Queensland Exports

Queensland is a state in the Northeast part of Australia. It is named after Queen Victoria of the UK after she visited in the 1800′s. With a population of over 4 million people, it has a thriving economy with tourism and mining being the cornerstones. But that’s not really what interests me.

Recently, the government of Queensland has taken it upon themselves to invest a portion of the ‘arts fund’ money to promote Queensland musical artists abroad. Their strategies are right out of a multinational’s textbook on how to expand to new markets. It is brilliant, and it is working wonders for both the artists and for Queensland.

Queensland seeks to have their top artists enter new markets through popular music festivals. So, for example, they have paid to send artists to the Los Angeles Musexpo and the Great Escape Festival in England. These festivals also attract a lot of industry folk which has led to record and promotions deals for some of the Queensland artists.

It has also led to reciprocal deals where Queensland companies and promoters have had the opportunity to develop relationships with groups based in the USA and U.K. to work on the Australian side of things.

So what a great way for the Queensland government to invest in their image, to build cultural and business connections, and to encourage homegrown artists.

Stay tuned,
Erik
erikrostad.com