Australian music and tech brand, Sprout, wants its headphones and speakers to spread homegrown sound. Right now, that’s not happening. The local industry is hurting, with artists struggling for support. Cancellation of festivals and the loss of over 1,300 music venues and stages across the country1 has made exposure even more difficult. According to the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), despite Australia being the tenth largest music market in the world, there were only four albums and three singles from Australian artists in 2023’s top 1002 and 3.
So the company has joined forces with indigenous rap artist, Briggs, to champion homegrown sound. The new creative platform, Homeground Sound, the brainchild of +61 and Bear Meets Eagle On Fire, coincideswith the first release of Briggs’ new single, Munarra. The Homegrown Sound platform is part of Sprout’s new mission to help support and grow Australian music.
Munarra heralds the launch of a new artistic direction for Briggs, hip hop infused with heavy metal. “I wanted to push the boundaries with this song and the visuals. To tell a story about coming up in a hostile environment, where you’re not meant to be or grow,” said Briggs. “That’s what we wanted to explore, growing despite being in a hostile environment and emerging from that, in strength. I think today, the things I faced coming up are still there, but artists have a whole slew of new obstacles to overcome.”
The launch video for Munarra shows the artist ‘birthed’ from the arid red dirt and draws its inspiration from Briggs’ own experiences and the determination it takes to break through in this country. The song will also be featured in a new Homegrown Sound Spotify playlist, that aims to encourage Australians to stream more homegrown music.
Ben Caddy, general manager from Sprout, stated, “The Australian music industry has had a tough couple of years, so as an Australian brand that has music and sound at its heart, we wanted to shine a light on the best local music out there and encourage the public to support it by listening to more homegrown sound.”
[1] https://www.apraamcos.com.au/about/governance-policy/annual-reports/year-in-review
[2] https://www.aria.com.au/industry/news/streaming-drives-fifth-consecutive-year-of-growth
[3] https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-09/australian-music-in-aria-charts-has-plummeted-heres-why/1025 75198
Credits
Agency: +61 with Bear Meets Eagle On Fire
Client: Sprout
Chief Marketing Officer: Brent Smart
Head of Creative Excellence: Anna Jackson
General Manager: Ben Caddy
Marketing Manager: Alex Peisker
Marketing Specialists: Kritika Bhatia & Demi Mavroudis
Commercial Operations Manager: Ben Hicks
Digital Marketing Specialist: Lucy Surace
Media & Marketing Operations Lead: Paula Marreiros
Senior Media Specialist: Robert Aoukar
Media: OMD Australia
Production Company: Scoundrel
Director: Tom Noakes
DOP: Aaron McLisky
Co-Founder & Executive Producer: Adrian Shapiro
Executive Producer: Kate Gooden
Producer: Alex Tizzard
Editing: Lucas Baynes @ ARC Edit
Post Production: Fin Design & Effects
Sound Design & Mix: Otis
Photographer: Simon Harsent @ Pool Collective
Music Supervisor: Anton Trailer
Song: Munarra by Briggs
Written and produced by Adam Briggs and Steven Smith
Publishing: Sony Music Publishing (Australia) Pty Ltd
Master: Universal Music (Australia) Pty Ltd
