Inquiry Finds NSW 'Has A Music Venue Crisis'

A massive report detailing the music and arts economy in NSW has just been released in response to the inquiry that has been conducted over the past year. 

The report, titled The Music & Arts Economy In New South Wales, acknowledges four major findings and makes 60 recommendations in response to evidence from 437 submissions, eight supplementary submissions and 11 public hearings with evidence from artists including Client Liaison, Hoodoo Gurus, The Screaming Jets, The Preatures, KLP and The Rubens.

In the foreword of the report, Committee Chair, Hon Paul Green MLC, acknowledged that "music, particularly contemporary music, continues to play a vital role in the economic and social vitality of New South Wales".

"However, this sector has traditionally been neglected by governments, and as a result the contemporary music ecosystem in New South Wales appears to be slowly disintegrating," he said. 

He stated that it was "time the NSW Government [gave] music the attention it deserves given its importance to the state's economy". 

The major findings of the inquiry are detailed below: 

• Finding 1 - "That there is massive potential for the contemporary music sector in New South Wales. The recorded music sector has grown rapidly over the last two years via online streaming. The majority of the industry is based in New South Wales."
  
  
• Finding 2  - "That if New South Wales were to match Victorian funding for contemporary music per capita, it would require an expenditure in New South Wales of at least $35 million over the four years of forward estimates."
  
  
• Finding 3 - "That New South Wales has a music venue crisis, the causes of which are complex, but it is impacting negatively on the grassroots music scene in New South Wales, and on the national and regional touring circuits."
  
  
• Finding 4 - "That the committee found no research available that suggested that music causes violence. In fact, the majority of the evidence the committee received suggested that music assists in preventing violence."

The committee's "significant" recommendations as a result of these findings were extensive and aim to "revitalise the sector". 

Of note, they detail a larger government role in the industry based on the Victorian model and include the appointment of a Minister For Music, as well as "Create NSW [to] establish and convene a Live Music Roundtable in New South Wales, based on the Victorian model, that includes key government agencies and music industry stakeholders."

A number of the recommendations would also result in a "$35 million increase in funding for arts and contemporary music over the next four years", including suggestions for Create NSW to contribute funding to organisation Sounds Australia to better support exporting music from NSW, for the state government to develop a community fund that "uses the revenue from gaming machines to support the live music industry", "that the Cultural Infrastructure Program Management Office make 'adaptive reuse and or regeneration' an eligible activity under the guidelines of the Regional Cultural Fund for the next three years and provide funding for upgrades to existing buildings to meet access, fire and safety requirements", as well as providing grants of $25,000 to assist venues in installing noise attenuation measures, and allocate funding to community radio stations to foster new music.

A number of the recommendations have also been made with the aim to "cut red tape and develop a one-stop-shop for licensing and planning queries for live music venues". These include:

• "That Create NSW fund MusicNSW to conduct a live music venue census every two years."
• "That the NSW Department of Planning and Environment investigate the viability of identifying New South Wales live music venues as 'assets of community value', similar to the approach taken in London."
• "That Create NSW fund MusicNSW to engage Regional Music Champions to support the revitalisation of New South Wales' regional live music scene."
• "That Create NSW work with MusicNSW to investigate opportunities to promote all-ages gigs across New South Wales."
• "That Roads and Maritime Services, in collaboration with local councils, develop a parking permit that allows musicians to stop in loading zones for a set period of time when loading in and out of gigs."
• "That the NSW Government review and amend liquor legislation to remove outdated conditions for liquor licences and development applications that place unnecessary restrictions on certain entertainment live music venues, such as prohibiting music genres or specific musical instruments."
• "That the NSW Government amend the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 to include an objective test for 'offensive noise' from licensed venues."

Importantly, this includes a recommendation for NSW Department Of Planning & Environment to look into adopting "an agent of change approach to ensure that new dwellings within 100 metres of established cultural venues, such as live music venues, are required to have sound attenuation measures".

Executive Producer of Sounds Australia, Millie Millgate said that "contemporary music in New South Wales is being undermined by the lack of a robust foundation".

"We cannot do our job and bring New South Wales artists through at that global level if there is no robust foundation. It is a pyramid. You need the venues working. You need them to play at festivals. They need air play. All of that goes towards building this economy of artists. Then we get the easy job. We get to show them to the world, and that is the greatest pleasure. But if you do not have the bits here—it is completely fractured."

The committee also acknowledged that "evidence provided to the committee from many stakeholders, including venue owners and prominent musicians, clearly indicates that lockout laws have contributed to a reduction of live music bookings, a contraction of the live music scene and the closure of numerous live music venues in inner Sydney".

Darlinghurst venue Oxford Art Factory confirmed that its revenue had declined 40% since 2014 leading to "very great concern to the ongoing viability". The venue emphasised that the cultural and economic ramifications should it close would be significant.

The Kings Cross Hotel similarly has had to drastically cut its live music program according to the CEO of Solotel, Justine Baker.

"Since the lockouts, our weekly DJ slots [at the Kings Cross Hotel] have gone from 34 DJs to 12 and our band slots have gone from 12 to zero," she said. 

"We used to trade seven floors of the hotel. We now trade two floors seven days a week and one floor three days a week. The employment of promoters, DJ bookers, lighting and sound technicians and security also have diminished dramatically."

The closure of these live music venues has made Sydney "a laughing stock", according to Isabella Manfredi from Sydney band The Preatures. 

"That is really the crux of it. It has become an international joke and the butt of international jokes," she said.

Read the full report here.