MUMBAI: Calling for increased cooperation and co-ordination between the music industries of Australia and India, Australia’s Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government and Minister for the Arts, Simon Crean said he was looking forward to the day when a collaborative work from India and Australia would top the charts in both countries.
During a keynote address with the theme ‘The role of the government in Music and Culture’ at Nokia Music Connects (NMC) Day 1, Crean said, “India has a lot of music sourced from films, while Australia’s music was sourced creatively. Collaboration would be a great thing. Australia is the sixth largest music market in the world at USD 2 billion a year. As digital technology evolves, the medium and distribution of music, it is an exciting time to re-invent, as music creation and collaboration could take place without the involvement of third parties.”
Crean averred that his country was well-equipped for the task, with artists, producers and broadcasters in place. He also pointed out that the Australian prime minister had recently signed a Memorandum of Association (MOU) with India’s film fraternity for potential co-production.
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“Asian music is the growth sector and Bollywood and Korean pop having gone global. We have a Aus $ 1.7 million fund for developing talent and are in the process of finalizing a cultural policy- the first in 20 years,” revealed the minister. Craen said that the trade relationship between the two countries, India and Australia, was old, and went as far back as 1788.
Stressing further on the need for collaboration, Crean said, “The size of the Indian diaspora has doubled in to 450,000. A cultural relationship would make collaboration an obvious good for a different and confident engagement in Asia.”
