Melbourne’s celebrated music scene is being thrust to the forefront of local government agenda this month, as the City of Melbourne narrows the search for a committee of music industry representatives to help oversee the revisal of their 2010 Music Strategy.
The Portfolio for the Arts and Culture is currently finalizing applications for its Melbourne Music Advisory Committee, which ideally will comprise a cohort of music industry professionals from a diverse range of backgrounds, including live music venue owners, musicians, record label representatives, producers and music education providers.
Portfolio for the Arts and Culture Councilor Rohan Leppert says having this group of experts will be a fantastic resource for the City of Melbourne to explore new ways to keep Melbourne’s reputation as a city for music intact.
The City of Melbourne’s biggest response to supporting live music, Melbourne Music Week (MMW), came about in 2010 in response to Save Live Australian Music group rallies lamenting the demise of live music venues, in particular, Fitzroy’s iconic Tote.
But Cr Leppert says that MMW was a political response of the times and council needs to avoid falling into the trap of focusing solely on industry, although protecting live venues does remain a high priority issue.
“I’d like to take a really holistic view of what it means to be a music city and to support musicians as well as venues,” Cr Leppert says.
Ding Dong Lounge band booker and business manager for music site Tone Deaf, Darve Smith, agrees that remuneration for artists is poor in a city sold on culture, but believes that any negative issue relating to Melbourne music stems back to inadequate protection of its institutionalized live music venues.
Trial Kennedy performing at Ding Dong earlier this year. Picture: elysefires/Flickr.
“Live music venues are under threat like never before, not from poor attendance or lack of talent but from urban development and the associated noise complaints,” Mr Smith says.
“95% of people in bands wont make enough to survive in a career as a musician. The whole reason they play in bands, and practice in their garage is to play live at a live venue, which is slowly dying in the city,” he says.
The agent of change principle, which emerged in 2003 as one of key recommendations from the state government’s former Live Music Taskforce, states that the onus of responsibility for noise management should fall upon the agent of change.
Mr Smith says the agent of change is typically the developer who moves in well after an established music venue, builds high rise developments that are inadequately sound-proofed and then sells them to misinformed residents.
Melbourne City’s population growth increased by 22% from the census date in 2006 to 2011, showing how the marketability of developement might win out against the protection of small music venues.
“That increase means money – rates, fines – that’s a massive gross for Melbourne City Council,” Mr Smith said.
Mr Smith hopes the Music Strategy Advisory Committee will elect a broad spectrum of members to bring up the agent of change principle and other issues conducive to small, under-threat venues like Ding Dong.
“I’m intrigued to see who they actually do get involved.
It’s nice when government acknowledges that music plays a part in culture but I just need someone to talk to if there is an issue.”
Click here to read more about Melbourne Music Strategy.
Click here to learn more about the Agent of Change principle.
