Kevin Bloody Wilson making his return to WA

Without writers and thinkers, Sydney risks becoming a cultural ghost city

Sydney Morning Herald

19 minutes ago

Sydney Morning Herald

Without writers and thinkers, Sydney risks becoming a cultural ghost city

It has been a big week for the nation's publishers, with the 2025 Miles Franklin Literary Award, won by Siang Lu for his novel Ghost Cities, bringing attention to the best Australian fiction published over the past year. But, as Linda Morris reports in today's Sun-Herald, key industry voices have warned that professional writing will become an unviable occupation within 20 years, without a steady flow of paid speaking gigs to supplement measly earnings from book sales. Australia's writers earn an average of $18,500 a year. In an attempt to increase the stream of such gigs, the Sydney Writers' Festival will move to deliver events year-round, becoming a resident company of the State Library. The move – supported by a $1.5 million state government investment – comes ahead of NSW's new writing and literature strategy, a welcome Australian first. Because, while Arts Minister John Graham is right to say that Sydney is 'not a shallow city', it is also an ever more expensive city – one which creatives are leaving in droves for cheaper Australian capitals or better opportunities abroad. As Australia's publishers grapple with how to foster a new generation of local writers, a similar crisis is being experienced by the nation's music industry, where artists, earning from streams a fraction of what they did from record sales, have been left to invest thousands of dollars touring music to try to escape the international algorithms that now determine airplay. Loading The Australian Recording Industry Association will change the way it calculates its charts from September, restricting the list to songs released in the past two years, amid concerns about older tunes sitting on the chart for years after it included streaming plays and not just record sales in its count. This has been a particular issue for ARIA's Australian music charts. Last week, the top song on the Australian Artist Singles chart was Don't Dream It's Over by Crowded House, released in 1986. AC/DC's Thunderstruck, released in 1990, was in second, having spent 181 consecutive weeks in the top 20. And that isn't even that long a stint: Vance Joy's 2013 Hottest 100 winner Riptide has been in the top 20 for 363 consecutive weeks, last week at number 4.

‘Don't stress if you don't know': A rock star's guide to the HSC

Sydney Morning Herald

19 minutes ago

Sydney Morning Herald

‘Don't stress if you don't know': A rock star's guide to the HSC

Kirk Pengilly, guitarist and saxophonist for INXS, doesn't remember much about his HSC. He does know he didn't do music. He also knows that if he had forced himself into studying HSC subjects he didn't like to chase an ATAR he didn't particularly want, his rock-star dream may have never become a reality. 'I studied to the best of my ability, but I lived in a place of distraction. I could go fishing, I could go swimming, I could take off on a motorboat. I spent a lot of time looking out the window,' he said, recalling his HSC class of 1975 at The Forest High School on the northern beaches. This was also the same year the Herald 's first HSC Study Guide was produced. The 50th anniversary edition of the guide, in partnership with the NSW Education Standards Authority, is launched on Monday and is designed to support the 80,000 plus students sitting the HSC exams later this year. Meanwhile Pengilly said by the time he was in year 12 he knew his life plan: a career in music. And what a career. Over 40 years, INXS became one of Australia's most successful rock bands. With more than 70 million records sold worldwide and more than 4 billion career streams, they have won seven MTV Awards, three Grammy nominations, Brit Awards and hundreds of platinum, gold and now two diamond awards from Canada and Australia. The band, comprising friends from school, first performed locally as The Farriss Brothers in 1977. Michael Hutchence (vocals), Pengilly (guitar/sax), Garry Gary Beers (bass), Jon Farriss (drums), Tim Farriss (guitar) and Andrew Farriss (guitar, keyboard, percussion) won Australian fans and then international acclaim, touring and performing for millions around the world, including the historic sell-out 1991 performance for 74,000 fans at Wembley Stadium. '[When I hear our music in] the supermarket, it's a mixture of pride and hide. I get approached by people everywhere I go, which is lovely, but I find it a bit awkward in a supermarket when one of our songs is playing,' he has noted. 'In stark contrast, hearing a massive audience sing along is breathtaking – such a powerful energy.' Meanwhile, Pengilly said it was important to do 'what you love' and, for all the HSC pressure and stress, the reality is that life goes on after the HSC. Loading 'You need to ask yourself what you love in life and what you love doing,' he said. 'If you can uncover that and get to the bottom of what it is you love, the things you do, then you can see how you can make a job connected to the things you love doing. 'It's not healthy to be doing something you do not enjoy and don't want to be doing. 'Certainly don't stress if you don't know [what you want to do] at the end of your HSC. Enjoy life and it will come to you. Your niche in the world will come when it is ready.'

The Age

19 minutes ago

The Age

‘Don't stress if you don't know': A rock star's guide to the HSC

Kirk Pengilly, guitarist and saxophonist for INXS, doesn't remember much about his HSC. He does know he didn't do music. He also knows that if he had forced himself into studying HSC subjects he didn't like to chase an ATAR he didn't particularly want, his rock-star dream may have never become a reality. 'I studied to the best of my ability, but I lived in a place of distraction. I could go fishing, I could go swimming, I could take off on a motorboat. I spent a lot of time looking out the window,' he said, recalling his HSC class of 1975 at The Forest High School on the northern beaches. This was also the same year the Herald 's first HSC Study Guide was produced. The 50th anniversary edition of the guide, in partnership with the NSW Education Standards Authority, is launched on Monday and is designed to support the 80,000 plus students sitting the HSC exams later this year. Meanwhile Pengilly said by the time he was in year 12 he knew his life plan: a career in music. And what a career. Over 40 years, INXS became one of Australia's most successful rock bands. With more than 70 million records sold worldwide and more than 4 billion career streams, they have won seven MTV Awards, three Grammy nominations, Brit Awards and hundreds of platinum, gold and now two diamond awards from Canada and Australia. The band, comprising friends from school, first performed locally as The Farriss Brothers in 1977. Michael Hutchence (vocals), Pengilly (guitar/sax), Garry Gary Beers (bass), Jon Farriss (drums), Tim Farriss (guitar) and Andrew Farriss (guitar, keyboard, percussion) won Australian fans and then international acclaim, touring and performing for millions around the world, including the historic sell-out 1991 performance for 74,000 fans at Wembley Stadium. '[When I hear our music in] the supermarket, it's a mixture of pride and hide. I get approached by people everywhere I go, which is lovely, but I find it a bit awkward in a supermarket when one of our songs is playing,' he has noted. 'In stark contrast, hearing a massive audience sing along is breathtaking – such a powerful energy.' Meanwhile, Pengilly said it was important to do 'what you love' and, for all the HSC pressure and stress, the reality is that life goes on after the HSC. Loading 'You need to ask yourself what you love in life and what you love doing,' he said. 'If you can uncover that and get to the bottom of what it is you love, the things you do, then you can see how you can make a job connected to the things you love doing. 'It's not healthy to be doing something you do not enjoy and don't want to be doing. 'Certainly don't stress if you don't know [what you want to do] at the end of your HSC. Enjoy life and it will come to you. Your niche in the world will come when it is ready.'

Kevin Bloody Wilson making his return to WA

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Without writers and thinkers, Sydney risks becoming a cultural ghost city

‘Don't stress if you don't know': A rock star's guide to the HSC

‘Don't stress if you don't know': A rock star's guide to the HSC

Kevin Bloody Wilson making his return to WA

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Try Our AI Features

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Related Articles

Without writers and thinkers, Sydney risks becoming a cultural ghost city

‘Don't stress if you don't know': A rock star's guide to the HSC

‘Don't stress if you don't know': A rock star's guide to the HSC

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