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It's Not For You
  • Published: 11 August 2026
  • ISBN: 9781761358531
  • Imprint: Penguin Random House Australia Audio
  • Format: Audio Download
  • Length: 8 hr 20 min
Categories:

It's Not For You

Inside the artists rewriting the rules of the Australian music scene

Formats & editions
Tr. Paperback
11 Aug 2026
EBook
11 Aug 2026
Audiobook
11 Aug 2026
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Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich speaks with women and gender-diverse artists who changed the Australian music industry on their own terms.

This audiobook features a foreword narrated by Zan Rowe.
From our very first show in Brisbane in 2016, when we stopped mid-set to call out a guy who was pushing to the front and shoving women aside, we knew exactly what kind of space we wanted to build. One where women and queer people didn’t have to shrink themselves or brace for impact if they didn’t. And if you had a problem with that, it was not for you.

Trailblazing female punk band Camp Cope changed the Australian music scene forever, from their It Takes One campaign to end sexual harassment at gigs to their track ‘The Opener’, which became an anthem for fearlessly calling out the sexism that permeates the industry. Here, Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich, Camp Cope’s bass player, brings that same passion to conversations with fellow artists who represent the firsts and the future of Australian music.

Featuring interviews with Amy Taylor of Amyl and the Sniffers, Angie McMahon, Anna Laverty, Anna Lunoe, BARKAA, Camp Cope, Courtney Barnett, Elly-May Barnes, Fanny Lumsden, Julia Jacklin, Kira Puru, Marcia Hines, RIAH, Romy Vager, Sampa the Great, Sarah Blasko, Sosefina Fuamoli and Vika and Linda Bull, these conversations provide a peek behind the curtain, generous personal reflection, catharsis, camaraderie and inspiration for anyone who’s ever been told they were too much or not enough.
  • Published: 11 August 2026
  • ISBN: 9781761358531
  • Imprint: Penguin Random House Australia Audio
  • Format: Audio Download
  • Length: 8 hr 20 min
Categories:

About the author

Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich

Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich is a musician best known as the bassist of Camp Cope, the groundbreaking Australian punk trio that redefined the industry with their fearless activism and uncompromising sound. Born and raised in Western Sydney, Kelly’s perspective is deeply shaped by the raw energy of its working-class suburbs. Over seven years with Camp Cope, she toured across Australia, Europe and North America, sharing stages with artists such as Courtney Barnett and playing some of the world’s most iconic venues. The band was featured in outlets including Rolling Stone, the Guardian and NPR, offering candid insights into life on the road, the complexities of the music industry and the band’s deeply relatable lyrics that connected with people far beyond the Australian scene. Kelly has also featured on ABC iView’s The Art of . . . Motherhood, exploring creativity and identity as an artist and mother. A vocal advocate for representation and inclusivity in the music industry, Kelly works at MusicNSW as their Western Sydney coordinator and alongside Briggs as Artist & Community Liaison for the Indigenous-owned and operated record label Bad Apples. Kelly is of Mineng Noongar descent.
portrait photo of Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich

Praise for It's Not For You

It is a starry line up . . . festival bookers would never.

Best Australian books of the month, Guardian

In It’s Not For You, musician and author Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich shines a brutal, bright and much-needed spotlight on the experiences of female and gender-diverse members of the Australian music industry, so we all can better understand the uncomfortable, ugly and occasionally criminal behaviour they’ve had to endure as a result of their music fandom. Her debut book does precisely what it says in its subtitle, by offering us a look “inside the artists rewriting the rules of the Australian music scene”. Hellmrich offers a rich, evocative portrayal of the highs, lows and means by which each of them has persisted in pursuing their careers, sometimes in spite of larger societal factors such as racism, sexism and misogyny. Towards the end of this gripping collection, Hellmrich – who continues to work in the industry, for both MusicNSW and Indigenous-owned and operated record label Bad Apples Records – elucidates a mission statement for what she hopes this project represents: “A written record of honouring, of witnessing and acknowledging the women who shaped the landscape of Australian music and beyond with their talent, drive and brilliance.” It’s Not For You certainly achieves that, and much more.

Andrew McMillen, The Australian

Western Sydney looms large over her beautifully observed memoir sections and, as it seems to sit on the outskirts of power and influence, despite the wealth of talent there, is a good metaphor for the book.

Jenny Valentish, Guardian

[Kelly has] taken threads that run through many of our lives and woven them into this beautiful memoir and collection of meaningful stories, love and wisdom. It's landing right in my heart.

Angie McMahon