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Ben Green @bengreenfuz.bsky.social · Jul 31

"The genocide in Gaza is a defining ethical test for the global public health community, social scientists, and academic associations."

- Break the selective silence on the genocide in Gaza, @thelancet.com

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Break the selective silence on the genocide in Gaza

Substantial and well-documented evidence indicates a catastrophic public health emergency in Gaza (appendix pp 1–5), marked by severe food insecurity and alarming levels of malnutrition-related deaths...

www.thelancet.com

Reposted by Ben Green

Steve Threadgold @stevethreadgold.bsky.social · Jul 13

When @bengreenfuz.bsky.social‬ and I wrote our chapter for this great collection on Pub Rock, Amyl and The Sniffers were an up and coming band just about to release their second record... academic publishing eh!
Unlikely to see them play in a pub these days...
www.routledge.com/Pub-Rock-in-...

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Ben Green @bengreenfuz.bsky.social · Jun 26

Discussing changes to how the ARIA Charts are compiled, with @hellharpy.bsky.social

theconversation.com/the-aria-cha...

The ARIA charts are about to undergo a big change. It could be a boost for local artists

Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours album has been in the Top 50 albums chart for more than 400 weeks – but it won’t be there for much longer.

theconversation.com

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Ben Green @bengreenfuz.bsky.social · Jun 19

Grateful for this important work. Such analyses are great resources for teaching in media and communication.

Further evidence the plummeting public trust in media and government, while tragic, is (1) rational and (2) cause for hope.

Deepcut News @deepcutnews.bsky.social · Jun 18

Exclusive: Analysis of ABC articles since October 2023 by
Deepcut and Newscord shows consistent bias toward Israeli perspectives over Palestinian ones.

The ABC cited Israeli sources 53% more often than Palestinian sources, and used humanising language for Israelis far more often.

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Reposted by Ben Green

International Sociological Association (ISA) @isa-sociology.org · May 21

The International Sociological Association (ISA) has been concerned for some time and condemned the acts of violence that have occurred in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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Ben Green @bengreenfuz.bsky.social · Apr 24

The VMDO Music Data & Insights Summit is next week, with support from RMIT's Music Industry Research Collective.

I'll present an 'Australian live music research roundup' - sharing highlights from a wealth of recent studies and reports.

www.vmdo.com.au/events/music...

Music Data & Insights Summit

The summit will bring together local and international industry representatives and researchers to unpack recent trends, studies and best practice.

www.vmdo.com.au

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Reposted by Ben Green

People's History of Australia @peopleshistoryau.bsky.social · Apr 8

On this day 8 April 1972, workers constructing the Sydney Opera House ejected management from the site and began running it themselves. With no bosses in the way, workers' job satisfaction soared, and the workers won huge wage increases, reduced working hours, and improved conditions.

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Ben Green @bengreenfuz.bsky.social · Apr 4

Revisited this review – still mad 😅 and see the title was adopted for SRB's anthology.

Are working-class characters allowed to be exceptional, or bound to exemplify grim statistics?

Are middle-class stories judged as sociology texts?

Love, an autodidact

sydneyreviewofbooks.com/reviews/crit...

Critic Swallows Book | Sydney Review of Books

To call into question the literary value of Dalton’s fiction is not to disqualify the pleasure and imaginative release that hundreds of thousands of readers have found in his novels, especially Boy Sw...

sydneyreviewofbooks.com

Ben Green @bengreenfuz.bsky.social · Feb 19

(2/2) Compare:
- orchestral & theatre musicians
- screen actors - largely freelance, but unionised, & stopped their industry in 2023.

What happened in live music?
How do the factors resonate today?
How have musicians' unions adapted? (Keen to pursue this part, incl good news, more in future)

Ben Green @bengreenfuz.bsky.social · Feb 19

New article (open access) on the history of unionism among live musicians, in US, UK, Australia.

With live music in the spotlight, there's an underrepresentation of the specific, collective interests of musicians as workers.

Not always. How did it happen? (1/2)

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Musicians’ Unions and Live Music: Historical and Contemporary Challenges in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States

This article explores factors in the historical decline of musicians’ unionism in live popular music in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and links these factors to contemporary...

www.tandfonline.com

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Ben Green @bengreenfuz.bsky.social · Feb 13

Art doesn't "bring us together" by reducing the scope of discourse to what's agreed by all. Art is where both difference and solidarity are expressed and explored, an endlessly prolonged debate that is crucial for democracy and humanity. That's how art brings us together.

Antoinette Lattouf @antoinettelattouf.bsky.social · Feb 13

Another Lebanese-Australian targeted.

Silencing artists, writers, & thinkers isn’t just censorship—it’s an assault on democracy. History shows that when creative voices are muzzled, terrible things follow & flourish.

What are these lobbyists so desperate to hide?

artreview.com/australia-dr...

Australia drops 2026 Venice Biennale artist over video of Hezbollah leader

Decision follows article describing Sabsabi’s work as ‘a ‘creative approach to racism’

artreview.com

Ben Green @bengreenfuz.bsky.social · Feb 13

And sponsors? I can't find a list right now, CA'S Venice 2026 page is down.

The official justification - avoiding debate (indeed), and "bringing Australians together" - is horrifying in ways I hope you or someone can articulate, as I'm struggling so far.

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Ben Green @bengreenfuz.bsky.social · Feb 9

I spoke with @spencerhowson.bsky.social on ABC Brisbane about the rise of "day clubbing" as people look to extend and expand music's place in their lives, and industry responds. (Last 10 mins)

We ended on earlier live gigs. I prefer late, post-parent duties - but this seems unpopular...?

Saturday Breakfast - ABC listen

Saturday Breakfast offers a mix of news, current affairs and weather.

www.abc.net.au

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Ben Green @bengreenfuz.bsky.social · Feb 9

I spoke with Courtney Kruk at @brisbanetimes.bsky.social about men assaulting and harassing women at an Amyl & the Sniffers show, of all places. Excellent investigation and important voices here.

www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/que...

Amyl and the Sniffers respond as fans complain of harassment at Brisbane show

Twenty-year-old fan Ameya was abused, despite the band warning the audience to keep their hands to themselves. Others saw women preyed upon. Music industry insiders lament that it happens all the time...

www.brisbanetimes.com.au

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Ben Green @bengreenfuz.bsky.social · Feb 7

New book review - Streaming Sounds: Musical Listening in the Digital Age by Michael James Walsh

👍👍

In the Journal of Sociology @sociologyaustralia.bsky.social

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Book cover of "Streaming Sounds: Musical Listening in the Digital Age". The cover image is a number of brightly coloured silhouettes of people's heads, each wearing headphones

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Ben Green @bengreenfuz.bsky.social · Jan 8

Civilian employers:

BBC is routinely called the UK's largest employer of musicians, with 400+ (which is less than the Royal Corps? Employed?)

Would any hotel/cruise/casino/theme park chains have comparable numbers? Is their employment more seasonal/short-term?

Curious for any thoughts on this.

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Ben Green @bengreenfuz.bsky.social · Jan 8

Musicians in other militaries:

Indian Army boasts hundreds of pipe and brass bands. (This should add up to more than the US total, if separately employed personnel?)

UK Royal Corps 753, China 400+, Australia 160

(2/3)

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Ben Green @bengreenfuz.bsky.social · Jan 8

Who employs the most musicians?🧵

TIL the US Army is the world's largest employer of musicians- some 6,500.

For context, they're nearly largest employer full stop (after Indian MoD). But I expect other occupations (cleaning, catering) might be outsourced (?) while musicians are enlisted.

(1/3)

US Army job listing for "Musician 42R". A highlighted passage says "largest employer of musicians in the world".

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Ben Green @bengreenfuz.bsky.social · Dec 29

Just picturing Žižek going gaga for this scene in the new Squid Game (and for good reason)

Ben Green @bengreenfuz.bsky.social · Dec 8

"we received, almost immediately, an apology from the organisers. The directive, they explained, had not originated from the staff, but had been circulated without their knowledge by someone in management. We should ignore the ban, they said."

Jeff Sparrow @jeffsparrow1.bsky.social · Dec 5

A piece about writing, polarisation and genocide

theconversation.com/friday-essay...

Friday essay: ‘A future of dust’ – Jeff Sparrow on Gaza and why, in evil times, writers have a responsibility to take sides

Paradoxically, the very scale of the crisis in Gaza makes worthwhile even the tiniest gesture of solidarity.

theconversation.com

Ben Green @bengreenfuz.bsky.social · Dec 7

A deeper dive into this test of live music planning laws, and the broader issues, with a range of voices. I'm happy to be included.

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Brisbane live music venue the Triffid seeks its day in court as Powderfinger star takes on developer

Legal battle could shape future of live music as nightlife tsar John Collins fights for protection from noise complaints

www.theguardian.com

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Ben Green @bengreenfuz.bsky.social · Dec 5

Brisbane's Spotify Wrapped results are distinguished by a taste for country music. I spoke to @brisbanetimes.bsky.social about this, and the sadly low showing of Australian artists in our national results

www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/que...

River city streaming: Brisbane really is a big country (music) town

When it comes to Spotify, the music heard in Brisbane is notably different to that played in other Australian cities.

www.brisbanetimes.com.au

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Ben Green @bengreenfuz.bsky.social · Dec 5

& any excuse, Whitlam: "all the objectives of a Labor Government... have as their goal the creation of a society in which the arts and the appreciation of spiritual and intellectual values can flourish. Our other objectives are all a means to an end; the enjoyment of the arts is an end in itself."

Ben Green @bengreenfuz.bsky.social · Dec 5

The guts of it is: "Most Australian leaders were not as interested as I was because they’ve never had an emotional event with the arts. ... if you’re talking to somebody who only takes the cabinet papers home at night [and] gets up with the newspapers, you’re wasting your breath."

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Ben Green @bengreenfuz.bsky.social · Dec 5

The Australian PM shared his Spotify Wrapped, and News Corp headlines gloat that he's been 'slammed' (that bellicose cliché) on X for such frivolity.

I'm reminded of something former PM Paul Keating said, which I wrote about a few years ago. peakmusicexperiences.wordpress.com/2019/12/07/p...

Paul Keating: Politics and emotional events

The announcement that the Australian government will no longer have an explicitly-named department or ministry for “arts” or “culture” brought to mind this characteristic qu…

peakmusicexperiences.wordpress.com

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