An Aussie entertainment publicist, Karen Eck has officially launched a petition which calls for Aussie music to replace annoying ‘on hold’ music over the phone.
The idea originally came to Eck after she had been left on hold with Qantas for a total of 7 hours and 19 minutes, listening to the same repetitive 15 second tune on loop.
Through this petition, which Eck is referring to as a “creative philanthropic solution”, she is hoping that everyone can benefit, including the Australian music industry, as well as saving those being put on hold from losing their minds.
The petition reads, “Like many artists, the Australian music industry has been on its knees during the pandemic.”
“One smart solution is for Australian corporations to give local musicians a platform to showcase their original songs to their customers waiting on the phone for an operator to answer. ”
“Currently, many companies use licence-free music on a repetitive loop designed to make customers hang up or incur a persistent earworm!”
“If you have to wait for hours to speak to a company representative wouldn’t you rather be entertained while supporting Australian musicians doing it tough? If so, please sign this petition to support #HoldAussieMusic.”
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Eck is also asking APRA AMCOS, who are responsible for handling the licensing of Aussie music to back the initiative in, as well as artists being compensated via royalty fees when their music is played.
Jack River also called out Channel 7 – the official Australian broadcaster for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, for not backing in Australian artists music during programming.
River wrote to Channel 7, “How great would it be if you played all Australian music in your coverage of the Olympics? These are Australian moments, they deserve Australian music.”
So far, River has received a response from TV journalist Edwina Bartholomew who responded, “Hey Jack River and other Aussie musos, we hear you.”
For more on this topic, follow the Industry Observer.
Listen to ‘Sugar’ by Aussie music legends Jack River and Peking Duk:
