found a multitude of valuable sources to employ in my quest for the Australian sound. Since I will be using numerous methodologies and approaches in order to answer my questions (historical factors, cultural factors, economic factors, etc) I will be drawing from a variety of authors with a range of backgrounds. Roy Shuker, author of Popular Music: The Key Concepts, is an expert in popular music, the music industry, and the historiography of popular music. In addition to being an editor for the Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World, he is also an editor for Perfect Beat: The Journal of Research into Contemporary Music and Popular Culture. I will be using his book on popular music as a reference to define concepts and terminologies of popular music as they apply to my research, to make clear to my readers the exact nature of the kind of music that I am investigating. Tony Bennett and Richard Waterhouse are both authors that have written extensively on Australian popular culture and the history of Australia. Bennett’s work, Culture in Australia: policies, publics and programs, provides me with a cultural background of Australia. I can use this background to compare musical trends with cultural phenomenas, examining the relationship between the two. Richard Waterhouse’s book Americanization and Australia is an extremely invaluable source for me, providing discussions of the direct correlations between Australian and American popular culture and musical trends throughout the twentieth century. Philip Hayward is an internationally recognized researcher and author of Australian youth music subcultures, Australian popular music and culture and recorded popular music in the pre-stereo era. His chapter in The Abundant Culture, titled “It’s SONY rock and roll: contemporary Oz rock,” discusses the sounds of “Oz Rock” as well as provides a brief discussion of aboriginal music, which I will explore as part of my search for the Australian Sound.  Lesley Sly is one of my favorite authors. Her book The Power and the Passion: A guide to the Australian Music Industry is an incredibly insightful work, providing an in-depth, behind the scenes look at the Australian music industry. She has worked as a journalist, a musician and a composer both in Australia and overseas for 40 years, and the information she provides in her book will be referenced widely. Ian McFarlane is a music journalist and author of The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. This important work, which will also be called upon often in my research, is described in Australian Music Guide as "the most exhaustive and wide-ranging encyclopedia of Australian music from the 1950s onwards." Finally, Glenn A. Baker is an Australian journalist and rock expert, whose commentary from Lesley Sly’s book provides valuable knowledge to the Australian music industry and to the history of Australian popular music.

It is firstly important to note that the nature of my research is qualitative. I am aiming to discover how and why Australian popular music reflects American music. The numerous methodologies I am employing will help me examine many different aspects of Australian and American music to help me answer my questions. First, I will carry out data analysis to achieve statistics, and from these statistics I can create diagrams and charts to demonstrate the results. I will also take into consideration historical factors, cultural factors, the role of the government and economic factors.

My data analysis will reveal the patterns of popular music trends in both America and Australia, and how strongly (and closely in time) Australian music follows American music. I will be drawing on four major sources for this part of my research. The ARIA charts (Australian Recording Industry Association) contain every week’s top 50 Singles in Australia. The Billboard charts (considered a worldwide authority on popular music trends) contain the week’s Top 100 Singles in the United States. The Kent Music Report is a weekly record chart recording popular music in Australia from 1974 through 1988. Finally, I will examine old issues of Go-Set magazine, which published weekly Top 40 Singles in Australia from 1966 to 1974. I will access the ARIA and Billboard charts from the Internet (via http://www.aria.com.au and http://www.billboard.com) and download the top 25 singles in Australian and American for the same week in various years. I will select the years based on musical trends that took place in the two countries since 1950: rock and roll, Beatlemania, psychedelic rock, punk rock, grunge music, and current trends such as hip hop and dance music. For the years before 1966 (when the Go-Set weekly records begin) I will consider other factors indicative of popular music trends (such as album and concert sales). In my analysis, the objective is to show how a musical trend in one country is followed or follows a music trend in the country. 

A historical investigation of Australian and American music reveals the how factor of Australian popular music trends reflecting American popular music trends. Shepherd’s Continuum Encyclopedia of popular music of the world with help me with this, and preliminary research with his book has already resulted in a few important considerations: in 1955, rock ‘n’ roll was born in America with Bill Haley’s hit “Rock Around the Clock.” That same year, The Blackboard Jungle opened in movie theatres across Australia, with Haley’s song playing over the credits.  One year later, Australia’s first rocker made it to Australian popular music charts as Johnny O’Keefe’s 1957 hit “You Hit the Wrong Note, Billy goat” was played over and over again on radios around the country. It is clear that Australians followed the Americans in their love for rock music starting in the 1950s. A cultural examination of the era reveals the why factor. As Richard Waterhouse describes in Americanization of Australia, American cinema played a huge role in constructing Australian culture throughout the twentieth century: the opening of Blackboard June in 1955 signaled the channeling of a young, teenage audience “unclaimed by commercial interests” into rock and roll.

McFarlane’s Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop reveals even more reflections of American music in Australia. In February 1964, for instance, Beatlemania hit the United States when the pop sensation performed live on The Ed Sullivan Show. A few months later, Beatlemania was firmly established in Australia as the Beatles toured the country in June. The title of the 1964 live recording that captured the Adelaide performance of the Beatles says it all: 300,000 Beatles Fans Can't Be Wrong (LP and CD). In 1966, psychedelic rock was established in the United States when 10,000 people attended the Trips Festival, many of them experimenting with LSD. One year later, the Australian psychedelic rock scene took off, following in the footsteps of acid rockers in America. As Glenn Baker notes in The Power and the Passion: A guide to the Australian Music Industry: “We couldn’t compete…the Australian music scene fell apart, radio turned away from Australian music …almost nothing of stature from that period…it was indulgent, all 20-minute guitar solos” (Sly 17). In 1974, punk rock was born in New York City with the Ramones, Patti Smith and Blondie at the CBGB. In 1977, punk rock was born in Australia with the Thought Criminals, Rocks and X and Razar. Finally, in the 1990s, grunge music became prominent in Australia with musical acts such as Silverchair, inspired by Nirvana and Soundgarden in the United States. It is clear that an Americanization of Australian music took place from the 1950s on, and it took place in various genres of popular music including rock, psychedelia, punk rock and grunge.

There are many important economic factors to keep in mind when examining popular music trends, as Shepherd points out. American cinema commanded the global film market by controlling the distribution networks. This weakened the Australian film industry and further Americanized popular music. Australian movie goers were influenced by American styles, accents, dances, and importantly—sound. Alternatively, the consolidation of the local Australian press in addition to the recording and media industries made possible the birth of an Australian popular music identity. The 1970s emergence of punk rock gave way to interesting developments in the Australian music industry, and the power of major record companies—all but one of which were foreign owned—was challenged when an independent popular music sector began to emerge. Finally, unauthorized online trafficking of music files has presented the world, Australia included, with ethical economic doubts that come hand in hand with the globalization of the music industry.

In searching for the Australian sound, it is important to keep in mind the diversity of Australia. In The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock, Ian McFarlane, provides us with some details: out of 19.4 million Australians in 2001, 21.9% were born overseas and 410,003 identified themselves as “indigenous.” In 20% of households, English is not the only language spoken, if it is spoken at all. There are over 200 languages spoken in Australia—48 of which are indigenous—and over 100 religious denominational affiliations exist in the country. He reminds us that multiculturalism “provides a hospitable environment for world music” and that of late, an interest has been sparked in exploring Australia’s ethnic and indigenous music. In my research, I will further explore McFarlane’s notion that multiculturism provides an excellent background for world music, debunking the idea of an “Australian sound.” I will also further explore aboriginal music, and whether or not it is considered to be a part of the “Australian sound” that I am looking for. However, I will only examine the Aboriginal music that has had commercial success, such as Yothu Yindi.

A historical investigation of the history of purely Australian produced music will help me determine whether or not there is a distinct Australian sound, and reading about what musicologists and musicians have to say to about “the Australian sound” will also be helpful. The Continuum Encyclopedia of popular music of the world will help me with this investigation, as it shows evidence of a development of a distinct Australian sound. Shepherd reminds us that in the early 1960s, “surf rock,” which was rooted in Sydney’s surf club culture, owed little musical debt to the seemingly American equivalent The Beach Boys. In the 1970s and 1980s, Australian rock was dominant in pubs and clubs, and bands such as Midnight Oil were “indistinguishable from its American model.” Exploring Australian instrumentation will also be part of my research; Shepherd points out that the didjeridu and clapsticks have become a worldwide marker of “Australianness” in popular music.

What have others had to say about the “Australian sound”? Glenn Baker, in The Power and the Passion: A guide to the Australian Music Industry, says that the years 1977-1982 are the most representative period of Australian music to date. These years produced groups such as the Angels, Cold Chisel, Midnight Oil and Dragon. Baker notes that these bands were playing in Australian pubs, and that their sound was “tough and loud,” and that it stood for “larrikinism, theatrics and pure bloody sex.” My research will seek out more music of this nature, and an investigation of the lyrical content of music from this time will be useful. Philip Hayward, in The Abundant Culture, describes Oz rock as “the sound of the suburbs…an average bloke given a mike.” He uses words such as “under produced,” “melancholy” “honesty” and “alienation” to describe it. Based on these readings, it is clear to me that some academics do believe in a distinct Australian sound. My goal is to discover for myself what this sound is, and why it is not more widely heard both in Australia and around the world.

      Marcus Breen’s Rock and Popular Music: Politics, Policies, Institutions provides me with an excellent resource to investigate the government’s role in the Australian music industry. He points out that the Australian government has made huge efforts in the past forty years to play an active role in the music industry. In 1973, the Australian Broadcasting Control Board set the Australian music content quota of Australian radio to 10%. It was anticipated that this quota would increase to 30% by the end of 1976, but this did not happen. However, the quota was increased in stages and managed to read 20% by 1976 (Breen 72). With laws such as this, local Australian music was given more airplay, and acts such as AC/DC, Olivia Newton-John and John Paul Young were able to achieve international success after a strong local following was established in Australia. In this regard, the government’s impact on the music industry has helped to shape and popularize the Australian sound. However, a 1978 report found that Australian music was part of the globalization of the popular music industry and that Australian music had “no more claim to special cultural relevance for Australians that music from any other part of the world.”

The governmental interventions in the music industry insist that there is an Australian style of popular culture that involves “specific cultural practices, localized political economy, distinctive everyday readings of cultural forms…all which contribute to the formation of a distinct national identity” (Breen 86). Since the early 1970s, the Australian government has tried to promote this national identity by implementing laws that support the commercialization of Australian music, particularly in contrast to the major record companies that stand in the way of their success. In the past, the Australian media has been accused of selling only successful musical acts—mostly from overseas, and mostly through these major global record companies—without considering the interest of local Australian music. The broadcasting quota laws are indicative of the belief that without these laws, Australian radio stations would play little or no Australian music.  This lack of confidence was not misguided. In 1975, the Whitlam Federal Labor government established twelve public radio licenses, hoping to provide Australian listeners more alternatives to overseas, commercialized music (Cunningham 242). And while commercial radio stations strongly opposed these governmental interventions, claiming intrusions on free-market rights to play what they want (Breen 69), the globalization of the music industry continues to increase today.

My hypothesis is that the Australian government has had a mostly positive effect on the music industry. From the readings I have done so far, the government aims to promote Australian music by forcing the media to acknowledge its existence, by implementing laws such as requiring more airtime for Australian music. I also think that a general Americanization of Australia has taken place throughtou the last century, and that it was inevitable that popular music would be affected as such. Numerous cultural, historical, technological and economic factors have contributed to the Americanization of Australia and its popular music trends. Finally, I think that in my research, I will find an Australian sound, similar to the one that Glenn Baker described. I believe that because of the increasing globalization of American music and the dominance of the global music industry by the major record companies, it has become increasingly difficult for Australians to be heard.

Bibliography

The Australian Recording Industry Association presents charts for Australia’s top music sales

     (www.aria.com.au).

Bennett, Tony (2001). Culture in Australia: policies, publics and programs. New York: Cambridge University

     Press

Breen, Marcus (1993). Making Music Local. Rock and Popular Music: Politics, Policies, Institutions. London:

     Routledge.

Billboard presents the charts for the United States’ top music sales (www.billboard.com).

Cunningham, Stuart and Turner, Graeme (2006). The Media & Communications in Australia. Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin

Hayward, Philip (1995). It’s SONY rock and roll: contemporary Oz rock. The Abundant Culture. Australia:

     Allen & Unwin Pty.

Hayward, Philip (2000). Riding the rhythm: A short survey and critique of Australian popular music studies

     and its relationship to mainstream Australian ethnomusicology. Musicology Australia 23, 176-186.

McFarlane, Ian (2008). Encyclopedia of Australian Rock. Australia: Allen & Unwin Pty

Shepherd, John (2003). Continuum Encyclopedia of popular music of the world. New York: Continuum

     International Publishing Group

Shuker, Roy (1998). Popular Music: The Key Concepts. London: Routledge

Sly, Lesley (1993). The Power and the Passion: A Guide to the Australian Music Industry. Sydney:   

     Warner/Chappell Music.

Sweeney, Philip (1991). The Virgin Directory of World Music. New York: Henry Holt and Company, Inc.

Waterhouse, Richard (1998). Popular Culture. Americanization and Australia. Sydney: University of New

     South Wales Press Ltd.