Government And Industry Hold Crisis Talks Over Melbourne Live Music

The Liberal Victorian State Government and peak contemporary Music Victoria have met today to discuss vital live music reforms as tensions within the industry continue to flare.

Originally planned for Friday, the meeting was brought forward after Victorian Planning Minister Matthew Guy was slammed by live music advocacy group SLAM yesterday. The move prompted Minister Guy to respond and the urgency of negotiations was made clear. The results of today’s meeting will not be known until an embargo is lifted but Music Victoria have issued a statement saying that they are “very close to a great result”.

"We are very close to great result"

— Music Victoria

“There are some complex issues around Agent of Change and planning reform, and Music Victoria has been working with the Government through the Live Music Roundtable to bring about live music reform over the last three years,” they said.

“We are getting calls every few days from venues such as the Reverence, Tago Mago and the Gasometer wondering when the Agent of Change will be delivered by the Government, as yellow notices announcing new developments keep popping up all over Melbourne. While unfortunately new reform packages won't save venues like Cherry (who have just launched a massive crowdfunding campaign to help with sound attenuation) which has new residents moving in a few weeks, it will save our incredible 500+ venues from future developments. Stay tuned – we are very close to great result!”

"The Liberals don’t support live music – they never have and they never will"

— Labor

Yesterday the Minister told theMusic.com.au, “We are working on reforms that will respond to challenges the industry is facing and ensure important issues such as housing affordability and building standards are responsibly addressed.”

Labor have jumped onto the issue this afternoon as well with Shadow Minister For The Arts Martin Foley accusing the State Government of “a series of broken promises”.

“The Liberals don’t support live music – they never have and they never will,” he said. “The Palace is gone, Cherry Bar may be next and [Premier] Denis Napthine is doing nothing.

“The Liberals have made it harder for acts to thrive and harder for venues to survive.”