The Australian Music Venues Foundation (AMVF) have made a pair of announcements this week, outlining their definition of Grass Roots Music Venues (GMVs) alongside the launch of a series of City Planning Guides.
The nascent definition sees the AMVF describing a GMV as a "a culturally significant space primarily focused on the live performance and development of music".
An important aspect of the local scene, these venues play a vital role in not just sustaining the cultural diversity of Australia, but also fostering artistic development, and contributing to both the resilience and diversity of the national music ecosystem.
The AMVF have also outlined their criteria for recognising a GMV, including the likes of the venue being broadly recognised as a GMV; holding a cultural purpose at its core; being run by music people, for music people; taking cultural risks as part of their mission statement; serving as a beacon of the music community and of the night-time economy; and also serving as an active participant in the local cultural ecosystem.
Additionally, the AMVF website now features a series of City Planning Guide which will be issued annually alongside assistance from sister UK organisation, the Music Venue Trust.
Featuring state-by-state information, they cover everything from the likes of information relating to noise complaints, planning permission, and everything else in between in an easily digestible format.
The idea is to provide grassroots venue operators with practical knowledge needed to protect themselves within systems such as regulatory organisations which operate without cultural progress as their main focus.
"Across Australia, venue operators have spent the past decade navigating a planning system that was not designed with them in mind," the AMVF notes in their guide. "Development applications for residential towers land near established music venues without any requirement to address the noise environment those venues create.
"Noise complaints from newly arrived residents trigger regulatory processes that treat decades-old venues as the problem to be managed, rather than the asset to be protected. Planning authorities approve residential development in entertainment precincts without formal notification to the buyers who will later object to the venues that were there first."
“These planning guides are an important step in giving grassroots music venues the practical tools they need to navigate the planning system and protect their place in our communities," explains AMVF CEO Tam Boakes. "GMVs are essential to Australia’s live music ecosystem, but they operate in an increasingly complex environment, and having clear, accessible guidance can make a real difference."
"Ultimately, these guides are about helping venues stay open, thrive and continue providing the vital spaces where artists develop, audiences connect, and Australia’s wider live music ecosystem can grow," adds Boakes.
“I strongly support the Australian Music Venue Foundation’s Planning Guides as a practical tool to help create better outcomes for Grassroots Music Venues," adds John 'JC Collins AM, AMVCF Board member and Queensland Night-Life Economy Commissioner.
"Queensland’s recently released Nightlife Economy Action Plan recognises the importance of reducing barriers for venues, supporting live music and giving councils practical tools to develop their night-time economies.
"The AMVF Planning Guides can complement this work by providing planners, developers, councils and venues with clear guidance on how to protect existing venues and embed live music into good planning from the outset,” Collins adds. “Getting these decisions right at the planning stage will help us build stronger, more sustainable nightlife precincts and protect the places where artists develop and audiences connect.”
The full list of City Planning Guides (and information surrounding their definition of Grassroots Music Venues) are available via the AMVF's website.
