Melbourne Music Plan 2018-21: Supporting, Growing and Promoting The City'S Diverse Music Industry
Melbourne Music Plan 2018-21: Supporting, Growing and Promoting The City'S Diverse Music Industry
MUSIC PLAN
2018-21
SUPPORTING, GROWING
AND PROMOTING THE CITY’S
DIVERSE MUSIC INDUSTRY
CONTENTS
Introduction 4
Background 4
Strategic context 6
Detailed consultation 8
Vision 9
Definition of ‘music’ 9
Implementation 24
Acknowledgments 24
April 2018
Cover Image: Melbourne Music Week 2017. Photo Credit: Jayden Ostwald
Womin-je-ka (Welcome)
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MESSAGE FROM
COUNCILLOR LEPPERT
With a vibrant music scene and rich cultural history, Melbourne has long been recognised
as a leading global music city. In fact, music has been part of Melbourne’s story long before
Europeans first arrived on the banks of the Yarra River.
From intimate bars tucked down laneways, to century-old From artists, collaborators and producers, to educators,
pubs and super-sized stadiums, Melbourne is home to more innovators, buskers and audiences, we’ll continue to work
than 500 live music venues – that’s more per capita than closely with the music industry and community to help
any other major global city. Our local live music scene is grow our reputation. We want to see our music scene
the perfect incubator for emerging artists, while our major continue to thrive and make sure our music culture remains
entertainment venues play host to some of the world’s diverse and resilient.
biggest music names.
We encourage you all to support our music industry and
Music is an industry that brings enormous social and cultural get involved in our legendary local music scene.
enrichment, along with significant economic benefit. The
City of Melbourne plays a vital role in supporting our music
industry – and that’s why we’ve developed the Melbourne
Music Plan 2018-2021. This plan will continue to build on the
solid foundations of the last eight years, strengthen support
for local artists and help empower the next generation of
Melbourne musicians. Councillor Rohan Leppert
Chair, Arts, Culture and Heritage Portfolio
Yirramboi First Nations Arts Festival 2017. Artist: Uncle Larry Walsh and Tongbernag’i Ngarga. Photo Credit: Bryony Jackson
Background
The City of Melbourne released its first music strategy in
2010, in the midst of a vibrant public discussion about live
music in Melbourne that opened up a conversation with
musicians, venue operators, government, educators and
industry about how we could work together to build on
Melbourne’s reputation of being a great music city.
1
The Economic and Cultural Value of Live Music in Australia 2014
2
Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) Liveability Index, 2011 to 2017
The Music Plan addresses a key action in Council Plan 2. Innovation and technology
2017-2018 to ‘build on the achievements to date in
collaboration with the music industry and key partners’. 3. Visitor economy and international profile
It also responds to a number of opportunities and
challenges that emerged during consultation with 4. Regulation, urban growth and infrastructure
industry and the wider community in mid to late 2017.
Each key focus area is linked to an overarching goal and a
set of clear priorities for realising that goal.
Detailed consultation
Consultation for the new Music Plan included two
workshops with the Music Advisory Committee, interviews
with key industry representatives and consultation with “In our global network of
internal stakeholders across Council to develop an updated
vision and key focus areas. The draft vision and key focus music cities and music
areas were released for public comment in October 2017
via Participate Melbourne, the City of Melbourne’s online
advocates, Melbourne stands
community engagement portal. out as a shining example of
Community feedback identified that specific priorities a city that puts great value
were needed to support Melbourne’s music ecosystem
at a grass roots level and provide more opportunities for
on music and the health
non-professional musicians and people of all ages, cultural of the music community.
backgrounds and abilities. Feedback also highlighted the
importance of promoting local exports, new programs and We often point to Melbourne
emerging talent, and supporting innovative local music
businesses and ideas.
as a source of inspiration
and best practices and it
Another key observation, based on the experience of
implementing the 2014-17 strategy, is that actions are will be exciting to see the
sometimes more effective if worked on collaboratively
by a subgroup of industry, education, community and
achievements that come from
committee representatives. We want to continue to engage a renewed music strategy.”
with the wider music industry on key priorities and larger
projects, and will invite feedback from a diverse range of Amy Terrill, Executive Vice President, Music Canada
stakeholders through various channels.
Freya Josephine Hollick – The Age Music Victoria Awards 2016. Photo Credit: Martin Philbey
Gawurra - The Age Music Victoria Awards 2016. Photo Credit: Martin Philbey
Providing mentoring and development opportunities specialising in touring culturally diverse acts, said
for local musicians is a key aim of Melbourne Music Plan projects like Sunday Lounge “play a crucial role in
2018-21 and a consistent theme across all of our industry having a cohesive, diverse community.”
and community consultation.
Fellow creative producer, Chelsea Wilson, herself an
Sunday Lounge Music Program, an initiative of our acclaimed soul/jazz artist and DJ, said Sunday Lounge
previous music strategy, looked at how best to use was “hugely useful in developing (her) own career”
new and existing community hubs for low-scale and offered artists and producers valuable experience
performances as well as create mentoring opportunities and connections.
for mid-career producers and musicians.
Each lounge performance is followed by a question
Launched as a six-month pilot in 2015 at the Library at and answer session, which allows for a more intimate
the Dock, the program celebrates Melbourne’s diverse conversation about musical craft and provides an
music culture while supporting the health and wellbeing opportunity for diverse musicians and audiences to
of local communities. It has been so successful that it is come together and share personal stories in a safe,
now into its third series, with current creative producer accessible environment. Around 10 per cent of audience
Yeo Choong. members are from interstate or overseas.
Three creative producers have worked on Sunday The program is now being used as a model for
Lounge to date, engaging 18 paid acts, with audiences activating other community hubs across Melbourne
averaging 50 to 80 people. and providing mentoring to non-professional musicians
from diverse backgrounds.
The program’s first creative producer, Murat Yucel,
who runs a Melbourne-based production company
“Don’t live in Docklands • Engage with local musicians and stakeholders to identify
how the City of Melbourne can further support emerging
but I travel down for these and non-professional musicians of all genres develop their
skills and present their music in the City of Melbourne.
music sessions… I enjoy
• In collaboration with industry partners, create new
(them) so, so much.” mentoring and performance opportunities that support
career progression, knowledge and connections and
Feedback from Sunday Lounge audience members include diverse music community members.
• Release the Melbourne Live Music Census 2017 in
conjunction with industry partners.
Ben Whiting
• making, recording and sharing music 8. Promote existing City of Melbourne programs
and facilities that support music and technology
• collaborating and connecting with other musicians including Annual Arts Grants residencies and
community recording and performance facilities.
• engaging with audiences and reaching new audiences
• supporting smart music entrepreneurs, content creators
and local startup businesses.
Year one supporting actions:
We are ready to work with industry to identify issues, solve
problems faced by local musicians, and explore innovative • Promote City of Melbourne’s recording, rehearsal and
ways of connecting creators and audiences through community facilities and support experimentation in
innovation and technology. music, technology, production and performance in
these spaces.
• S
upport music innovation, new ideas and sustainability
practices in music through Melbourne Knowledge
“Technology and support Week 2018.
of smart local business is • C
ontinue to connect music businesses and innovative
imperative for (our) future.” entrepreneurs with our Small Business Grants program
to help grow innovative music startups.
Community feedback, Participate Melbourne • E
xplore new ways of supporting music startups and
entrepreneurs through engagement, connection and
City of Melbourne Smart City initiatives.
Yirramboi First Nations Arts Festival 2017. Artist: Naretha Williams / CIRCLE. Photo Credit: Bryony Jackson
Promoting Melbourne as a destination of choice to Cunningham said a key part of the video was its
study music is the primary aim of a new video targeted soundtrack that features new works by six highly
at students and parents around the world. talented Melbourne music students, selected via
an Expression of Interest process, including Marion
The idea for the video came from a workshop at the Grunden, Alex Eynstone, Jordan Ross, Jamie Griffiths,
Melbourne Music Symposium, hosted by the City of Ryan Cara and the daughter of iconic Australian
Melbourne in November 2015, which focused on ways singer/songwriter Paul Kelly, Memphis Kelly from the
of attracting the brightest young minds to further their band Satsuma.
music education in Melbourne.
Project partners included the University of
Following the symposium, the City of Melbourne Melbourne’s Victorian College of the Arts and
brought together academics and educators to Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, RMIT University,
brainstorm a number of ideas, with everyone agreeing Box Hill Institute, the Australian Institute of Music,
a video highlighting Melbourne’s music scene and Collarts and SAE Creative Media Institute. A steering
education sector could transcend cultural and language group was set up to provide strategic advice prior to
barriers and act as a great tool to bring students and during the production.
to Melbourne.
Now accessible online, the video attracted over
“As well as promoting the city as a destination of choice 217,800 views in a single promotional campaign,
we also wanted to show that Melbourne is a great place reaching around 668,000 people and generating more
to live and work as a young musician with so many than 4,200 likes. It is now being used by education
opportunities to perform, collaborate, be inspired partners to encourage overseas and interstate music
and pursue a music career,” said Creative Producer students to excel in education, employment and
Ben Cunningham. community life in Melbourne.
State Environment Protection Policy (Control of Music The ‘agent of change’ principle has been introduced
Noise from Public Premises) No. N-2 sets out the into Clause 52.43 of the Victoria Planning Provisions to
Victorian Government’s objectives for controlling noise manage the relationship between live music venues and
from indoor and outdoor music venues. SEPP No. N-2 residents. In planning, the agent of change principle
is aimed at protecting people on their properties and assigns responsibility for noise mitigation measures to
in their homes from unreasonable interference from the ‘agent of change’ – a new use or development in an
music from hotels, discos, public halls and outdoor existing environment.
concert venues.
This means that if a new or an existing live music venue
wants to establish or expand, they are responsible for
mitigating any noise caused by that change on nearby
residential properties. Similarly, a new residential
development close to an existing live music venue
is responsible for noise mitigation of its building to
protect future residents.
Meat Market.
Acknowledgments
The City of Melbourne would like to thank the Music
Advisory Committee, industry and community
representatives who have given their time to work with
us and provide feedback during the consultation and
development phase of the Melbourne Music Plan 2018-21.
24 melbourne.vic.gov.au/music
melbourne.vic.gov.au