Industrial Strength: October 10
END TO DOOF-POOL PARTIES?
The vulnerability of open-air music events to lone shooters has seen some EDM promoters suggest to TMN that the era of popular doof-pool parties in Australia might be at an end.
This comes in the wake of Queensland venue operator Harvey Lister (the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane Convention and Entertainment Centre) warning realistically that all the security upgrades implemented could not prevent another Las Vegas.
Adding to the alarm was that the Vegas shooter had also considered an attack on Lollapalooza in Chicago, while the New York Times reports that a number of concerts were among intended targets of coordinated bombings and shootings with the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in 2016, according to recent revelations by Federal authorities.
NSW SET TO BAN TICKET SCALPING BOTS
A statement from NSW Minister for Better Regulation Matt Kean said that the NSW Government is this week introducing legislation that will outlaw ticket scalping bots.
This automated software scoops up tickets on sale and then puts them back on the market at inflated prices when the event is sold out and customers get panicky about missing out.
The reform of the state’s Fair Trading Act will also stop any reselling of a concert or sports ticket for over the original sale price and cap cost of transactions at 10%.
MAJOR MUSIC FESTIVALS PROVE TOURISM DRAWS
Major music festivals are big tourism draws, as nominations for the NSW Tourism Awards indicate.
Up for Major Festivals & Events are:
Byron Bay Bluesfest
Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras
2017 Tamworth Country Music Festival
Vivid Sydney
In the Festivals & Events category are:
Australian Celtic Festival
Byron Writers Festival
Canowindra Challenge
Deni Ute Muster
Eat the Street 2017
Orange F.O.O.D Week
Parkes Elvis Festival
Splendour in the Grass
It was a confidence boosting week for Bluesfest, which was also included in Best Overseas Festival at the November 30 UK Festival Awards in London. It’s up against the likes of Roskilde, Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza Berlin.
FREMANTLE TOPS IN PERTH’S ENTERTAINMENT PRECINCTS
A Tourism WA survey found that Fremantle is leading Perth’s entertainment precincts.
This is probably because the portside city reflects the current attitudes especially of the 18 to 34 demographic – less nightclubs and more pop up venues and small bars to add to the diversity and vibrancy of the precincts.
Fremantle rated a top 7.3 out of ten as the most enjoyable precinct to visit. It was second (52%) highest to be visited in the last six months, following the Perth CBD (74%).
The others were Elizabeth Quay (51%), Northbridge (49%), Subiaco ()3%) Leederville (38%), Beaufort (32%) and Victoria Park (30%).
Northbridge was most popular for nightclubs and alcohol, and not coincidentally, regarded as a place for families. The CBD was high on shopping (58%) and meals (49%) as reasons to visit but nightclubs only ranked 6%.
Another interesting uncovering is why people go to nightclubs and live music venues.
The most important (69%) reason to visit was value for money. Safety of the venue (65%) was second most important, 71% for women and 60% for men.
The atmosphere of the venue counted for 52% of the decision, opening hours 20% and live music 16%. In fact, choosing a venue because of the music it put on was ninth on the list.
However spend in nightclubs was third highest ($66) after hotels with accommodation (95) and licensed restaurants ($81).
See the report at the Tourism WA website.
LIVE ALBUM, VIDEO FROM REGUGITATOR GAMES EXPO SHOW
A live album and video is more likely emerging from Regurgitator’s appearance at the gaming EB Expo, held on the weekend at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre.
These would have a great background to the 200sqm of visual effects, 4K projection technology, LED screen and state-of-the-art 3D effects at the expo.
The ‘Gurg used the high tech event to play their platinum album Unit to celebrate its 20th anniversary as part of a multidimensional audio visual experience, and to emphasise the emerging technology that had been used on the record.
They were joined by gamers faves Art Vs Science. and bitpoppers 7Bit who engaged realtime gamer play in their set and developed the pixel graphic sensor sequences Regurgitator opened up with.
The trio ‘ripped through tracks as ‘I Like Your Old Stuff Better Than Your New Stuff’, ‘Everyday Formula’, ‘Black Bugs’ and ‘Polyester Girl’ as part of Unit20
The band later posted on Facebook: “Thanks for tripping through our past, playing us in the moment… and continuing to retrotrack the future that make us.”
ROCK FAME FINALISTS
Nineteen acts are on the nominations list for the 2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, eligible after releasing their first commercial record before 25 years.
Picked for the first time are Radiohead, Rage Against The Machine, Dire Straits, Eurythmics, The Moody Blues, Judas Priest, Kate Bush, Nina Simone and Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
It could be fifth-time-lucky for J. Geils Band, while it’s the fourth time for LL Cool J and The Meters.
It’s third time for The Cars, MC5 and The Zombies and the second for Bon Jovi, Rufus featuring Chaka Khan and Link Wray
ROW OVER BIRDS OF TOKYO FREE WA GIG
A row has broken out over a Birds of Tokyo free gig at the Wanneroo Showgrounds on November 4 – through no fault of the band.
The show was put on by The City of Wanneroo as a goodwill gesture, offering first dibs on the 12,000 tickets to the 200,000 Wanneroo residents. Anything left over would go to outsiders.
Unfortunately, all 12,000 tickets were snapped up in an hour.
“We knew Perth’s own Birds of Tokyo would create a lot of excitement but we were amazed at how quickly we reached capacity,” said Mayor Tracey Roberts, who added that no further tickets would be made available.
Residents who missed out were furious, and paid out on the council’s Facebook page.
Grumbled one, “I pay nearly $2,000 a year in rates!! I’m not impressed at all!!!”
BOOK LOOKS BACK AT LEGENDARY SUNBURY FESTIVALS
The Sunbury festivals in were not the first of the post-Woodstock events in Australia, but they were the biggest and most inspiring. They staged 1972 (drawing 40,000), 1973, 1974 and 1975, traditionally paying $5 entrance to see the great acts emerging at the time, including Daddy Cool, Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs and Carson.
For a snapshot of the hippie utopian society, there was enough rough stuff through the years.
Imported glam-rockers Queen were booed and told “go home you Pommie wankers!” while a Madder Lake roadie mooned them.
A brawl almost broke out between Deep Purple and AC/DC.
Determined to make a statement, Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs rented out every speaker in Victoria to blast their blues-rock through a wall of sound. It made such a racket that the Digger’s Rest pub ten miles away complained about the noise.
By 1975, heavy rain dropped attendance to 15,000 and the company which staged the festival, Odessa Promotions, went bust.
But there were some exhilarating sea-change moments as well, and these are lovingly recounted in Australia’s Greatest Rock Festival by Pete Evans over 240 pages, with rare colour and B&W photos throughout.
Evans, who designed and operated the stage lighting for the first three festivals. based the content on official documents and an extensive oral history program created by him.
Australia’s Greatest Rock Festival is published by Melbourne Books (www.melbournebooks.com.au) for $49.95.
BIANCA DYE TO MC GOLDEN STAVE LUNCHEON
Radio presenter Bianca Dye will MC the music industry’s Golden Stave Charity Lunch on Friday October 20, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney.
The dress code is Blues Brothers Fancy Dress.
The Golden Stave has raised over $14 million in 38 years to support over 50 plus children’s charities in NSW.
In addition to Ian Moss, Diesel and WS FM’s Brendan “Jonesy” Jones, more acts will be announced in the run-up.
Ticketing details and other info at the official website.
DOLPHIN AWARDS UNVEIL NOMINATIONS
What was the best album to emerge from the NSW North Coast?
According to The North Coast Entertainment Industry Association (NCEIA) Dolphin Awards, they were Val Ockert’s Lane Hog Mind with a Timid Heart, Cariad’s A Thousand Dreams and Monkey and the Fish’s Place of Hope.
While these were nominated for the Album of the Year, up for Songwriter of the Year were Geraint Jenkins, Matty Rogers, Kellie Knight and Josh Lee Hamilton.
Vying for Song of the Year are Out of Range Band’s ‘Do What You Do’, Brian Wappett’s ‘Symphonic Silence’, Kodey Rayne’s ‘Violet George’, Josh Lee Hamilton’s ‘Soul Breaks’ and Maple’s ‘Everlasting’.
Full list for all categories are at the official website.
AMW CONFERENCE TOPICS
Australian Music Week’s conference format on November 2 and 3 covers a wide range of topics through panels and workshops curated by different associations.
Subjects are the art of managing people, the global Americana market, treating the creative process with reverence, touring strategies, the state of Australian folk, the DJs & producers scene, touring Canada, “fear at the top” and “what the hell is block chain?”
RUSSELL MORRIS SPIRITS IN TRILOGY
Russell Morris who found a new lease of life as a blues performer with a wildly acclaimed trilogy, has extended the concept.
The three albums – Sharkmouth, Van Diemen’s Land and Red Dirt Red Heart; resplendent with characters and locations from all aspects of Australian history – are now included in a new box set called Ghosts & Legends.
It also includes previously unreleased songs, a 56 page collector’s booklet featuring the stories of each song, lyrics and stunning colour photos.
The Ghosts & Legends DVD features over 4 hours of music videos, album commentaries, live performances and insightful interviews.
REPORT: GLOBAL TV AND RADIO SUBSCRIPTION MARKET SET FOR GROWTH
The Global TV and Radio Subscription Market 2017-2021 report estimates that the sector will at a CAGR of 4.50% during the period 2017-2021.
The latest trend gaining momentum in the market is the growing popularity of Internet radio.
According to the report, “The Internet is one of the fastest-growing platforms in the global radio subscription market for playing radio. Initially, listening to the radio was only possible using devices such as iPods and music systems.
“However, with individuals switching to an access-based approach, the subscription to the digital music libraries stored in the cloud is increasing rapidly.”
It attributes a major driver of the market to the growing popularity of multiscreen services.
“With the increase in the number of smartphone and tablet users, the demand for multiscreen TV services has also gained high momentum.
“TV service operators, such as IPTV, offer services with the convergence of multiple screens to enhance customer satisfaction. In addition, technological advances have led to the development of better and innovative smartphones and tablets with better apps, a bigger screen, and better battery capacity.
“This is expected to boost the adoption of multiscreen services, which will fuel the demand for TV subscription services.”
The report also warns that “alternative mediums such as downloading, streaming, physical forms of music, and OTT services are some of the substitutes that pose a threat to the global radio subscription market.
“Also, the increasing mobile Internet penetration and the growing popularity and adoption of smartphones are encouraging music listeners to opt for online streaming services.”
GUVERA LIQUIDATOR TO HOLD PUBLIC EXAMINATIONS
Eddie Senatore of Deloitte, liquidator of three Guvera subsidiaries, will hold public examinations in the Federal Court in Sydney on November 14 and 17 f due to “the complexities surrounding the intercompany arrangements of the Guvera group of companies.”
Guvera execs as Darren Herft and founder Claes Loberg have been told to front, as have six former directors, a former financial officer, a former legal counsel and former auditor, along with others.
Among issues to be brought light are fund-raising activities before Guvera’s planned IPO which was knocked back by the ASX.
ART OF GIG POSTERS CELEBRATED
Outta Tune is a celebration of the artistry of gig posters and the craftsmanship of screen printing, held on Friday October 27 at 27-29 Johnston St, Collingwood in Melbourne.
It is the brainchild of boutique print publishing house Dangerfork, which since 2010 has specialised in that art, with client artists around the world.
Starting at 6pm, there’ll be live sets from Eaten By Dogs and Fuck The Fitzroy Doom Scene.
FOLK ALLIANCE CONFERENCE TO LOOK AT SECTOR’S BIG PICTURE
Folk Alliance Australiais holding a conference in Sydney (November 1-3) as part of Australian Music Week.
Through panels, Q&A sessions and workshops. the program will cover a range of topics relating to festivals, venues and events, artists building their business as well as, the state of folk music and its continuing influence on contemporary rock acts.
Showcasing are Alice Skye, Appalachian Heaven String Band, The Bean Project, Fred Smith, Gawurra, Hermitage Green (Ireland), Hot Potato Band, Liam Gerner, Mama Kin, Monique Clare, Neil Murray, The Nukes (NZ), The Raglins Rhythm Hunters and Winterbourne.
The FAA Young Artist of the Year, cellist and singer songwriter Monique Clare, through a successful Pledgemusic campaign, recorded her debut solo release, the five-track EP By The Stars which she will be touring along the East Coast behind as well as festival appearances.
CAITI BAKER TAKES BACK THE POWER
Darwin-based soul/hip hop act Caiti Baker called her new single ‘I Won’t Sleep’ for a specific reason.
Her emerging career in electro-soul/hip hop duo Sietta was cut short by a battle with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS).
Baker spent years living in a hazy state between sleep and consciousness as she battled with both health and self-identity.
With the support of producer J. Mangohig (Daniel Johns, Briggs), she cut the Zinc album emerges with the new track which she describes as “a song about finding my identity after having been asleep for so long.
“The driving production is a musical metaphor for the energy and hype that for so long was absent in my life. In a way, it’s a celebration of having clarity and being present.”
Part of her return was marked by her return to the road joining A.B. Original as their touring female vocalist.
ANOTHER LEGAL BLOW FOR KIM DOTCOM
Tech entrepreneur Kim Dotcom had another legal blow recently.
The NZ Supreme Court refused to hear his appeal against his multi-million dollar assets in New Zealand and Hong Kong being seized in 2012 by NZ and US authorities.
His overseas bank accounts were also frozen.
It’s the latest in the controversial legal case, in which Dotcom is accused of money laundering and fraud, profiting by $175 million from allegedly infringing copyright worth $500 million through his Megaupload, the file-hosting service.
A US appeals court decided in December 2016 that the civil forfeiture case could move forward because Dotcom has fought extradition to the United States. Therefore, it said, he was a fugitive, and therefore could not contest the seizures.
Dotcom’s lawyers angrily argued the decision, saying that he could not be considered a fugitive as he had never entered the US.
Given this, Dotcom now has to fight to stop these assets from being handed over to authorities.
BUMPER YEAR FOR VICTORIA’S CREATIVE INDUSTRIES AGENCIES
Creative Victoria says that annual reports of Victoria’s nine creative industries agencies showed that they had enjoyed success, growth and new records for visitation and economic impact in the 2016/7 year.
More than 1.7 million visited these state-owned arts and cultural institutions in the 2016-17 financial year, with record visitation at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) and State Library Victoria (SLV).
Arts Centre Melbourne’s Asia Pacific Triennial of Performing Arts drew 890,000 people.
An incredible1.85 million attended the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) which the Government says is a world record for a moving image museum.
The National Gallery of Victoria had its most successful ticketed exhibition with 462,000 for its Van Gogh and the Seasons exhibit.
Melbourne Museum’s collaboration with Universal Studios, Jurassic World: The Exhibition drew 422,540.
The Film Victoria-supported production Lion, which was based at Docklands Studios Melbourne during its Victorian shoot, become the fifth most successful film at the Australian box office of all time and was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
COGGAN, SIMMONDS TOP COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS
Darren Coggan and Aleyce Simmonds dominated the Australian Independent Country Music Awards, aka Southern Stars, on the weekend.
Coggan trumped Male Vocal, Single and Album of the Year.
Simmonds’ glories included Female Vocal and Artist of the Year.
Other winners were Carter & Carter (group/ duo), Pat Drummond (heritage) and Will Day and Kora Naughton (rising star), while Craig Muir, long time treasurer of the Mildura Country Music Festival, was recipient of the Barry Thornton Memorial.
TASMANIA NIGHT ECONOMY DOWN IN REVENJUE, EMPLOYMENT
From the Hobart Mercury: Tasmania’s night economy represents 19% of all Tasmanian businesses. This means the state economy is more dependent on it than any other state or territory.
But a report by Ortus Economic Research, prepared for the Council of Capital City Lord Mayors, warns that employment and sales turnover as a proportion of the total economy are decreasing.
AND A FEW OTHER THINGS…
Reports say that Niall Horan is set to earn up to €10 million (A$15 million) personally from ticket sales during his Flicker World Tour next year.
How long before the Sunshine Coast announces its own night mayor?
Is Nicole Scherzinger trying to reunite The Pussycat Dolls?
How soon before Mariah Carey’s February run through Australia and New Zealand since she’s already blabbed it on social media?
Congrats to the poster couple of Australian EDM, Brooke Evers and Matt Stafford, who got married in Byron Bay before 250 guests last Saturday. They used the vows used by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at their nuptials. At the reception, Evers spun discs in her Cappellazzo Couture.- designed dress.
Chris Taylor and Andrew Hansen of The Chaser, will host the 29th Australian Commercial Radio Awards (ACRAs) in Melbourne, for a second year.
A 21-year old French tourist at the Mushroom Valley Festival in North Queensland, reportedly under the influence of hallucinogenic drugs, ended with 40% burns to half her body when she wandered from the festival to a nearby camp site. She jumped into the fire three times and cut herself on barbed wire fencing.
Why is triple ARIA winning alt-country singer songwriter’s Shane Nicholson ‘s new video feature just a solo dancer? Because the track’s title ‘I Don’t Dance’ was conceived on a country music cruise last year when the singer offered to pay a friend to dance with his girlfriend Emma rather than have to get up there himself. “When we go out she loves to dance and I don’t dance,” Nicholson says. “She was slightly horrified that I paid someone else to dance with her.”
The ABC is announced that 13-year old Melbourne singer Isabella Clarke will sing ‘Speak Up’, a modern pop anthem about young people having a voice in the world, at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2017 (JESC) held on Sunday November 26 November at the Tbilisi Sports Palace, Georgia.
With star AFL footballer Gary Ablett Jnr requesting a return to the Geelong Cats after leaving them in 2010 for the Gold Coast Suns, Geelong Broadcasters’ Fresh Daily presenters Tom & Buckle rushed out a parody song Come Home Gary, complete with lyrics like, ‘Hawkins kickin’ goals, everyone knows their roles, all we’re missing is your big bald head’
With the SSM campaign drawing to a close, Melbourne-based singer and songwriter Samuel Gaskin has issued a new song ‘LOVE’ through Razor Recordings on October 20. Gaskin has two children from his same-sex relationship. “Rather than get caught up in the negative and hurtful things being thrown around by the “NO” campaign, I thought what better way to counter it, than spread more LOVE around the world,” he said.
According to CX Media, music retailer Allans Billy Hyde will be down to five stores. Last year media reports emerged about staff payment issues, and rumours of cost cutting.
Grant Fell, singer with NZ band Headless Chickens reckons weekly chemotherapy and a strict Ketogenic diet helped him beat his cancer. He was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2015. The diet cuts out sugar and carbohydrates and included frankincense, turmeric and sea cucumber.
Perth band The Stanleys, who just dropped their debut album self titled album, are currently on their most intensive overseas run yet. It includes eleven dates European until October 15, followed by 12 dates in the US between November 8 to 19, and back for a welcome home bash at the 459 Bar on November 25.
Newcastle’s The Treehouse Children have changed their name to Olympic Fever to reflect their move from guitar pop to a more synth-based sound.