Abstract:

Cloonan begins by considering affects of music policy in Australia, in particular, from those people charged with lobbying for and/or implementing policy at both state and federal levels. Such policies have a direct financial imperative in contemporary climates, as Cloonan notes, “recent popular music policy within the advanced western nation-states must be considered as part of broader attempts to use the creative/cultural industries as economic drivers in post-industrial economies”. Such sentiments are widely accepted (see Hesmondhalgh, 2007) but policy developments also show how music matters at local levels, where battles over live music are fiercely contested, identities are formed, and issues of cultural preservation run deep.

Author: MARTIN CLOONAN