The president of the Global Make Music Alliance, Aaron Friedman launched the Make Music Day at the Amp Conference. For those who missed the presentation the pdf can be viewed here.

From there Aaron took a flying visit over the following 10 days, having face-to-face meetings with our executive officer with 30 government and industry organisations.

There was excitement at the prospect of a celebratory day for music on the Australian calendar. This was expressed at state & local government level, by education departments and private providers and industry organisations. Aaron’s trip has given us confidence that the AMA will be the initiator of a significant event promoting music in partnership with, and funding from, the NAMM Foundation.

Music stores and suppliers alike can support and benefit from Make Music Day in many different ways, and we look forward to exploring the possibilities with our members.

Make Music Day is a free celebration of music around the world on June 21st each year. Launched in 1982 in France as the Fête de la Musique, it is now held on the same day in more than 750 cities in 120 countries.

Completely different from a typical music festival, Make Music is open to anyone who wants to take part. Every kind of musician — young and old, amateur and professional of every musical persuasion — pours onto streets, parks, plazas, and porches to share their music with friends, neighbours, and strangers. All of it is free and open to the public.

Last year over 750 cities around the world threw citywide music celebrations on June 21.
It all started 35 years ago in France.

In 1982, Jack Lang and his staff at the Ministry of Culture dreamed up an idea for a new kind of musical holiday. They imagined a day where free, live music would be everywhere: street corners and parks, rooftops and gardens, store fronts and mountaintops.
And, unlike a typical music festival, anyone and everyone would be invited to join and play music, or host performances. The event would take place on the summer solstice, June 21, and would be called Fête De La Musique. (In French, the name means both “festival of music” and “make music!”)

Amazingly enough, this dream has come true. The Fête has turned into a true national holiday: France shuts down on the summer solstice and musicians take over. Almost 8% of the country (5 million people) have played an instrument or sung in public for the Fête de la Musique.
Three decades later, the holiday has spread throughout the world and is now celebrated in more than 120 countries. In the U.S., the presenting sponsor is the NAMM Foundation.

The Association is progressing with its planning and talking to key stakeholders in Australia which include government and other community organisations. Updates can be had by clicking here