TALKING THROUGH YOUR ARTS – LIVE MUSIC MATTERS

NSW is home to a little under five thousand fully employed music industry workers, equating to thirty-two per cent of Australia’s music industry professionals. In 2011 a venue survey was conducted by the national royalty collection and distribution service AMCOS to find out what were the key operational issues. Seventy per cent of establishments found the current regulatory environment for live music venues was the main issue.

It is one of the core reasons the City of Sydney set in motion a twelve month ‘Live Music Task Force’ in October last year. The force was to implement an action plan to support live music and small to medium performance venues. As part of this initiative a commissioned study of live music and performance e-listings in gig guides was compared. A sample week in 2004, from The Music, formerly known as Drum Media was contrasted to a week in the same period in 2013 and indicated that a decrease of sixty-one per cent from five hundred and forty gigs listed nine years ago to two hundred and thirteen in 2013. The indicators are blinking alarmingly at barriers front, back and sides. How do we hitch open the swinging gates of Sydney’s live music scene and break down the barriers?

Live Music Matters: Planning for Live Music and Performance in Sydney has just been released. It gives reasons to be hopeful despite the many challenges outlined, which include site developmental controls and noise; The Building Code of Australia; Liquor Licensing and audience and sector development.

Yoko Ono complained in 1972 that popular music was losing its original meaning and function, that it should not alienate the audience with its professionalism by having the audience just sit back and applause. With the scores of sounds and successes attracting the same waves of criticism the vibrancy and multiplicity of live music and performance in Sydney is emerging. Within the comprehensive list of recommendations provided by the eleven-member ‘force’, is an immediate call to establish a live music and performance liaison role – an important starting point to the many concerns of play. (AS)

BY ANGELA STRETCH