Victoria Votes '14: Music's Importance In Vic Still Has A Long Way To Go

With the State election a week away and all parties having made their commitments, it’s time to compare the policies and commitments to contemporary music.

In the wake of the SLAM Rally, when 20,000 marched through the city in support of live music, contemporary popular music was a key election issue at the last election. The concern was that music was off the radar this year and it would be harder to get the parties to make similar commitments to Labor’s 2010 Victoria Rocks policy, which promised $24 million in support.

So after consultation with the industry, Music Victoria identified key projects and initiatives that were critical to the development of the contemporary music sector, which are outlined in our Position and Priorities industry paper.

Music Victoria posted a Victorian State Election Report Card to assess and compare the various parties’ commitments and support to the sector for the next four years at this year’s state election, to help Victorians in making an informed choice at the 29 Nov election. The card is now complete and we’re thrilled at how many of our recommendations are supported by each party.

Labor came out of the blocks early, announcing its $22.2 million policy on the first day of their campaign. Music Works includes $8 million in funding for touring, music festivals, music tourism, community programming, sound and light engineers, advertising and transport. They include Quick Response Grants, $1.6 million for mentoring and career development, music in regional Victoria, dollar-for-dollar grants to venues to manage problems with encroachment from neighbours, poor acoustics and dodgy PAs and establishes the Music Passport for exports, which is essential as Victorian artists were starting to lag behind artists from other states with strong music export policies.

Big acts brought to Australia with assistance from the Victorian Government will also be required to tour with support from local emerging bands, and $400,000 will go develop the tourism potential of Victoria’s musical heritage. $10 million has been set aside for “The Music Market”, which will house an Australian Rock‘n’Roll Hall of Fame. At the recent Face the Music panel discussing these issues, the Greens and The Basics Rock‘n’Roll Party suggested that $10 million was a waste of money to spend on bricks and mortar and looking at Billy Thorpe’s old guitar, but Labor insist that it will act as a “one-stop hub” for the industry, based in one of Melbourne’s “many music precincts”, which will also house the new Victorian Music Development Office. Both major parties committed to continuing the Live Music Roundtable as a forum for Government and industry engagement.

"Whichever party wins, there is at least something on the table for music."

In his letter to Music Victoria outlining details of the package published on our website, Martin Foley said the package intended to “transform the live and contemporary music scene and secure Victoria’s reputation as the music state and Melbourne as the music capital of Australia.” He said Labor would continue to support peak bodies such as Music Victoria and The Push to provide a leadership role in these programs.
Music Victoria appreciates there are a range of views on the appropriateness of the Labor package. For our part, we would work productively with any future Labor Government and apply the test of ‘highest benefit’ to ensure public investment delivers the best value for the industry.

Since Labor announced Music Works, the Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews has committed to $2 million in funding the Music Futures Australia program to allow access to music education and instruments for primary school students. Then, after rock star Tex Perkins announced he’d run as an independent candidate on the single issue of saving the Palais Theatre, Andrews committed a further $14 million to help restore the Palais Theatre.

While this support may suggest that the City of Port Phillip has first dibs on the market being established there, the Victorian Greens’ arts spokesperson Sue Pennicuik MLC said the Greens wanted the development of a music hub to be aligned with the City of Melbourne Music Strategy, which is chaired by Greens councillor Rohan Leppert, and which recommended researching the feasibility of a hub in the City of Melbourne.

Music Victoria also recommended that the State and City apply for a UNESCO City of Music Status, but it seems Arts Victoria was recently informed that cities can currently only hold one status, and we’re already a UNESCO City of Literature. Still, Music Victoria thinks there is merit in elevating the standing of Melbourne as an internationally recognised centre of music, and we will continue to look at other ways we can pursue that idea.

At the Face the Music Conference panel, the Coalition announced it would fund Music Victoria $400,000 over four years. This is less than half what is needed to sustain our operating costs and two and a half staff, but it does keep us going and gives us something to work with.
We’re thrilled that the Coalition committed to funding our $1million Live Music Regional Action Plan to help stimulate the regional touring circuit. This will employ a full-time regional officer who will be a central hub of information for artists, venues, agents and promoters; support six high-profile tours over two years at established venues to stimulate the regional circuit at arts centres, universities, RSLs and halls (over-18 and all-ages gigs) and fund an annual regional music conference, which will move to a new city or town each year.

This package comes after the Government’s reforms through the Live Music Roundtable over the last four years: the implementation of the Agent of Change Principle, the $500,000 Acoustic Attenuation Program, the deregulation of All Ages Gigs, the Building Code exemption and the Live Music Best Practice Guide.

So there you have it. Victorian music has come a long way in the last five years and it’s gratifying to see all sides of politics taking contemporary music so seriously. Whichever party wins, there is at least something on the table for music. Make sure you visit the Music Victoria website to read all of the policies to ensure you make an informed vote for music.