Australasia News: More Concerts At Suncorp; New Partner For Day On The Green; Royel Otis Scores; NZ: Going Global Summit

AUSTRALIA

More Concerts At Suncorp Stadium

The Queensland government has the go-ahead to make permanent a rise to 12 concerts per calendar year at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium.

“The government will weigh potential economic benefits as well as community impact before making any decisions about possible legislative amendments,” minister for tourism and sport Michael Healy said. The cap was increased from six shows for 2023 and 2024 to capitalise on post-COVID enthusiasm from concert promoters. Last year was its largest year on record with almost 1.7 million visiting 49 events.

New Partner For A Day On The Green

A Day On The Green series – the blend of music superstars and wine tasting – signed with asset manager La Trobe Financial as official partner for the 2024-25 summer season, its 24th year.

The finance firm gets an exclusive viewing deck with hospitality services for its clients and partners and will offer fans the chance to win exclusive experiences including backstage tours.

Michael Newton, director of Roundhouse Entertainment, which runs the series with Mushroom Group, says, “Their support allows us to continue bringing world-class artists and events to regional areas, boosting essential tourism dollars in these communities.”

Royal Otis’ Breakthrough Win

Following appearances at UK festivals Reading & Leeds and End Of The Road, a Top 10 crossover album and 10 million TikTok views, Sydney’s Royal Otis won the breakthrough independent act at the Australian Independent Record Labels Association (AIR) awards in Adelaide Aug. 1.

Other winners with a global presence included Genesis Owusu, Cub Sport, RVG, Polaris, Fanny Lumsden and Jem Cassar-Daley.

The South Australian government announced extra funding to AIR to keep the awards in Adelaide a further two years, and to host the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) in Australia for the first time.

NEW ZEALAND

Global Talent Scouts Tapped For Export Summit

Global talent scouts were among speakers tapped for the Going Global Music Summit in Auckland Aug. 29-30, which covers all aspects of NZ acts getting export-ready.

In her capacity as board member of the European Music Exporters Exchange, Angela Dorgan, CEO of Ireland’s First Music Contact association, devised a global music export strategy for European Music for the European Commission.

Other speakers included Dev Sherlock, senior music programmer at SXSW; Elliott Lefko, Canadian VP of Goldenvoice/AEG Presents; Jemma Burns, founder of Australia’s sync coordinator Pulse Points; U.S. music publicity firm Grandstand Media co-founder Lisa Gottheil; Germany’s Reeperbahn festival programmer Patrick Daniel; and Dr. Shain Shapiro, author and speaker of the Center for Music Ecosystems / Sound Diplomacy.