Background
Contemporary live music and small venues are a major part of our cultural fabric. Famous Australian acts, from AC/DC. Men at Work, Cold Chisel, Kylie Minogue, the Divinyls, Cut Copy and Temper Trap started out in small venues.
According to the 2011 report Life’s Better with Live, live music contributes $1.2 billion to the economy and supports nearly 15,000 jobs nationally. An estimated 42 million patrons attended 328,000 venue-based gigs at 3,900 venues in 2009/10. Yet the report revealed that Australian musicians earn a mean average of just $12,200 from live music performance.
The Victorian Government and contemporary live music strategy
The new Liberal National Coalition Government, while acknowledging the importance of live music to the social and cultural life of the state, has not yet developed a long-term strategy to ensure a viable ongoing live music culture in Victoria. The Coalition Government must establish its promised permanent Premier’s Live Music Industry Roundtable in order to develop and implement future programs to plan for the future of the live music sector in Victoria. The terms of reference should ensure that a senior minister is responsible for implementing any recommendations.
At the very least, the Premier’s Live Music Industry Roundtable must include the key music industry bodies as well as representatives from Victoria police, Liquor Licensing, and the Government, to ensure consistency and continuity of purpose and policy, they must meet at least four times a year.
Initiatives to assist live music in Victoria
There are a number of initiatives that can be undertaken at both the state and federal government levels to assist the live music industry. These include putting aside a portion of the Alcohol Excise and Wine Equalization Tax, generated by the economic activity of live music, to go into a music fund to be distributed and invested to support live music.
Amend the R&D tax offset that specifically excludes arts development: this would allow arts orientated private enterprise to invest in arts development creating economic and cultural wealth.
The Federal Government should also look into developing a holistic investment approach to assist the industry so it doesn’t rely on dependency and welfare. It could reference the film industry incentives to offer tax offsets for producers, music creators, venues and performers.
An all government approach
Governments at all levels must work together to reduce barriers to live music performance and encourage live music precincts and boost music industry exports through a more coordinated and consistent approach to international marketing.
Planning priorities to assist and maintain live music venues
The provisions in planning laws that impede the expansion of small live music venues must be addressed. Section 52.27 of the Victorian planning laws must be amended to overcome the requirement for onerous planning permits. The ‘agent of change’ principle must be adopted to ensure that new residential occupiers cannot challenge an established small live music venue. The law must recognise that the ‘onus of responsibility’ falls on the new party, the ‘agent’ requesting the change’. This principle also safeguards new residents as developers are obliged to implement proper urban design and sound attenuation. ‘Cultural Clusters’ are not limited to licenced premises and include music schools, production warehouses, recording/rehearsal studios and dance/theatre and performance spaces. Existing ‘cultural clusters’ must be recognised and protected within planning law.
Local Government and live music
Local government must include and value live music in its planning strategies. They must implement, after consultation with relevant stakeholders, a clear and evidence-based policy for the management of noise. They must establish a consultative forum for local venue managers and local music representatives to interact with council staff and processes. Have a section on local government websites devoted to information on live music venues, planning issues, and other information relevant to the live music sector. They must respond quickly to festival and other live music planning applications.
Local governments must establish Live Music Working Groups where relevant and recognise local music precincts. A regular review of processes related to compliance and enforcement of local venues with input from the music industry sector must be undertaken.
Music Victoria: why they need funding and support from the State Government:
Music Victoria was established in March 2010 to champion Victorian contemporary music. At the time, peak bodies were established in all other states, with state government support, and it was time for Victorian music to be represented.
Music Victoria represents all facets and sub-sectors of the industry, bringing the industry together and acting as a conduit between the industry and various levels of government. Its CEO, Patrick Donovan, represents the industry’s interests in his capacity as a board member on the Arts Industry Council of Victoria and the National Film and Sound Archive, a director of the Australian Music Industry Network and a member of the Liquor Control Advisory Council, and the soon-to-be established Premier’s Live Music Roundtable.
Achievements include working with the state government to change and amend liquor licensing laws to favour venues and musicians; brokering a deal to provide musicians with parking permits to allow them to park in loading bays; working with the airline industry and helping negotiate a deal with Virgin Australia to offer cheaper excess baggage fees for touring musicians; researching musicians’ access to Centrelink and impediments to promoters putting on under age gigs. It also runs regular professional development seminars and workshops around the state and published Victoria’s first music guide, Melbourne Music City.
Music Victoria is an independent non-for-profit non-partisan organisation.
Music Victoria’s two year operational funding grant expires on June 30 2013, so people who care about music should become financial members, and the state government should continue to fund the essential work of the peak body.
Check out its website at www.musicvictoria.com.au
You can become a member at: http://www.musicvictoria.com.au/become-a-member-of-music-victoria .