ABC Music is Australia's largest

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

. It operates under the ABC Commercial division of the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

. It covers a wide range of

music genre A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. Genre is to be distinguished from musical form and musical style, although in practice these terms are sometim ...

s, including classical, children’s and adult contemporary music,

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusin ...

, rock, and Australian country music. Its imprints include ABC Classics and FOUR FOUR. ABC Music Publishing was a separate business unit of ABC music, which published the work of

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

s and

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

s, until its catalogue was acquired by Universal Music Publishing Group Australia & NZ in 2020/21. Established in 1974, ABC Music is one of the longest-running, most prolific and diverse

. Operating as part of the ABC Commercial division, ABC Music invests all profits back into the broader ABC, to spend on the creation of content and to further its ABC Charter activities.

Catalogue

ABC Music the largest independent record label in Australia. Its catalogue covers a wide variety of genres including country, classical, blues, roots, and rock. The label has released many albums in conjunction with various ABC Radio stations and programs, including

triple j Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...

's ''Hottest 100'', ''Like A Version'', ''House Party'', ''One Night Stand'', ''Beat The Drum'' and ''40 Years Of Music'' releases, as well as tribute albums to

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian musician, writer, and actor who fronts the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Known for his baritone voice, Cave's music is characterised by emotional intensity, a wide variety ...

and Paul Kelly. It is also home to a number of popular compilation series, including ''Countdown'''','' '' rage'', ''Hit Country'', ''Beaut Ute'' and ''ABC Kids'' themed titles, and has produced a number of special event releases, such as '' His Life and Music'', the live album from Gurrumul featuring the

Sydney Symphony Orchestra The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra based in Sydney. With roots going back to 1908, the orchestra was made a permanent professional orchestra on the formation of the Australian Broadcasting Commission in 1932. ...

Imprints

ABC Music acts as the umbrella label for several imprints, past and present, while FOUR FOUR covers genres such as

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

, ska, roots,

world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

and rock.

ABC Classic

ABC Classic is an imprint of ABC Music, which represents many of Australia's leading classical musicians,

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

s and ensembles. The label was founded in

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

as a means of showcasing the ABC's classical music recordings under its own banner. The label sells music on CD as well as making it available on various

music streaming A music streaming service is a type of online streaming media service that focuses primarily on music, and sometimes other forms of digital audio content such as podcasts. These services are usually subscription-based services allowing users to s ...

services such as

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

. ABC Classic has been awarded the prestigious ARIA Music Award for Best Classical Album more than 25 times since the inception of the awards in 1987. Featured artists include Yvonne Kenny, Geoffrey Lancaster, Jayson Gillham, Richard Tognetti, Sara Macliver, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Slava Grigoryan, Gareth Koch, David Hobson, Karin Schaupp, Diana Doherty, Roger Woodward, Gerard Willems, Omega Ensemble, Cantillation, Sydney Children's Choir, Gondwana Voices and Saffire (the Australian Guitar Quartet). The label has a strong emphasis on Australian compositions, with their ''Australian Composers Series'' recorded in conjunction with the

Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a symphony orchestra based in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It is the smallest of the six orchestras established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). History The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestr ...

being a major milestone in Australian Music.

FOUR FOUR

Four Four (stylised as FOUR , , FOUR) is an imprint of ABC Music. Established in 2012, Four Four's releases include genres such as

, ska,

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

, indie and Australian rock. One of their earliest signings was the ARIA Award-winning band

Melbourne Ska Orchestra Melbourne Ska Orchestra are an ARIA Award-winning Australian ska band formed in 2003 in Melbourne. The group has up to 34 members, and is led by bandleader Nicky Bomba, formerly of the John Butler Trio. The band are signed to FOUR FOUR, an im ...

, in November 2012. , the following artists were signed to Four Four: * Nicky Bomba * Born Lion * Cambodian Space Project * Damien Dempsey * The Go Set * Little Bastard *

* Paddy McHugh *

Mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military or a crew) to oppose, change, or remove superiors or their orders. The term is commonly used for insubordination by members of the military against an officer or superior, ...

* Ozomatli * Tim Rogers * The Rumjacks * Screamfeeder * The Snowdroppers * The Tiger & Me

Awards

As of 2022, ABC Music releases have received 119

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

in a wide range of categories, since the awards' inception in 1987. Music by Australian composers features prominently in the list winners, including Peter Sculthorpe, Richard Meale, Carl Vine and Ross Edwards. Australian orchestras have also dominated the awards, with the

featuring on four award winners. Soprano Yvonne Kenny and pianist Gerard Willems have both won the award twice. The label has enjoyed great success in recent years, including

ARIA Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

Number One albums from Lee Kernaghan and

Triple J Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...

's ''

Like a Version ''Like a Version'' is a long-running weekly segment on Australian youth radio station Triple J. It involves musicians playing two songs live in the Triple J studio, one of their own songs and then a cover version. The series was created by pres ...

''. ABC Music was named "Best Independent Label" at the 2020

AIR Awards The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. History The inaugural 2006 awards were held at Blacket Hot ...

ABC Music Publishing

ABC Music Publishing is still registered as a business name under ABC Commercial, but its website is no longer in existence, after its catalogue had been sold to Universal Music Publishing Group Australia & NZ. It was "an independent music publisher representing some of Australia’s most recognised songwriters and composers", including screen composers. It also provided a personalised service for

filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

s, providing licences for appropriate music for their films. It represented some of Australia's most recognised songwriters and composers, including

You Am I You Am I are an Australian power pop band, fronted by its lead singer-songwriter and guitarist, Tim Rogers. They formed in December 1989 and are the first Australian band to have released three successive albums that have each debuted at the ...

, Ruby Boots, Ben Salter, The Audreys, Sean O'Boyle, Juice Music, Tim Rogers, Davey Lane, Kit Warhurst, Amanda Brown, Rosie Westbrook, Sara Storer, Andy Clockwise, Sinead Burgess, Lachlan Bryan, and Rhys Muldoon. Marianna Annas was Head of ABC Music Publishing until January 2020, before moving to take up the position of Vice President, Commercial & Creative at Universal Music Publishing Group Australia & NZ, based in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

ABC Audio

ABC Audio is a leading producer of

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sch ...

s and other

spoken word Spoken word is an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a 20th-century continuation of an oral tradition, ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetic ...

releases, receiving distribution from Bolinda Audio Publishing.

Footnotes

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Australian independent record labels Classical music record labels Australian country music record labels Record labels established in 1974 Australian Broadcasting Corporation divisions Record labels established in 1987 Record labels established in 2012 Record labels based in Sydney