How To Grow Or Kill Your Local Music Scene

We’ve all read about the great music cities of the world. The country twang of Nashville continues to reverberate throughout the city day in day out. The festivals and bars in Austin are lauded about online and the Canadians love to brag about incredible level of funding available for musicians in Toronto and Montreal.

But if these music cities are the cream of the crop, than what separates Australian cities from the best? It’s important to gain some international perspective to see what we’re doing right and what we can improve on.

Any music enthusiast is likely to have heard of the vast problems that have occurred in the past few years in the local music scene.

The ongoing battle to stop Melbourne’s the Palace Theatre from being developed into apartments is one of the Victorian capitals most pressing music issues. It advocates a lack of appreciation of live music from some members of the community.

The rise and fall of venues across the country, such as Sydney’s Annandale Hotel and The Sandringham Hotel, Canberra’s The Greenroom and Melbourne’s Phoenix Public House to name just a few all signal issues with red tape, poor management, and other logistical traps involved in running a music venue.

The cancellation of music festivals like Harvest and Pyramid Rock along with the liquidation of Future Entertainment and Andrew McManus doesn’t particularly bode well for international artists looking to make the long trek Down Under and local musicians searching for greater exposure either.

So what is it that the most renowned music cities of the world have got that we don’t?

By studying the music scenes in Austin, Toronto, and the UK, we can ascertain just how far and where we need to reach to improve.

Toronto is often seen as a music mecca with its government funding launching its artists onto the world stage and ensuring its venues cultivate a vibrant scene.

But not content with such a status, it continually strives to get more out of its music scene.

The city aims to promote its music culture for tourism in the same way that New Orleans and Nashville does and with the 4479 initiative, Toronto is taking steps to make their music scene the envy of the world.

As Alan Cross reports, by partnering with Austin in a world first of music scenes joining together, the Music Canada body hopes to reap the economic benefits from increased exposure.

Those economic benefits as uncovered by CIMA – the Canadian Independent Music Association – in their examination of the indie music industry found that for every $1 of government support the indie music scene generated $1.22 in tax revenue in 2011.

It’s little wonder that in May 2013 the Ontario government announced a plan for a $45 million fund for production, distribution, and performance of music and to promote the area to the world.

On the day of the announcement the slogan “music means jobs” was plastered across the podium where local politicians would announce their grand plan.

The UK’s David Cameron supports that notion too. In early September The Telegraph reported his pledge of $3 million in funding for independent record labels.

Cameron stated, “It’s not just about enjoying the music. This worldwide success means jobs and economic growth back in the UK, so the Government must do all we can to back our winning sectors and ensure their future success.”

He was right too. An industry report entitled Wish You Were Here found that that the UK’s economy reveled in a boost of £2.2 billion in 2012 as over 6.5 million tourists flew into Great Britain to attend gigs, concerts, and the country’s almighty music festival season.

It’s painstakingly clear from the government support in Canada and the tourism advantages of American music cities that funding and policy that enhances a local music scene is essential in not only accessing full potential of economic benefits of live music, but allowing musician’s to live and work in an environment which best helps them tap into their creative energies.

While groups such as Music Victoria and SLAM are fighting to protect our music culture and promote it, the Rudd government initiated National Live Music Office was set up earlier last year to “find the right environment for live music that benefits everyone” as described by the official government website.

Now that Rudd is out and the people have elected Tony Abbott, it remains to be seen if this initiative will have the legs to actually make a difference.

However, what the stats above demonstrate – and frustratingly so – is that a large part of what separates the respective music scenes of different Australian cities from their world renowned counterparts is local, state, and federal governments the country over failing to recognise the potential benefits that comes with supporting local music.

In a world spun round by figures, money can be integral in developing music culture.

That might sound a little counterintuitive given dollar signs are normally attributed to pop stars and commercialism and not what some might consider as ‘artists’ per se, but musicians need to eat too. Getting a music career off the ground while trying to feed yourself as streaming and piracy remain means that making a stable wage to live off is near impossible.

The arguments that art should be free and will sustain itself and the ideology that musicians are nothing more than dolebludgers who should get a real job don’t add up.

There may have been a time where economic conditions fairly resulted in funding cuts in the arts sector to protect jobs, but the success of the aforementioned cities douses such a sentiment.

If coordinated appropriately music can be marketed as tourism and funding can cultivate music scenes to provide economic benefits, which includes job creation.

Our music history may not reach as far back as Nashville and our music scene may not be as internationally renowned as Toronto, but the solution starts with being proactive.

Australia has the talent. We don’t need a reality TV show to tell us that. It also wouldn’t be an exaggeration to suggest that we also love local music. As Music Victoria’s 2013 survey details, the $1.04 billion contribution live music makes to the Victorian economy all suggest that in that state, at least there are fans willing to pay to support such musicians.

Be that as it may, it’s important to see just how far the respective music scenes of Australia have come.

You only need to see the number of awards ceremonies, such as the ARIAs, the AMP, the AIR awards and the J awards amongst others, to see the field of talented individuals who make music in Australia.

That is in stark contrast to some of our Asian neighbours who are having significant troubles of their own in cultivating local music scenes that encourage originality by artists and gig goers to support the few that do craft their own tunes.

The Thai capital of Bangkok is inundated every weekend by musicians who would prefer to bash out hits of years past than revel in their own creativity.

Along with a cover band epidemic, CNN points to the city’s lack of suitable mid-sized venues as another major problem, while a severe shortage of international tours and sponsors for bigger music events means there is little money afforded to the Bangkok scene.

Although in the past few years local radio station Fat Radio and its festival have slowly built important foundations to work off. The crucial work of Fat Radio makes you appreciate just how integral Triple J is to the Australian music scene.

Nearby, alternative music lovers in Hong Kong are up against a tough battle in a business minded city where, if citizens do choose music, the manufactured bubblegum variety usually wins out.

Locals like Justin Sweeting, the co-founder of Hong Kong’s Clockenflap Festival, are leading the charge in promoting live music in the city.

Although as Sweeting conceded in an interview with South China Morning Post, “not many bands can sell out a 350-capacity venue, and when they do, then what’s next? There isn’t a natural path bands can take.”

Combine this with the city’s high rents and those music venues run a precarious line between functional and non-existent.

While our venues have had their fair share of difficulties, there is still that stepping-stone course there for Aussie bands to take.

The international success stories in Tame Impala and Gotye, to name just a few, demonstrate that the Australian music does have the important pathways for musicians to take.

The music scene in Japan is faring much better than Hong Kong. The exquisite surroundings of Fuji Rock Festival and unlimited obscurities waiting to be unlocked in Tokyo are signs of a flourishing national music culture.

But under the country’s adult entertainment laws, a new ludicrous component has made it illegal for the Japanese to dance after 1am.

This development has hampered the growth of smaller scenes such as the one in Osaka.

As local producer Magical Mistakes writes in Impose the police in the city since the Spring of 2011 have forced nightclubs to close by invoking a long-forgotten regulation on prostitution.

“Apparently late-night culture is becoming an increasingly politicised part of Japan,” writes the music maker, blaming the media and the government on the forces that restrict Japan’s music scene from developing.

Victoria had its own troubles with the difficulties of the proposed liquor licensing laws that closed The Tote in 2010, but a mass protest ensured that the state’s music scene survived as significant amendments were made.

The government in Mumbai is responsible for hindering international tours with the BBC identifying that high entertainment taxes are responsible for bands bypassing the city in favour of Delhi and Bangalore.

Meanwhile in South America, an interview in Santiago Times with Dinky reveals an exodus of alternative musicians from the city. She bemoans the fact the alternative artists have to head overseas with conservative audiences leaving little room for success for experimental music makers.

In the Bolivian city of La Paz, J. Zamora and André De Oliveira of indie label Random Is Not Whatever explained to Sounds and Colours that much like Bangkok, there are an abundance of tribute bands whereas original artists find it harder getting off the ground.

“The music scene in La Paz is very poor,” says Zamora.

“That is because there are not enough music labels, music stores, venues, and most important, there is not enough support from the government and people for the artists in our city.”

One of the more famous cases is the jailing of Russian outfit Pussy Riot, which exemplifies what the prohibition of freedom of speech can do to hinder a country’s music culture.

Again the problems that plague the aforementioned cities make our music scenes look glamorous in comparison.

These are just a few examples that should make one appreciate our lucky country.

This however doesn’t mean that cities of Western society, which are usually heralded for strong live music cultures, are free of any difficulties.

In Los Angeles David Goldberg lamented in his piece ‘Why LA Club Owners Are Totally Lost And Some Advice From A Professional Musician’ that despite the economic downturn, musicians should no longer have to perform for little or nothing.

In 2011 Belgium’s music scene was being affected by language politics. As reported by The World, the Brussels Metro system would no longer play French speaking music because Dutch-speaking citizens had complained of hearing too many songs that weren’t in their language.

It’s important to appreciate that Australia’s music culture doesn’t suffer from the same plague of cover bands as Bangkok and La Paz and that a musician’s right to the use of freedom of speech won’t get them jailed.

While Australian music cities are far from the worst cultural metropolis’ in the world, there is still great potential that can be unlocked Down Under.

It’s clear that what’s holding us back from sitting alongside Austin or Toronto is funding and governments that love music as much as the people do.

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