Australians are being encouraged to show some serious PDA (Public Displays of Ausify) by making their love for local music a whole lot more visible across AusMusic month.
Whether it’s posting your latest homegrown obsession, wearing your favourite artist’s merch, singing along at a gig or introducing everyone within earshot to your new favourite band, this year it’s all about PDAs.
The national behaviour change campaign from Music Australia was developed by Bureau of Everything in partnership with Versus, ED Studios, Allegory, Rumble, Involved Media and Level Two Music / DISCO.
The campaign kicked off with a teaser; karaoke session featuring seven Australian artists belting out the iconic John Paul Young track, Love Is in the Air. The teaser was first posted by Ayesha Madon, one of the seven artists, on her Instagram and TikTok Stories on Sunday 1 November.
It was followed on Monday with the campaign film featuring Ben Lee, Georgia Maq, Vv Pete and Nooky alongside triple j’s Abby and Tyrone and some real-life superfans, all sharing their PDA for the Aussie artists they love.
These were the first of many invitations for people to get involved, setting the tone for a November dedicated to celebrate local music and the fan behaviours that support it. Each day across AusMusic Month, Ausify will share a different post inviting Australians to show their Public Displays of Ausify.
Ranging from the heartfelt to the gloriously unhinged: naming the most iconic song in Aussie history, hard-launching an artist you’ve just discovered, requesting an Aussie track at the pub or supermarket, or sharing the song that got you through a break-up.
Fans are encouraged to tag #ausify and @ausifyau, or by texting their PDA to the Love Line on 0400 866 866 with the best contributions shared across Ausify’s channels throughout November.
The campaign is supported by paid social, digital and out-of-home advertising.
“It’s a real pleasure to keep building on the Ausify platform with an outpouring of wonderfully cringe PDAs across AusMusic Month. Public Displays of Ausify gives everyone permission to wear your favourite artists on your sleeve and shamelessly overshare about the gigs that changed your life. We all have one. And frankly, we need to hear about it,” said Cam Blackley, creative founder of Bureau of Everything.
Whilst the campaign starts with a small, karaoke session with friends, it will culminate with a massive pub choir led by world-renowned Choirmaster Astrid Jorgensen.
The event on the steps at the Sydney Opera House Forecourt on Sunday, 29 November, will teach an audience of thousands one very iconic Australian song.
Tickets go on sale on Thursday 5 November.
The entire campaign is being backed by a stellar line-up of Australian artists and cultural voices, including Ben Lee, Fanny Lumsden, Astrid Jorgensen, aleksiah, Ayesha Madon, Becca Hatch, Budjerah, Conor Jacob
Smith (Midnight Til Morning), Georgia Maq, ISHAN, Missy Higgins, Nooky, Ruel and Vv Pete, among others.
Ausify is a response to the rough headwinds that continue to challenge the local music industry, with the algorithms shaping our listening habits making discoverability harder. APRA AMCOS’ Year in Review found the audience for Australian-made content declined to a low of just 8.5 per cent of all streaming audio. By 2030, this is expected to fall still further, to just 5 per cent.
Ausify ambassador Ben Lee is keen to see Australians get a little less shy about their musical allegiances.
“Australia produces some of the best music in the world. We punch well above our weight in terms of international success, global influence and underground artists on the forefront of culture. It doesn’t make a lot of sense, but there has always been something magical about the music that comes out of this country,” he said.
“The Ausify campaign this year isn’t about convincing people that Aussie music is incredible. Everyone already knows that. This year it’s about being loud and proud about the music we listen to and love…Tell a friend, get a tattoo, annoy people on the bus by blasting your favourite local track. Be loud and proud about the Aussie music that you love!”
