National SLAM Day takes place this Saturday 23rd February, with over 200+ gigs being hosted around the country from musicians and music lovers to support and celbrate Australia’s live music scene, which means there’s no better time to focus on the issues live music venues around the country are facing.
Adelaide’s live music reform is being threatened by Liberals and associations looking to block a new small bars bill, the owners of Sydney’s iconic Annandale Hotel have stepped aside as the receivers take over, while Melbourne’s venues continue to face fights against encroaching residential development and noise complaints.
But the issues live music is facing is not just in the larger cities, regional areas are also having to fight for the survival of their live music scene.
In particular, the New South Wales region of Wollongong, which has seen a number of live music venues closing due to ongoing noise complaints from residents, with local councillors calling for supportive action following the closure of an important live music hub in the area.
Following the closure of Wollongong venues The Oxford Tavern, Drop Bar, Sol Studios, and Good Jelly, last week, The Patch was the latest to join the string of venues hosting local live music to fall silent; the Illawarra Mercury reporting last week that all live performances at The Patch had been cancelled after being subjected to damaging disturbance complaints to the state’s liquor regulator.
The Licensing Police cancelled all events at The Patch, part of the Cabbage Tree Hotel, and the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing is looking to decide whether it will enforce a permanent band on “amplified entertainment” at the venue as a condition of the site’s licence after submissions from Wollongong City Council, residents, and police.
“The Accord is a vision statement. It’s about facilitating a healthier, more vibrant arts sector.” Robert Carr, Live Music AdvocateThe venue operators, had spent an estimated total of $80,000 on soundproofing in efforts to deal with noise complaints, but as the Illawarra Mercury reports, the venue has been interrupted by police intervention on more than 70 occasions in the past 12 to 18 months.
In the same time frame, the venue has hosted a range of high-profile artists, including including Cosmo Jarvis, TZU, British India, Children Collide, Ash Grunwald, Tumbleweed, Segression, Dead Letter Circus, Guttermouth, Oh Mercy, DZ Deathrays, Catherine Britt, Loon Lake, Stonefield, and Deep Sea Arcade.
“We were actually congratulated by the police for going down this path and having a crack at live music,” said the hotel’s co-owner Dan Young. “We had some massive acts come through and were getting 400 to 500 people in. I will say for the most part the police have been as good as they could be … it is frustrating that one residence in the whole of Fairy Meadow can have such an impact on our business.”
Young alleges that the noise complaints are coming from management at the Fairy Meadow Motel located nearby, and venue bookers at The Patch have cancelled all upcoming shows while its fate is decided by licensing authorities.
In light of the Patch’s issues, supporters of live music in the area have called for a ‘Live Music Accord’, a forum designed in “bringing all stakeholders together to discuss and agree on a set of principles about how to make venues more sustainable, and ensure long-term viability of the music scene more generally,” according to a press release.
Live music advocate Jessie Hunt, said that speaking to Police at a local forum, “I realised that there was definitely a lack of dialogue between musicians and young people like myself.” Hunt discussed noise restrictions in residential areas with Wollongong Police and points out that “the LA10 condition, unfortunately, is at the root of the Patch’s noise complaint issues.
The LA10 condition refers to noise level restrictions in the area which are tied up with the ‘background noise level’ of nearby venues and residents, between the hours of 12:00 midnight and 7am, its the kind of legislative red tape that is restricting up live music venues as they are tangled up in policy.
“We are hoping for venues, councilors, police and local music businesses to sign up to the Accord as a show of support.” – Jessie Hunt, Live Music AdvocateThe Live Music Accord looks to untangle that red tape, with fellow live music advocate Robert Cay saying it will be “the result of input from and dialogue with hundreds of community members at he Forum, at gigs and online, as well as ongoing conversations with venue owners and police.”
“The Accord is a vision statement. It’s about facilitating a healthier, more vibrant arts sector. It is an opportunity for city leaders to show their support for the Wollongong music scene,” said Carr.
Adding that: “To work through a range of issues associated with live music spaces, to help kick-start the night life economy and create opportunities for young people while recognising the needs of policing.”
Ms Hunt plans to address Council in the next few weeks about issues facing the music scene. “We are hoping for venues, councilors, police and local music businesses to sign up to the Accord as a show of support for the long term viability of the music scene,” said Ms Hunt.
It’s a regional focus on what is fast becoming a national issue, one that’s a priority for the Federal Government’s first National Live Music Coordinator, Dr Ianto Ware.
Appointed by Sounds Australia and Arts Minister Simon Crean, Dr Ware is set to use his expertise in the live music sector to consult and advise on the state of Australia’s music industry towards the government’s new National Cultural Policy, in an effort to untangle the complex web of red tape and ‘party-killing laws’ – such as noise complaints, liquor licensing woes, and environmental concerns – that are damaging live music at a local level by formalising legislation between states; as well as making it easier on live music venues to operate their businesses, to keep open and stay open.
