Following the release of For The Record, we sat down with local labels, pressing plants and retailers to understand their role in Victoria's considerable vinyl ecosystem.
🌸 @blossomrotrecords 's Nat Pavlovic talks us through what it's like running a small independent record label in 2026.
👀 Watch the full video via the link in our bio.
📖Read more in "For The Record”, a new research piece commissioned by Victorian Music Development
Office and delivered by Ethan Holben + @audiencestrategies_music
We have no shortage of incredible speakers lined up for you, Melbourne.
The SOLD OUT Music Data and Insights Summit kicks off on Monday at Collingwood Yards.
📊Robert C Bundle, @songlines.music
📊Prof Susan Forde, @griffithuniversity
📊Assoc Prof Shane Horman, @monash_uni
📊Bron Adams, @livemusicoffice
📊Lance Cheney, Chillcheny
📊Kristen Paterson, @pbsfm
📊Jamison Kehl, @thepushau
📊Abby Flett, @thepushau
🚨NEW (AND FINAL!) PANEL ADDITION 🚨
On Monday afternoon, this excellent collection of local artists and digital specialists will unpack the learnings from GYRO.Group's presentation on data-driven insights and discuss candidly, in the context of their own experience.
Featuring:
👏🏼 Jessie Hillel (Head of Label, @actsagency )
👏🏼 @_n.kechi Anele (Artist & Advocate)
👏🏼 Louis Parkinson (Artist Development Manager, @xelon )
👏🏼 Matthew Rogers (Chief Commercial Officer, @gyrogroup.co )
👏🏼 Moderator: Sarah Hamilton (Founder, @golden_hour.me )
Next week's Music Data and Insights Summit is sold out with a waitlist now available.
Music’s cultural value is undeniable. Making the case for it, however, increasingly relies on clear, credible data.
Join us on Tuesday 19 May at 3.30pm AEST as we present the second edition of our annual economic study, The Bass Line, live from the @vmdo___ 2026 Music Data & Insights Summit, with Chris Carey (@ffwdgroup ) leading an interactive session unpacking the findings.
Building on the first edition, this report draws on new data to provide an updated snapshot of how the music industry operates today, mapping where income is generated, how it flows across the sector, and how these patterns are shifting over time.
The session will focus on how to interpret the data and how The Bass Line can inform policy, investment and decision making to support a thriving and sustainable Australian music industry.
🔗 Register via the link in our bio to join the livestream
🤟 An Auslan interpreter will be present on the livestream.
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Image: Scott Owen from The Living End
Credit: Kane Hibberd @kane_hibberd
The Bass Line is presented by Music Australia, in collaboration with McAtamney & Advisors who have undertaken the analysis.
The Victorian Music Development Office thanks the Victorian Government for their continued support of the VMDO in the budget. 🙌🏼
Read more about our events, programs and resources for Victoria’s music industry at .au
🙌🏼The 2026 Music Data and Insights Summit has now sold out. 🙌🏼
A waitlist is now open for those who have missed out. We can't wait to see you all at Collingwood Yards on May 18 + 19!
Following the release of For The Record, Sindy from @area3000.radio met with local labels, pressing
plants and retailers to understand their role in Victoria's vinyl ecosystem.
🌸 @blossomrotrecords was formed by Nat Pavlovic and Sophie McComish in 2020 and has since
guided more than a dozen 'Blossom Buddies' through their first vinyl release.
👀 Watch the full video via the link in our bio
📖Read more in "For The Record”, a new research piece commissioned by Victorian Music Development
Office and delivered by Ethan Holben + @audiencestrategies_music .
📽️ @tonesofnaarm
Chris Carey, economist and founder of @ffwdgroup will present two provocations at this month's Music and Data Insights Summit, each designed to get us thinking about doing things differently.
🤔"Short term plays could kill the music industry"
🤔"Pricing is messed up, and we need to talk about intangible value"
🚨🚨The MDIS is almost sold out. Don't say you weren't warned!🚨🚨
Four months into the world's first social media ban for under-16s, Australian artists, managers, and labels are preparing to navigate a potentially new reality for fan-building and marketing.
@musicallybiz will dive into the latest data on this audience before a panel of experts consider how we market music to young people moving forward.
📅 18–19 May
📍 Collingwood Yards
🎟 From $45 (limited Mob Tix available)
Tickets selling fast!
📈The Reality of Independent Music: Data-Driven Insights for the Industry 📈
Independent artists are constantly redefining the music landscape, yet many of the narratives about “what works” in streaming, release strategy and audience engagement can be based on assumption rather than evidence.
This session featuring @matrogers uses @gyrogroup.co ’s dataset of independent Australian releases to provide a clear view of how artists are actually behaving.
Have you got your MDIS tickets yet? 🤔
Music Victoria and the VMDO would like to congratulate the Victorian winners at the 2026 APRA Music Awards.
🏆 @amylandthesniffers - Peer-Voted APRA Song of the Year, Most Performed Rock Work, Songwriter of the Year
🏆 @sarah_aarons - International Recognition Award
🏆 @oceangrove - Most Performed Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Work
Amyl and the Sniffers' managers Simone Ubaldi and Andrew Parisi of Victorian company Sundowner Artists were also recognised by @aamaustralia as the 2026 Manager of the Year. Alongside Amyl, they manage the careers of @girlandgirl_music , @gracecummingsmusic and @gnome.music .
📸 Amyl and the Sniffers by @michelleghunder , Sarah Aarons by @rcstills & Ocean Grove @lucindagoodwinphotography .
@apraamcos
The full program just dropped for the 2026 Music Data and Insights Summit 📊🎶
From keynote insights to future-focused panels, this year’s program dives into how data is reshaping the music industry.
Highlights include:
💭 @apraamcos CEO Dean Ormston on the growing power of data
💭 Matthew Rogers ( @gyrogroup.co ) unpacking how independent artists are building audiences
💭 Kate Ben-Tovim ( @turning.world_ ) on music’s role in cultural diplomacy
💭 Panel: The Social Media Ban – Disruption or Reset? featuring voices from across the industry and across the globe.
Plus the launch of the Bass Line 2 report from @MusicAustralia , with updated national data and insights.
🗓 18–19 May
📍 Collingwood Yards
🎟 From $45 (limited Mob Tix available)
Tickets selling fast! 🎵 @cooloutsun - Belle Vie
