Get On Board

Music Victoria are in the midst of a subscriber drive this month and they need you to get on board. As their governmental funding is about to dry up, the organisation are turning to the wider community to help ensure their survival and the continuation of the fantastic work they've been doing on behalf of all those involved in the music industry over the past 18 months.

While CEO Patrick Donovan describes the political environment as vastly different to that which spawned the SLAM Rally in 2010, he's adamant there's still a long way to go in protecting the interests of music industry players, from artists to venues to labels and the wider music-loving public. “Part of our role is to work with the government and bring in experts and work on problems like the agent-of-change issue and underage gigs and lobbying federally about Centrelink and superannuation and work entitlements,” Donovan says. “I feel like the big report that came out last year revealing how important a contribution the music industry makes to the economy is massive… They're basically standing up and taking notice.”

For musicians the benefits of membership include increased luggage allowances on both major Australian airlines, development workshops and priority access to information, help and resources. “We've got everyone from Kylie Minogue who came through, to Temper Trap who are breaking overseas, to board members Clare Bowditch and Sophia Brous, to Paul Kelly, Dan Sultan, Mick Harvey [and] Kim Salmon, so that's just been fantastic,” Donovan continues. “Hopefully musicians will listen to their peers that they respect and sign up.”

Music Victoria are also appealing to music-lovers to get on board. Individuals can cash in on a bunch of money-can't-buy prizes including coffee with Henry Wagons, a Toff In Town membership, tickets to the Blues Train, Frontier Touring gigs, Northcote Social Club and Corner Hotel shows, as well as various books and CDs. Jumping on the Music Victoria bandwagon costs as little as $22 for concession and ranges through to $550 for gold membership. “We've achieved a lot in 18 months and we really want to have the opportunity to do a lot more and capitalise on the research that we've done,” Donovan continues. “So we really would like to be around for a number of years to come. We can only imagine what we can achieve in ten years if we've done this much in 18 months.”