Industrial Strength: July 12
Image: This year’s Muster will offer the inaugural Emerging Talent Showcase
Encouraging electoral start for The Arts Party
Although none of the Arts Party’s candidates got elected at their first national Federal elections, party founder PJ Collins is ecstatic over what it achieved at the polling booths. In the Lower House, the party finished 4th in Malcolm Turnbull’s seat Wentworth, and 4th in Franklin, Tasmania, where it recorded its highest ever ‘1’ vote of 2.4%.
In the Senate, between 40,000 to 50,000 put the party at #1 in preferences. “For a party with a membership of 2,100 and a national campaign budget of around $55K, that’s pretty amazing!” Collins says. The 250 volunteers who were out flyering was also an impressive number.
Collins, who admits he’s been living off his credit cards these past six months as he works on party issues, reveals “We now have a baseline, that we intend to beat in all future elections. We finally gave the Arts and Creative Australia a dedicated political voice in 2016!” With the Coalition and its nothing arts policy set to return to power, the Arts Party’s plans are to get registered in every state, stand candidates in every state and local elections, organise a conference to pull the members together, and “develop even more creative and worthy policy ideas to improve the future of this country.”
Golden Stave announces charity Cup lunch
The Golden Stave’s annual Melbourne Cup charity lunch is held at on Tuesday November 1 at Sydney’s Sheraton On The Park. Dress code is your best Race Day Cocktail. Artists will be announced shortly. Over 37 years, the Golden Stave has raised over $14 million for 50+ children’s charities in NSW. Tix are $195 each (or $1950 for a table of ten). Bookings through Larry Warren on larry@goldenstave.com.au.
Radio ad revenue up 5.88% for 2015/16
Commercial radio ad revenue for the five metro markets marked the end of the financial year on a strong note. They were up 5.88% to $775.464 million in 2015/16, according to data sourced by Deloitte and released by Commercial Radio Australia (CRA). CRA CEO Joan Warner said it was the fourth consecutive annual rise of metro agency and direct revenue.
Adelaide posted the largest growth over 12 months, up 9.40% to $71.349 million, followed by Melbourne, which grew by 5.99% to $237.566 million. Sydney remained the largest market after a 5.46% swell totalled $238.392 million. Brisbane jumped 4.46% to $121.482 million and Perth is up 5.91% to $106.674 million.
Additional figures for June 2016 showed a 5.79% to $75.003 million. Sydney retained its spot as largest market with a 8.06% climb to $23.830 million. Melbourne grew 3.33% to $22.844 million and Brisbane climbed by 6.59% to $11.963 million. Adelaide declined by 1.11% to $6.309 million, while Perth rose by 10.09% to $10.058 million.
Grass Is Greener to go ahead in Cairns …
Despite an initial refusal by Cairns Regional Council, the Grass is Greener EDM festival will go ahead in Fogarty Park in October for a second time this year. The inaugural event, in April, drew between 4,500 to 5,000. Earlier, event founders Johnny Eddings and Oli Frost were told they would not have access to inner city Fogarty Park.
Council’s backflip created a lot of grumbling among councillors who complained they had not been consulted on the refusal. Mayor Bob Manning blamed an “internal mix-up” to a “junior staffer” who had sent an incorrect email out.
Manning said that Council “wishes to encourage youth events in Cairns” and “will work closely with surrounding businesses and with the promoter to minimise any noise impacts from the festival.
“Going forward, we will continue to investigate the suitability for large-scale music events at alternative locations. Events such as Grass is Greener contribute to the vibrancy of Cairns and its youth culture and we intend to assist the promoter in achieving the festival’s full potential at the most appropriate venue available.”
…and expands to Mackay
Grass is Greener will expand this year to Mackay, landing at the Showgrounds on October 16. It will be run by local promoters Michael Delaney, Simon Gallagher, Luke Anderson and Heath Paton with its founders Eddings and Frost. There’s been a vacuum for such an event in Mackay since the demise after seven years of River Sessions in 2014.
Perth Fringe World adds $98m to WA economy
The Perth Fringe World had crunched its numbers, and they’re looking very good indeed. 990,000 people attended free and ticketed events. From a $1.24 million investment by the State Government, the event generated $20 million and had an economic impact of $98 million to WA. It earned $8.3 million for artists.
The 2017 event will see a pull-back on the Fringe’s five year rapid growth, as it received some negative publicity this year. This included artists’ complaints of being harassed by new audience members and low attendances at some sessions.
Melbourne’s Big West to wind up
After 20 years, Melbourne’s biennial Big West will cease operations at the end of 2016 after winding up current projects. Big West was set up in 1997 to spotlight the music and arts activities in the city’s western suburbs, and to also counter the thinking the area was a creative dead heart.
Festival Chair Kirsty Ellem explained, “We are excited that the West is evolving as an engaged, resilient and creative community, blessed with a wide range of organisations that deliver high quality, cutting-edge, multi-cultural and multi-artform programs.” Ellem added that while Big West faced funding issues, these were not a reason for the decision to close.
Gympie Muster introduces Emerging Talent Showcase
This year’s Gympie Music Muster in Queensland is, in its 35th year, introducing the inaugural Emerging Talent Showcase. The idea is to find and nurture new independent talent and provide access to new fans and industry recognition. Over August 25 to 28, eight artists per session will play for 15 minutes at the Muster Club, with a major act to finish off to inspire the new talent. The total of 30 promising artists were selected from online applications. The names of the 30 are listed at www.muster.com.au.
Festival Program Director, Jeff Chandler, said, “As someone who has worked for many years in the music industry by discovering and developing unknown talent, I can’t overstate the importance of such an opportunity for aspiring artists. While talent competitions are key for those who are just entering the music industry, it is showcases such as this that can often provide the ‘break’ that can be a pivotal career moment for a young artist.”
More Festival Updates: returns, partnerships, new arrivals
* The all-ages Originals Music is returning on November 5 to Coolum Sports Complex. We are promised “arguably one of Australia’s greatest live acts on board” to headline. Aside from music, the event also features live art installations, free rides and limited camping. Tickets go on sale on August 9.
* Caloundra Music struck a deal with Red Energy Promotions to provide branded merchandise for its 10th year. These include singlets, trucker hats, muscle tops, tees and guitar-shaped key rings. Held September 30 to October 3 at Kings Beach, the bill includes Icehouse, The Cat Empire, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Incognito, Daryl Braithwaite, Guy Sebastian, Paul Dempsey, Blue King Brown, Tower of Power, Harry Manx and Erica Falls.
* Coffs Harbour, NSW, is getting a new all-ages festival. Banana Field Music & Arts is on Saturday October 29 at Coffs Harbour Racecourse. Acts include Illy, British India, LDRU, Art vs Science, The Delta Riggs, Hockey Dad and Mallrat.
Australia Council offers international residencies
Australia Council is offering international residencies for artists, artistic practice, organisations and arts activity. Offered in 2017/18 are HIAP, Helsinki; Kunstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin; ACME, London; BR Whiting, Rome; Cité internationale des Arts Studio, Paris; Keesing Studio, Paris; Nashville, USA; Kluge Ruhe, Virginia; Experimental Media and Performing Arts Centre (EMPAC), New York; OMI International Arts Centre (Dance), New York); and OMI International Arts Centre (Music), New York.
Applications close Tuesday October 4.
Sheppard’s Jay Bovino drops solo track
Sheppard guitarist, songwriter and producer Jay Bovino is stepping out on a solo track which fuses EDM and pop. Titled Get You Alone and featuring singer Sahara Beck, it was written in Mexico and Brisbane and recorded during sessions in the US and Australia. Bovino co-wrote Sheppard’s Geronimo which went to #1 in 20 countries.
ABC 666 jumps to #1 in Canberra …
In the year’s second Canberra radio survey, ABC 666 jumped from third place to top with a market share of 15%. In a close second spot was hit104.7 (14.7%), then Mix106.3 (14.6%), 2CA (6.8%) and 2CC (7.8%).
…and SEA FM for Maryborough
Maryborough, Queensland’s first survey since 1999, SEA FM ruled the roost with a 34.8% share, leading in all times and dominating the under-39s. MIX FM was second with a 23.8% slice (and tuned in to by 40s and above). ABC Local had 15.5%.
Gurrumul picks up another award
Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu was named artist of the year at the NAIDOC awards in Darwin. Celebrating the achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in sports, community and marking the elders, Queensland choreographer and Bangarra Dance Theatre Artistic Director Stephen Page was lauded with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Brian Nankervis to keynote at CBAA Conference
RocKwiz producer and co-host Brian Nankervis will provide the keynote address of the CBAA (Community Broadcasting Association of Australia) in Melbourne. He will talk of his long-standing love for radio, especially community radio, in front of the kerosene heater on a rainy day. He began presenting shows on Melbourne’s Triple R in 1979 and currently co-hosts The Friday Revue on 774 ABC.
Gold Coast venues to use loophole?
Gold Coast nightclubs and venues, which now have to close at 3 am, may use a loophole to remain opening until 5 am. According to the Gold Coast Bulletin, they are allowed 12 special licences for which they pay $65 each time, over 12 months. The venues figure that the Queensland lock-out laws will be electorally such a stinker they will be dumped by the end of the year. Hence, the Bulletin says, the move is to apply for a special licence within a six-month period, which allows them to open until 5am every two weeks for the rest of the year.
More Venue Updates: reopenings, closures, moves
* The Vanguard, in Sydney’s inner west, which closed recently, will reopen on August 9 as a restaurant and bar called Leadbelly with regular free live gigs. The new owners, Luke O’Donohoe and Zac Davis are musicians themselves and emphasise the King Street venue’s musical legacy by naming it after the famed US bluesman with the food a nod to the US south.
* Bennetts Lane Jazz Club in Melbourne will move to Flinders Lane after receiving unanimous council approval.
* Sydney’s Oxford Art Factory, run by Mark Gerber, and Brisbane’s Woolly Mammoth, owned by Lachlan Bird, will from this month combine their bookings into one. It allows them to collaborate more on tours and events, and Gerber and Bird say, will strengthen the quality of acts presented by the two medium-sized venues. Current music and events booker Uda Widanapathirana is now handling PR and events coordination for both.
* Melbourne’s finest tropical tiki lounge bar, The LuWOW, which showcases live music and DJs, will close at the end of the year. As a thank you to patrons, it will offer free entry for all remaining Friday and Saturday nights until then.
* Adelaide’s 150-year old Lady Daly Hotel at Hindmarsh went under the hammer on the weekend. More details as they emerge.
* Brisbane’s Beetle Bar has suddenly closed, with operator Robert Lee hitting Facebook to say that its liquor licence had been suspended out of the blue, and that he was bewildered as there had been no public incident at the premises.
* One time Perth live music venue Old Coogee Hotel closed in 1981 after the State Government bought it as part of a road development project. It never took place, so after falling into disrepair through the years, it’s been given a $480,000 revamp before being put on the market.
* Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC) has been named as the World’s Best Convention Centre at the Annual General Assembly of the International Association of Congress Centres (AIPC) in Nantes, France.
* Melbourne’s latest music venue, Satellite Lounge at the Wheelers Hill Hotel, launches on August 6 with Ross Wilson & The Peaceniks followed a week later by Wendy Stapleton’s Dusty Springfield tribute show Dusty.
Report: art in Canberra hospital show benefits
A report by ACT Health and artsACT on a pilot program of having artwork displayed at Canberra Hospital shows it has great benefits. Of 300 patients, visitors, carers and hospital staff surveyed, 90% liked the idea, 90% wanted more art, the art was deemed responsible for the 15% variation in hospital satisfaction, and that poor health did not lessen appreciation for the arts.
Unlike the recent report for WA hospitals, the Canberra pilot program does not include music.
Country music songwriters meet at DAG Sheep Station
The 4th DAG Sheep Station annual Songwriters’ Retreat last week saw the likes of Luke O’Shea, Felicity Urquhart, Kevin Bennett, Lyn Bowtell, Jeremy Edwards and Aleyce Simmonds working with 24 young writers from around the country. As part of the tutorship, O’Shea and Urquhart wrote a song together for the first time. DAG Sheep Station, in Nundle in NSW, is owned by singer-songwriter John Krsulja and his wife Belinda.
Children’s Music Award announces nominees
New Zealand’s Children’s Music Award, held on August 9, had its nominees announced by APRA AMCOS and Recorded Music NZ. The awards celebrate music that “inspire New Zealand’s youngest music fans with their quirky songs and fun lyrics”. The winner gets $1000 cash and a $10,000 grant to go towards the production of a song and music video, courtesy of NZ On Air.
Best Children’s Music Song: Anna van Riel & Daniel Fairley for Cooking Up A Song, Anika Moa with My Nana’s Farm and Lucy Hiku & Jenny Payne for Pō Mārie.
Best Children’s Music Album: Cooking Up A Song by Anna van Riel, Lay Your Head Down by Itty Bitty Beats and Lollipop Man by Peter Weatherall.
Best Children’s Music Video: Aotearoa, Home of Our Hearts (video and song by Rainbow Rosalind), Mighty Maui (video and song by Jeffrey Addison) and Weird Creatures (song by Luke Fitzgerald, video by Simon Crane & Roxy Lyon).
Number Crunching:
18% rise in Australia’s out-of-home (OOH) industry’s Q2 2016 to $184.4 million, up from $156.2 million for the same time last year.
621,000 viewers for Britain’s Got Talent from 583,000, after Nine Network moved it to an hour earlier to the 7.30 pm slot.
$373,822 raised by 92.7 Mix FM’s Give Me 5 for Kids, a new record. In 17 years, the appeal donated $3.4 million to Sunshine Coast children’s health services.
Vale
Western Australian award winning producer and documentary maker Brian Beaton created works over 35 years. He and his business partner Celia Tate through Artemis Films, developed and produced seven seasons of Who Do You Think You Are?, Saving Andrew Mallard, Shaun Micallef’s Stairway to Heaven, The Dreamhouse and Desperately Seeking Sheila. Culture and the Arts Minister John Day said, “Brian was a wonderful storyteller and created a successful local production company.” The WA Screen Awards in 2002 lauded his Outstanding Contribution to the state’s screen industry. He died suddenly late last week. Brian Beaton was 67.
And A Few Other Things …
Bassist Cliff Williams’ declaration last week that he will quit AC/DC after the current Rock Or Bust US dates leads one to wonder about ring-in singer Axl Rose’s desire to do some recording with the band. Williams who joined in 1977, said the current lineup was “a changed animal” after the departures of Malcolm Young, Phil Rudd and this year, Brian Johnson.
Aside from a tour announcement for Adele, also wait for the official unveiling of dates for a Duran Duran/ Pet Shop Boys run.
Michael Tunn, who when he joined triple j in the ‘90s became Australia’s youngest radio presenter at 17, has lead a different life since he left in 1999. Tunn has pleaded guilty in Adelaide Magistrates Court to stealing pies and sausage rolls from Coles last December. The court was told the 42-year old suffers from bipolar, gets a disability pension which provides a $40-a-day allowance and has psychiatric counselling each month. Tunn was fined $50 and ordered to pay $260 in court-related costs and released without a conviction.
Perth’s teen act Flairz (who included San Cisco’s Scarlett Stevens) reunite on July 28 at the Navy Club as part of the Hidden Treasures Winter Music Series in Fremantle.
‘90s Melbourne “cool cat” band Bachelors From Prague do a one-off on September 2 at the Night Cat club in Fitzroy after 25 years. Both band and venue were put together by Henry Maas.
Insights and data provider Xtra Research has rebranded to Xtra Insights as a better indication of its services.
The Tamworth Song Writers Association and the Australian Bush Balladeers Association, along with family and well-wishers, helped pay for a Memorial Park seat for late country music singer songwriter and performer Jim Wesley. It is in his hometown of Coopernook on the banks of the Lansdowne River near Taree, NSW. Highly prolific, he had 100 songs recorded, with a roll-call including Slim Dusty, Ann Kirkpatrick, Buddy Williams, Rick and Thel Carey, Arthur & Jewel Blanch, Rex Dallas, Barry Thornton, Margie Rayburn, Terry Gordon, Neville Bradley, Shorty Ranger and Pixi Jenkins. Wesley died in December 2009.
Red Hot Arts Central Australia, whose flagship project is the Alice Desert Festival, is looking for a new General Manager.
Daniel Johns didn’t sell end up selling his two beach view Bondi Beach apartments in Sydney as bids failed to reach their price tag.
YAJA, a new self-funded Northern Territory innovative awards concept giving journalism, media and art students the opportunity to showcase their talent in capturing art and culture in a creative way, is crowd-fundinghere.
It provides media opportunities, industry mentoring, networking opportunities and a large audiences reach as well as awards recognition.
Celt-punk The Rumjacks are currently on tour through the UK and Europe, taking in 94 shows over five months. Some of the dates sold out, and among the European festivals are the main stage of Poland’s Woodstock which is expected to draw 150,000. They return to Australia for the August 5 release of the Sleepin’ Rough album via FOUR || FOUR. Recorded in regional Victoria at Bomba Studios, it picks up where 2015’s Sober & Godless left off. One track has already been released to great attention: A Fistful O’ Roses was about the Sydney lockout laws.
After ten years, Coffs Harbour’s Short Sharp Film Festival has wound up, with Festival Director Mark George attributing it to a growing number of similar events being held and a variety of online film options.
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