What good is love if you don’t show it. When it comes to Australian music love, not showing it is deadly to bands. They don’t get algorithms’ attention and they don’t get gigs.

But November is AusMusic month, so Music Australia is asking Australians to show some serious PDA. That’s Public Displays of Ausify. It’s about making love for local music a whole lot more visible. The national behaviour change campaign was developed by Bureau of Everything in partnership with Versus, ED Studios, Allegory, Rumble, Involved Media and Level Two Music / DISCO.

All that it asks is for Aussies to post their latest homegrown obsession, wear their favourite artist’s merch, sing along at a gig or introduce everyone within earshot to their new favourite band.

The campaign kicked off with a teaser; a suitably public display of affection in the form of a karaoke session featuring seven Australian artists belting out the famed 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 November 1.

The campaign film followed on Monday, 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. The collection hope to range 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.

Cam Blackley, creative founder of Bureau of Everything, stated, “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.”

While the campaign started 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 November 29 will teach an audience of thousands one very iconic Australian song. Tickets on sale 9:00am AEDT on Thursday November 5 at https://ausify.com.au/pda/pub-choir.

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.

The Ausify campaign 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% of all streaming audio. By 2030, this is expected to fall still further, to just 5%. That’s why Australian music needs all Australians to show more loud love.

Ausify ambassador, Ben Lee, stated, “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. 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.”

Credits:
Client: Music Australia
Director: Millie Millgate
Campaign Lead: Emily Copeland
Campaign Manager: Pam Thornback
Engagement Manager: Luanne Shneier

Agency: Bureau of Everything
Creative Founder: Cam Blackley
Strategy Founder: Emily Taylor
Creative Directors: Jardin Anderson & Michael Kleinman
Social Creative Director: Liana Rossi
Group Business Director: Esther Knox
Executive Producer: Roy De Giorgio
Producer: Zorrica Blackley

Production Company: Versus
Directors: Jason Sukadana & Tanya Babic
Executive Producer: Autumn Loveday
DoP: Jani Hakli
Colourist: Alina Bermingham
Editor: Sean McDermott
Post Production: Sean McDermott & Ilya Malov

Sound: Rumble
Creative Director: Tone Aston
Executive Creative Producer: Michael Gie
Media: Involved Media
PR & Creators: Allegory
Music: Level Two & DISCO