An extra $286 million over four years in funding will also be pumped into the arts sector.
Under the changes, the Australia Council will morph into a new umbrella body called Creative Australia.
If we skew it too far in favour of the streamers we will end up with more content behind the paywall.
— Bridget Fair, Free TV chief executive
The governing board will continue to be known as the Australia Council, and it will continue to provide grants to visual artists and theatre and dance groups. The existing board members will retain their positions.
But sitting alongside that will be two new independent bodies which will also make grants: Music Australia, with a focus on live and recorded music, and Writers Australia, which will help authors and publishers.
The government believes commercial musicians and authors have not been well-served by the traditional grants-based funding approach.
Dean Ormston, chief of music industry association APRA AMCOS, welcomed the creation of Music Australia.
“There is an unrealistic expectation that it’s OK for people working in the music industry to work three jobs to eke out a sustainable career, and it doesn’t have to be like this” he said.
‘We can do better’
The government will spend the six months consulting over the details of local content requirements, including the size of the contribution from the streamers, amid demands from Screen Producers Australia for the companies’ to spend 20 per cent of their local revenue on home-grown programs. However, the government may settle for a smaller figure.
“If you’re watching commercial TV, there are Australian content obligations. But if you’re watching a streaming service, there are none. I know we can do better,” Mr Burke said.
However, Free TV chief executive Bridget Fair, who represents commercial broadcasters, said she was concerned local content quotas for streaming services would drive up the overall cost of producing shows in Australia as the two sectors competed for talent and staff.
She said the free-to-air networks already spent $1.5 billion annually on their local content requirements.
“I understand we’ve got to compete in a new environment, but I’m not sure we need to distort the market with new quotas,” she said.
“If we skew it too far in favour of the streamers we will end up with more content behind the paywall.”
Free-to-air broadcaster Channel 9 is part of a media group that also owns streaming service Stan and publishes The Australian Financial Review.
What counts as Australian content?
Screen Producers Australia chief Matt Deaner said what would be defined as “Australian content” would be a key part of consultations
“Getting this right is no simple matter. There’s a world of cultural difference between Pirates of the Caribbean and The Drover’s Wife, both of which were supported by Australian taxpayers,” he said.
Opposition arts spokesman Paul Fletcher and communications spokeswoman Sarah Henderson said the government’s plans raised a raft of questions, including how the quota would be calculated, whether local content would be limited to just drama or extend to reality television and games shows, and the risk streamers may withdraw from Australia.
They also questioned how the scheme would treat Paramount+ and Stan, which are part of broader media groups that include Australian free-to-air television stations.
“Why does it makes sense to have three different sets of Australian content rules, one for free-to-air TV, one for pay TV (Foxtel) and a third for SVOD services,” Mr Fletcher and Ms Henderson said.
Streaming services in Australia: fight looms over local content - The Australian Financial Review
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