Industrial Strength: Chisel inducted into SA Music Hall of Fame; Fairfax Radio, Macquarie Radio, revenues slip; Scalpers run riot on AC/DC tickets; SLAM looks back at five years

Cold Chisel inducted into SA Music Hall of Fame

The South Australian Music Hall of Fame will induct Cold Chisel this Sunday when they return to Adelaide – where they launched 40 years ago under the name Orange – to headline the Clipsal 500 race concert.

They will be presented at 12.30pm at the pits with commemorative medallions by Premier Jay Weatherill, who’s a fan. The Hall of Fame and the Adelaide Music Collective (AMC) have been waiting for the chance to honour the act, whose test pressing of Khe Sanh is among the memorabilia at the Hall of Fame.

Earlier this month, guitarist and songwriter Gwyn Ashton was inducted during a visit. The Welsh-born Ashton grew up in Adelaide before moving to Europe where he played with members of Deep Purple and the Rory Gallagher Band. In 2001, readers of France’s Guitar Part magazine voted him third best guitarist in the world, behind Jeff Beck and Gary Moore.

Also tonight (Feb 24) Mick Bower and Rick Morrison of the Masters Apprentices will talk about their careers with iconic radio presenter David Day, who founded the SA Music Hall of Fame. It takes place at the State Library of South Australia from 6pm as part of the Hall of Fame’s Yesterday’s Heroes exhibition which is being held until March 22.

Fairfax Radio, Macquarie Radio, revenues slip

Ahead of their impending merger (set to be green lighted in March), Fairfax Radio andMacquarie Radio individually posted revenue declines in the six months to December 31, 2014. Fairfax’s was down 1.5% to $53.7 million.

Macquarie Radio profit slid 77% to $900,000 from a 2% rise in revenue on the previous corresponding period to $29.9 million. Chairman Russell Tate cited as factors costs associated with the merger, a relaunch of 2CH and contract renewals of its hosts as Alan Jones.

APRA awards nominations this week

The final five nominations in ten categories of the 2015 APRA Music Awards will be announced at noon on Thursday. These will include the prestigious peer-voted APRA Song of the Year. The awards are held on Tuesday March 24 at Carriageworks in Sydney, and hosted by Brian Nankervis.

Why Soundwave’s Maddah cracked it over Adelaide

Figures came to light as to why Soundwave promoter AJ Maddah jettisoned Adelaide from future schedules. In 2012, the Adelaide show drew 37,000, which rose to 45,000 in 2013. Last year it dropped to 20,000. This year a mere 12,000 people shelled out. But in the town on the weekend, Maddah softened to say he might consider some Soundwave sideshows in future.

Scalpers run riot on AC/DC tickets

Scalpers are demanding – and getting – up to US$255 for a ticket on AC/DC's upcoming Rock Or Bust tour across North America. The band plays a run of shows in April starting with the Coachella festival, and a further ten in August. It is their first dates since 2010's Black Ice tour. The most expensive ticket is for their toe-tapper at the Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, in Canada.

The average price is $573.37 – 124.1% more costly than the tour average.

First artists for CMC Music Awards

Texas-born Grammy winning Kacey Musgraves and Nashville hit maker Lee Brice make their first visits to Australia to perform at the 4th CMC Music Awards in Brisbane. Also announced in the first round was Troy Cassar-Daley, whose upcoming album Freedom Ride, has collabs with Paul Kelly and Jimmy Barnes. The awards are at Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) on Thursday March 12 and telecast Thursday March 19 at 8pm on CMC and Saturday March 28 at 9.30pm on FOX8.

SLAM looks back at five years

SLAM (Save Live Australia’s Music) looks back with pride at what it’s achieved in its first five years. When Melbourne’s liquor licensing rules were adversely affecting city venues, Helen Marcou and Quincy McLean from Bakehouse Studios along with musicians, industry workers and music fans put together the movement. On February 23, 2010, a 20,000-strong march through Melbourne streets for a rally outside Parliament House saw a shift in attitude from the powers-that-be.

In Victoria, laws were changed to recognise live music in the objects of the Liquor Licensing Act, the Agent of Change principle introduced into Planning Policy and the Building Code was changed not to prejudice small live music venues. The commissioning of the first ever Social, Cultural & Economic Value of Live Music report (Deloitte Access Economics) saw contemporary music recognised as an industry after reporting more people attended small gigs than AFL games. Music Victoria was formed, a Live Music Roundtable between Government and industry set up, and EPA and noise emissions are being reviewed after a 30-year gap.

Nationally, SLAM lobbied for the passing of South Australia’s Small Bars Act which revitalised the state’s grassroots music scene, helped secure $500,000 for the National Live Music Office, and was involved in the new live music strategies in Sydney, Marrickville, Wollongong, Leichhardt, Port Phillip and Yarra. National SLAM Day events saw over 300 venues participate.

Temper Trap up in smoke over cigarette ad

The Temper Trap’s management called in lawyers alleging that cigarette company Philip Morris International used a track on their global ‘Don’t Be A Maybe’ campaign that sounded similar to their 2008 hit Sweet Disposition. “We are disgusted by this blatant rip-off of the band’s music and it’s currently in the hands of our legal team,” it said. The ad, depicting young folks having fun, was banned in some countries for targeting a younger demographic.

Applications closing for Australia Council’s arts and disability funding

The Australia Council’s pilot last year offering dedicated funding of $300,000 to artists with disability proved a success. It said 200 had applied. CEO Tony Grybowski announced at the Arts Activated Conference last October that $1 million over three years would be dedicated to the initiative. “The pilot confirmed there is a rich pool of talent in this area,” he said.

This year’s deadline is March 3. Provided are development grants of up to $25,000 and project grants of up to $50,000 for individuals and groups.

27% of Aussies participate in cultural activities, 86% attend

Neither changes in lifestyle and technology, nor apprehension about the Australian economy, have changed Australians’ participation in cultural activity. This is according to latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). "Overall, 27% of Australians aged 15 years and over participated in cultural activities in 2013-14, which is the same rate as 2010-11", said Gary Niedorfer from the ABS. The ACT had the highest participation (39%) and Queensland had the lowest (24%).

In terms of attendance, 15.9 million or 86% of the Australian population aged 15 years and over attended at least one cultural venue or event. The attendance rate in 2009-10 was also 86%. The most popular was cinemas, to which 66% (or 12 million) went to. More people aged 18 to 24 go to the cinema (86%) and less aged 75 and over (37%). Other popular attendances were botanic gardens (37%), libraries (34%) and zoological parks and aquariums (34%) with more people attending music concerts. The lowest attendance were at archives (3.4%).

Gig Buddies launched in Sydney

Gig Buddies is an admirable new initiative launched in Sydney this month. It is about volunteering to take people with learning difficulties to gigs and to enjoy themselves. Most support workers clock off at 9 pm, which obviously creates a problem with gigs. See www.gigbuddiessydney.org.

Venues update

* Five Queensland hotels which host live music are on the market. The Belvedere, The Full Moon and The Grand Central belong to Drinx, and Brisbane’s Stafford Tavern and the Sugarlands Tavern to AT Hotel Group.

* A question mark hovers over the future of live music at the Prince of Wales in Melbourne’s St. Kllda, which was sold to Chinese company Pub Li City for a reported $45 million. When owner John Van Haandel placed it on the market in October, he was only expected to get $25 million.

* The Sunshine Coast’s live music venue and nightclub Factory: The Project closed after 14 months. It was run by wife and husband Claire de Lune and Zeke Rowland who sold their cafe The Velo Project to buy the site in Sunshine Plaza.

* Sydney dance venue The Spice Cellar’s operators Murat Kilic and Rebecca Alder are shifting its operations from Elizabeth Street after Easter to a new location because of the lock-out laws.

* Tasmania’s Break O’Day Council approved the $2 million construction of an indoor multi-purpose stadium to host concerts, sports and cultural events.

* Fed up with a lack of venues in Townsville, arts organisations have teamed to pay for an architect to come up with a redesign for the Civic Theatre. It would include a 600-seat concert hall, a large foyer and a 300-seat theatre.

Troy Cassar-Daley’s teen son wins indigenous competition

Troy Cassar-Daley’s 16-year-old son Clay and fellow hip-hop collaborator Nick Byng won the national indigenous music competition Sing To Win. As part of their prize, the Brisbane duo head to Darwin to record their winning Started A Fire with Skinnyfish Music.

The comp was run by the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre. Cassar-Daley explained, “The competition asked us to write something about the negative impacts of cannabis in communities. Started A Fire is about a character who gets caught up with addiction, it’s a metaphor for starting a fire you can’t put out.”

Ninemsn relaunches TheFIX

The ninemsn network relaunched its flagship entertainment site, TheFIX by uniting CelebFIX, MovieFIX, MusicFIX and TVFIX as TheFIX under editor Amy Nelmes. The revamp includes an Instagram live feed, a red carpet gallery with zoom capability and greater integration between mobile, desktop and social networks.

How much was Subiaco Oval deal worth?

The WA Football Commission is keeping mum about how much its naming rights deal with real estate group Domain.com.au for Subiaco Oval is worth. But reports put it at $600,000 a year for the next three years. That is double what previous sponsor Patersons Security was willing to pay. The 43,000-seat stadium recently installed a new audio system and huge display screen.

Festivals update

* Groovin’ The Moo promoters Cattleyard Promotions stage the Plot party this year in Sydney’s Parramatta Park on Saturday Dec 5. First launched in 2013 it was previously held at Sydney’s Luna Park Big Top and Melbourne’s Palace Theatre and Ding Dong Lounge.

* Tasmania’s second A Festival Called Panama sold out its 1,000 tickets.

* The John Butler Trio were among the first names to be announced for the Cambridge Folk Festival in the UK, alongside Passenger, Joan Baez, Frank Turner and Joan Armatrading. It draws 14,000 a year.

* After its introduction of online tickets to remove any upfront costs to acts, this year’s Scorcher Fest (April 12 to May 31) is offering acts the option to apply to have a live recording of their set via www.scorcherfest.com.au. In another move, YHA backpackers in each state will receive 100 free tickets.

Regional creative folks get fellowship programs

Artists and art workers in regional Australia can now develop their practice thanks to the launch of a dedicated Regional Arts Development Fellowship program. The Minister for the Arts, George Brandis, announced five fellowships totaling $125,000, to be offered through Regional Arts Australia.

Two fellowships target indigenous artists, both individually and for collaborations with an institutional partner such as a gallery, theatre company or university. One is for emerging artists. The final two are to engage with a cultural institution and an international project partnership. Applications deadline is April 17 for activities after July 1. See www.regionalarts.com.au.