My weekly reading round-up
More arts election asks, Spotify turns up support for Australian music, AIAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more → bots are dragging on Wikimedia and more.
≈ 2,371 words ⌇ Estimated reading time: 18 minutes
The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance, OpenMIC and NAVA join the Australian arts industry associations I listed last week in calling for specific actions from government this Election. While there are differences in the asks, we are seeing some things requested by more than one organisation including increased funding, local content quotas, investment in workforce development and AIAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more → regulation that protects copyright and creators. Another thing that rings out clear across the election wishlists is a call for greater protection of artistic freedom and the independence of arts organisations.
Spotify has been vocal in the past about how it sees itself in the industry, but it continues to be singled out for its role in a reshaped music industry, including criticisms of the royalties it pays and how it is influencing the listening habits of Australia’s music listening audience. Likely prompted by a range of motivations, the music streaming market leader is turning up its support of Australian music with a multi-faceted campaign rolling out soon.
The Wikimedia Foundation has talked about the increasing cost of AI web scraping bots accessing their free knowledge. They cite increasing bandwidth costs from AIAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more → web scraping bots. This automated traffic is puting increased strain on the Wikimedia infrastructure and diverting IT and technical focus. The Foundation is exploring how to respond.
Also: Queensland University of Technology has been encouraged to dump dance degrees, Taiwan is taking legal action for undersea cable sabotage and Meta allegedly knew children were on Horizon Worlds.
What’s going on?
Here’s WTF happened this week:
More arts advocates outlined what they are looking for from the federal election
Other arts industry associations have used the election to call for increased funding, workforce protections for artists and stronger artistic independence in the wake of increasing political interference.
Adding to the list of industry associations in the arts that have come out with their own agendas for the election, here are three more:
The arts generally
Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance
I missed it last week, but the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA) Raise Our Voices campaign was released last week. MEAA acknowledges achievements made in the current government, such as the National Cultural Policy, Revive, and funding increases to the arts, screen, the ABC and the SBS. However, threats to the independence and integrity of the creative and media industries remain, including from political interference and the dominance of large overseas corporations. They have put forward a plan to secure the future of Australia’s creative and media industries, including:
- Meaningfully build on the five pillars of Revive – Including extending workplace protections to the creative and media industries, legislating Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) protection, ensuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts programs are self-determined and increased funding of publicly funded performance companies and Creative Australia grants
- Taking on the big monopolies in the screen, recorded and live performance sectors – Specific actions include establishing local content quotas for streaming services, requiring an Australian support act for international touring artists, conducting inquiries into anti-competitive behaviour in the live music industry and the recorded music industry, particularly the impact of streaming
- Invest in public interest journalism – Including requiring all commercial and community media organisations that are recipients of government support use that funding to employ journalists, restore funding for the ABC and SBS to ensure their sustainability and commit to and extend the News Media Assistance Program
- Guarantee freedom from political interference in the media and creative industries – Including protecting press freedom, increasing a range of public interest protections and guaranteeing the independence of the ABC, the SBS and Australia’s arts and cultural bodies
- Regulate AIAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more → to ensure control, compensation and consent for creative and media workers – By enacting an economy-wide AIAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more → Act, requiring AIAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more → developers to have consent to, to disclose and to pay a levy for the use of creative material to train AIAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more → and reserving copyright protection for human-made work only.
In pursuing these objectives, the MEAA emphasises the need for strong leadership to protect the rights of artists and media workers.
Music
OpenMIC, a coalition of music organisations, have this week come out with their election wishlist. Together, they advocate that Australian music is vital to our identity, culture and economy, and that more needs to be done to reverse diminishing opportunities for the music industry.
Vote Music is asking for:
- Supercharge investment in music and industry growth – Increase investment in music, including continuing and growing Music Australia, introducing music tax rebates, expanding Revive Live and create pathways for young people to experience music through education, touring support and ticket subsidies for under-25s
- Strengthen creative rights and innovation – Stronger copyright laws, AIAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more → regulation that encourages transparency, protects artists and ensures fair compensation, protection of ICIP and reforming radio royalties to increase artists earnings
- Amplify Australian music locally and globally – By extending content quotas to and increasing discovery of Australian music on music streaming and commercial radio, encouraging the use of Australian music in government subsidised Australian screen content and Australian acts supporting international touring acts and adding a levy to major arena events to support local live music
- Strengthen communities and audience growth – Continue to fund for Support Act, reform public liability insurance and fund audience digital inclusion and workplace safety initiatives
- Expand global exports and cultural diplomacy – Establish reciprocal cultural programs in the Indo-Pacific, engage diplomatically and diasporically to promote Australian music and extend export grants and visa support to make international touring and career development easier.
OpenMIC is urging all political parties and candidates to commit to a stronger future for Australian music, benefiting artists, audiences and the country as a whole. They are also asking for the community to let them know what their local music priorities are.
Visual arts
On Monday the National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA) called on all candidates in the election to secure artists’ futures through policies to improve the financial security and working conditions of visual artists and protect freedom of expression. Many Australian visual artists face financial insecurity due to inconsistent tax rules, underpaid work and limited opportunities, despite increasing public recognition of the value of the arts.
NAVA is calling for:
- Secure artists’ futures – Including piloting a Living Wage program, funding 200 Creative Fellowships, mandating artists fees for government-funded projects, ensuring artists attract superannuation for artist fees, exempting grants, prizes and fellowships from income tax and other initiatives
- Invest in a stronger visual arts workforce – Including more funding for small-to-medium arts organisations, investing in arts education and artists career development, and improve equity and funding through support for First Nations leadership, closing the gender pay gap and improving accessibility
- Defend artistic independence – By legislating artists’ freedom of expression, keeping funding decisions independent of political and media influence, guaranteeing the independence of Creative Australia, prioritising sector-led, artist centric policymaking and regulating use of artistic work to training AIAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more → is done with consent, attribution and remuneration Style: bullets
NAVA encourages people to support the Vote for Art campaign by contacting their local representatives and inquiring about how they intend to support a stronger visual arts workforce and defend artistic independence.
When you look at the election requests from this week and last week, there are some common things coming up. Increased funding for the arts or specific creative sectors, local content quotas, tax exemptions for creators, support for workforce development, defending the independence of artists and arts organisations and regulation of AIAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more →, particularly with respect to copyright protection all feature across multiple election agendas.
Election 2025: Raise Our Voices
March 2025
Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA)
April 2025
OpenMIC
Vote Music 2025: More Australian Music, More Jobs, Stronger Communities
Thursday 10 April 2025
OpenMIC
Secure Artists’ Futures #VoteForArt 2025
Penelope Benton – Monday 7 April 2025
National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA)
#VoteForArt 2025: NAVA Election Toolkit
April 2025
NAVA
More to read on the things mentioned in this listing:
AI (artificial intelligence) ⌇ Australian Federal Election 2025 ⌇ Australian politics ⌇ Big Tech & monopolies ⌇ Copyright & AI ⌇ Creative Australia ⌇ Creative workforce ⌇ Cultural policies ⌇ Government arts funding ⌇ Live music ⌇ Music streaming ⌇ News, journalism & reportage ⌇ Regulating AI ⌇ Visual arts ⌇ Working conditions in the arts ⌇ Writing & literature
Spotify ups its support for Australian music
Turn Up AUS is a new initiative by Spotify to further supporting the Australian music industry.
Spotify has been the target of many criticisms in the Australian music industry, including from organisations calling for political outcomes from this election. Not in direct response, but related to those criticisms, Spotify has announced Turn Up AUS, “a multi-million dollar investment in Australian music” and “multi-faceted marketing and engagement campaign to connect audiences to Australian music”.Turn Up AUS is a visual identify, multi-channel marketing campaign, editorial and discovery features, industry skills development, strategic partnerships and fan engagement activities. On-platform the campaign will be anchored to an editorial hub and a named playlist.
Spotify sees Turn Up AUS as an extension of their years in and supporting the Australian music industry. It is the company’s “most ambitious local music push yet, aiming to make Australian music “unmissable, undeniable, and inarguable.””
While, reportedly, the campaign won’t see changes to Spotify’s algorithm to preference Australian music in the local market or a bump in royalty payments for streams in Australia, the increased visibility of Australian music locally and globally will undoubtedly help local acts.
Turn Up AUS’ visual identity draws inspiration from music street press and gig posters. The visuals are meant to be flexible so as to work with and not overshadow Australian music brands. It will feature across channels such as on-platform placements, out-of-house (OOH) and social media. And more will be rolled out through the initiative over time.
What’s worth reading on Spotify’s Turn Up AUS campaign:
Spotify launches new campaign to boost Australian music
Jason Blake – Tuesday 9 April 2025
Limelight
Spotify denies it’s directing users away from Aussie music
Michael Bailey – Wednesday 10 April 2025
Financial Review
Spotify launches new brand platform ‘Turn Up Aus’
Lauren McNamara – Tuesday 9 April 2025
Mumbrella
Aimee Edwards – Tuesday 9 April 2025
B&T
More to read on the things mentioned in this listing:
Web scraping by AIAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more → companies is costing Wikipedia and everyone else money
The Wikimedia Foundation has come out about increased operational costs and infrastructure load from unprecedented AIAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more → web scraping bot traffic and how they hope to respond to it.
This is from last week but I only saw it this week. The Wikimedia Foundation is reporting increasing automated requests for its contents, particularly from web scraping bots gathering training data for AIAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more →. In particular, the Foundation details how caching and rendering long-tail content and bandwidth for multimedia content has costs. Increased request volume from AIAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more → bots causes significant load on the underlying infrastructure behind Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia platforms, and that extra demand pushes up the costs of that infrastructure.
The Foundation explains, “Our infrastructure is built to sustain sudden traffic spikes from humans during high-interest events, but the amount of traffic generated by scraper bots is unprecedented and presents growing risks and costs.” The graph below shows human-driven spikes around the US Election and the passing of Jimmy Carter. It also shows the incline in general bandwidth demand since 2024.
Figure: A line graph showing a general trend upward in terms of multimedia bandwidth demand. It also shows a few significant spikes in traffic, with two labelled US Election Day and Jimmy Carter’s death. Source: Wikimedia Foundation. 
4.0 Chris Danis. View full credit information.
As the Wikimedia Foundation explains:
“While undergoing a migrationMoving software applications, data or other resources from one hosting environment to another, often from on-premises datacentres to a cloud service. Learn more → of our systems, we noticed that only a fraction of the expensive traffic hitting our core datacenters was behaving how web browsers would usually do, interpreting javascript code. When we took a closer look, we found out that at least 65% of this resource-consuming traffic we get for the website is coming from bots, a disproportionate amount given the overall pageviews from bots are about 35% of the total. This high usage is also causing constant disruption for our Site Reliability team, who has to block overwhelming traffic from such crawlers before it causes issues for our readers.”
Automated traffic incurs a heavy burden on targeted websites. Put simply, running any website costs money. There are costs for hosting (keeping the website files on a server somewhere), bandwidth (delivering the website to visitor’s computers when they view a page on the website) and the other resources needed for the website to function, such as power and memory. The website owner pays for the amount of data that is transferred to a website viewer. Robot traffic views pages on a website far more quickly and at a higher volume than human viewers. It can also result in additional charges from the hosting provider, such as overusage charges.
Website servers have a limited capacity to handle requests so when a flood of requests from AIAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more → scrapers occurs it may overload servers, slowing or even temporarily making the site unavailable. Legitimate traffic may be hampered or unable to view the website leading to poor user experience, lost sales, reputational damage or other transaction costs. In response, website owners are left with the decision to risk sluggish website performance or outages, or pay to upgrade to more powerful and expensive hosting solutions to gain increased resources allocation.
Plus website operational costs can go up for website owners as the focus of their IT and technical teams is taken up accommodating increased automated traffic. Time, effort and money may need to be allocated to get a website up and running again after overloading or outages, and more resources may need to be put towards security and other measures to monitor server performance, identify malicious scraper activity and, in some cases, block this extra load. This either takes existing human resources away from other IT and technical needs of the website or additional labour is needed – all at the website owner’s expense. On these points the Wikimedia Foundation’s comments are telling:
“This increase in baseline usage means that we have less room to accommodate exceptional events when a traffic surge might occur: a significant amount of our time and resources go into responding to non-human traffic.”
AIAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more → companies are often scrapping content without permission or attribution. If it is determined that using copyright material for AIAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more → training is a fair use in America, then permission is not needed. Certainly, it is not an infringement to use copyright material to train an AIAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more → model in those territories with a text and data mining (TDM) or other copyright exception exists that permits training AIAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more → on other parties’ copyright.
Even while we wait to see where copyright and AIAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more → questions land, in many cases AIAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more → scraping bots are ignoring industry standards such as robots.txt directives or operating in deceptive ways to disguise themselves. While some more radical defensive options such as AI data poisioning are available to website owners, for those not willing to engage in such questionable responses to AIAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more → web scraping they are left with few options. There is a horrible irony in the fact that AIAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more → scraping bots are pushing up costs for content owners who are left paying for AIAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more → companies who are grabbing content wherever they can.
The Wikimedia Foundation, like other organisations, are concerned that unsustainable load caused by unauthenticated and often unattributed automated content consumption undermines website stability and risks human access to knowledge. As part of the Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan/2025-2026/Product & Technology OKRs the Foundation has set an objective (called Responsible Use of Infrastructure (WE5)) to establish ‘curated pathways’ for developers and reusers to access Wikimedia content in ways that are identifiable, responsible and sustainable for Wikimedia Foundations infrastructure. It is an interesting idea that I will be watching closely. If Wikimeida Foundation can get this right it can help to set better standards for AIAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more → web scraping across the internet.
What’s worth reading on the cost of AIAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more → web scrapers on the Wikimedia Foundation:
How crawlers impact the operations of the Wikimedia projects
Birgit Mueller, Chris Danis and Giuseppe Lavagetto – Tuesday 1 April 2025
Diff, Wikimedia Foundation
AI bots strain Wikimedia as bandwidth surges 50%
Benj Edwards – Thursday 3 April 2025
Ars Technica
More to read on the things mentioned in this listing:
AI (artificial intelligence) ⌇ Wikimedia Commons ⌇ Wikimedia Foundation ⌇ Wikipedia
A bit on the side
WTF else happen this week:
- QUT Creative Industries review recommends dumping dance degree Queensland University of Technology (QUT) was the last university in Queensland offering a dedicated dance degree (as a major of a Bachelor of Creative Industries) but intakes have been on hold since the end of 2024 pending the outcome of a review of performing arts pgorams at the university. The review has recommended the dance major be discontinued due to low student demand.
More on this: Arts education & arts in education - Australian government $2.5+ million ad spend in first year of Musk’s Twitter FOI requests have shown that the Australian government spent $2.7 million on advertising on X (formerly Twitter) in the first year of Elon Musk’s ownership of the platform.
More on this: Social media advertising ⌇ X (formerly Twitter) - Taiwan takes legal action for undersea cable sabotage Taiwanese prosecutors have charged a Chinese ship captain with intentionally damaging undersea cables in a world-first. Increased acts of sabotage against undersea infrastructure has heightened the need to protect them in recent months and litigation against perpetrators may be another weapon in the arsenal.
More on this: Technology & internet infrastructure - Meta knew children were on Horizon Worlds according to whistleblower US children’s media and marketing nonprofit Fairplay has filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against Meta claiming the social media giant knew children were accessing its virtual reality platform Horizon Worlds Style: italics in contravention of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). A cornerstone of their complaint is the sworn statement of Kelly Stonelake, a former Meta staff member who led product marketing for Horizon Worlds until early 2024.
More on this: Meta ⌇ The metaverse ⌇ Online safety
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Disclosure
Conflict of interest
I am the President of Wikimedia Australia (WMAU). The views expressed in this blog post are my own and do not express the views of WMAU.
AI use
This blog post was drafted using Google Docs. No part of the text of this blog post was generated using AIAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more →. The original text was not modified or improved using AIAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more →. No text suggested by AIAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more → was incorporated. If spelling or grammar corrections were suggested by AIAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more → they were accepted or rejected based on my discretion (however, sometimes spelling, grammar and corrections of typos may have occurred automatically in Google Docs).
The icon in the banner image (i.e. the first image at the top of the blog post) was generated by AIAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more → using Text to Vector Graphic (BetaBeta is an early release of software or some other product or service to see how users use it to inform further development of it…. Learn more →) in AdobeSoz! @elliottbledsoe hasn’t gotten to this term yet!
Learn more → Illustrator. { Prompt: ‘An outlined question mark and exclamation mark’ }
Credits
Figure: A line graph showing a general trend upward in terms of multimedia bandwidth demand across Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia platforms. There are a number of spikes indicated in the data. Two of those are labelled indicating the occurred around the US Election Day and the death of former US President Jimmy Carter. Image: ‘Multimedia_bandwith_demand_for_the_Wikimedia_Projects‘. Source: Wikimedia Foundation. © Chris Danis 2025. Available for reuse under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence
Image: A colourful icon of a question mark and exclamation mark. The question mark is in two shades of orange and a large exclamation mark is in two shades of green. Both sit on a bright pink background. The icon is an adaptation of an vector graphic generated by Elliott Bledsoe using the AIAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more → tool Text to Vector Graphic (BetaBeta is an early release of software or some other product or service to see how users use it to inform further development of it…. Learn more →) in AdobeSoz! @elliottbledsoe hasn’t gotten to this term yet!
Learn more → Illustrator.
Provenance
This blog post was produced by Elliott Bledsoe from Agentry, an arts marketing micro-consultancy. It was first published on Sunday 13 April 2025. It has not been updated. This is version 1.0. Questions, comments and corrections are welcome – get in touch any time.
Reuse
Good ideas shouldn’t be kept to yourself. I believe in the power of open access to information and creativity and a thriving commons of shared knowledge and culture. That’s why this blog post is licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons licence.
Unless otherwise stated or indicated, this blog post – WTF now?!: Monday 7–Sunday 13 April 2025 – is licensed under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC BY 4.0). Please attribute Elliott Bledsoe as the original creator. View the full copyright licensing information for clarification.
Under the licence, you are free to copy, share and adapt this resource, or any modified version you create from it, even commercially, as long as you give credit to Elliott Bledsoe as the original creator of it. So please make use of this resource as you see fit.
Please note: Whether AI-generated outputs are protected by copyright remains contested. To the extent that copyright exists, if at all, in the icon I generated using AIAI is tech and marketing speak for a range of technology that imitates human intellect. Learn more → or the banner image I compiled using that icon for this blog post (i.e. the first image at the top of the blog post), I also license it for reuse under the terms of the Creative Commons licence (CC BY 4.0).
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