Industrial Strength: June 21
Canberra venues scoff at new 3am support claims
Canberra music venues, who kicked off the Keep Canberra Open campaign in May, have scoffed at a new poll that says there is high support in the capital city for 3 am last drinks. A poll of 1184 Canberra residents released by The Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE) claimed that 66.5% want 3 am last drinks introduced in clubs, bars and pubs from 5 am to cut down on alcohol-fuelled violence.
It was least favoured by the 18 to 34 year olds (50.2%), but grew with escalating demographics – 35 to 50-year-olds (69.9%), 51 to 65-year-olds (81.6%) and those over 65 (71.3%). The poll, conducted by ReachTEL, also found that 39.9% avoid Civic during night-time on weekends because of revellers affected by alcohol and drinks.
FARE CEO Michael Thorn said evidence showed that a two-hour reduction in trading hours “will result in a significant reduction in alcohol harms” and that “It is abundantly clear that the local community want the ACT Government to act.” He recommended lock-out laws similar to NSW and Qld be introduced in the ACT.
Keep Canberra Open however was not impressed. It posted “Another classic case of using a bias and skewed poll of 1100 people to be the official voice of Canberra. We have eight times this number of people who have passionately voted to Keep Canberra Open.”
It added about its campaign: “It’s about more than just going out and getting drunk. It’s now about reclaiming the city and that includes reclaiming our night-life from the demolition of small businesses, of musical creativity and of innovation in the hospitality industry.”
First acts announced for indigenous awards
The first performers at the August 6 National Indigenous Music Awards in Darwin are AB Original, (Briggs & Trials), The Medics’ Kahl Wallis, Emma Donovan, Stanley “Gawurra” Gaykamangu whose debut album Ratja Yaliyali is creating sparks, and new artists Rayella, Chris Tamwoy and David Spry. This year marks milestones in indigenous history: the 50th anniversary of the Wave Hill walk off, the 40th anniversary of the Land Rights Act, 30 years since the release of Yothu Yindi’s Tribal Voice and 25 years since ‘Treaty’ topped the charts.
“Music has stoked the fire and been a voice of protest for many years and what better way to recognize a year of milestones, than celebrating the strong history of Indigenous protest songs”, says Mark Smith, executive director of MusicNT and the NIMAs. This year also held on the same weekend in Darwin will be the 33rd Telstra National Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Art Award and the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair to spotlight indigenous creativity.
Three festivals hit troubled waters
Three Australian festivals, showcasing three different styles, are in strife.
The EDM Maitreya Festival, in regional Victoria, is being sued by its ticketing agency TryBooking in the Supreme Court over 400,000 missing ticket money. It claims that until it was cancelled on March 10, it sold $1 million of tickets. But $950,000 was withdrawn, and TryBooking had to refund $520,524 to those who bought via credit cards, and says it is out of pocket by $409,082.
New voice festival Sydney Sings has postponed just weeks before its July 28 opening Reason given was the “unexpected illness” of event owner and Executive Director Jarrod Carland. It had the financial backing of Destination NSW which expected it to draw 11,000 to Sydney and add an extra $5 million to the economy.
Carland’s illness seems to have also affected Brisbane Baroque. Media reports said that two months after it was held for its second year, up to 30 performers have not been paid. Brisbane Baroque Limited has a three-year agreement with Tourism and Events Queensland.
WA hip hopper died by drowning
The October 2013 death of WA hip hop artist Murffelz (aka Samir Joseph Abraham) was most likely due to drowning, the state’s Deputy State Coroner Evelyn Vicker found. She dismissed speculation he had been taken by a shark, killed himself or faked his death. A drunken Murffelz was at Yanchep Lagoon beach with friends and told them he wanted to swim across to a marker pole and shout, “King Kong ain’t got shit on me!” Midway, the 30-year-old signalled he was in distress and was not seen again. A two-day search failed to find his body.
Podcasting conference in spring
ABC Radio will host free podcasting conference Ozpod 2016 on September 30 in Sydney to celebrate and explore the podcast phenomenon. US podcast analyst Nick Quah of Hot Pod will offer insights to the US revenue models and monetising practises and its future development. Joining him are Australian radio, platform and podcast identities from public, commercial and community sectors. They include Monique Bowley of Mamamia Podcasts, broadcaster Meshel Laurie and Richard Fidler from the popular Conversations.
Sessions include Australian podcast audience analysis, approaches to measurement, growing and maintaining audiences, future models and commercialisation, and how traditional media is incorporating podcasting into its broadcasting. Full details will be released in a few weeks. In the meantime, check out abc.net.au/radio/ozpod2016/.
Music channels in ASTRA industry nominations
Music content is among pay-TV ASTRA’s nominations for industry awards. [V] Hits’ 5 Seconds of Summer: Live, Stripped & Intimate is up for Most Outstanding Social Media Campaign. MTV’s #MTVTRIPPERS was nominated for Most Outstanding Advertising Campaign. The awards are held in Sydney on July 28.
triple j Unearthed High adds new Indigenous initiative
Now in its ninth year, triple j Unearthed High is pulling out a call for bands, solo acts, MCs and producers to enter and join the ranks of past winners as Mosquito Coast, Japanese Wallpaper, Asta and Stonefield. Enter at triplejunearthed.com by Monday August 1.
This year, the best Unearthed High entry from an Indigenous artist will, apart from being eligible for the major prize, also win ongoing mentoring from the Association of Artist Managers (AAM) and a songwriting workshop at their school by the APRA AMCOS Songmakers program.
Airlie Beach song writing comp extended
The closing date for submissions for the $5,000 Airlie Beach Festival of Music Song Writing Competition is extended until 5pm Friday September 30. Multiple entries are encouraged (on CD format), with songs based on: a love song appealing to a 20+ demographic; a song which captures the spirit of The Whitsundays, including the iconic Heart Reef; and a song which incorporates Chinese and Buddhist cultural references – love, compassion, wisdom, Karma, faith, energy and mindfulness.
The winning song will be used for promotional purposes. The judging committee includes reps from the festival, competition sponsor Whitsunday Chinatown Investment Pty Ltd, Whitsunday Regional Council and a music industry professional. See www.airliebeachfestivalofmusic.com.
Oxjam returning for second year
Oxjam, Oxfam Australia’s month-long party against poverty is back in August for a second year, with Art Vs Science and Megan Washington as ambassadors. Last year, 180 DIY Oxjam gigs drew 12,000 punters. This year will have more gigs run by music lovers and party hosts, including headline events in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Info on how to put on an event will be available at the Oxjam website when people register to get involved.
Washington says, “I’m proud to be an ambassador for Oxjam in 2016 alongside the guys from Art Vs Science. Oxjam is a fantastic initiative, aimed at enticing music fans all over Australia to host gigs in the name of fighting poverty. I can’t wait to see what the country comes up with in August.” Full details of events will be announced in late June.
Survey: Hobart OK with supporting Dark Mofo
74% of 600 Hobart residents surveyed are OK with the fact that Hobart City Council put $250,000 cash and $50,000 in kind support for this year’s Dark Mofo festival. But 63% believe other councils should also be contributing as the festival’s impact is felt outside Hobart. The ReachTEL poll, commissioned by the Property Council of Australia, also found that 77% were fine with council support for this year’s Taste Of Tasmania ($580,000) but 61% felt other councils should help. But there was a sharp response for Hobart City Council throwing in $1.5 million to stage AFL games at Blundstone Arena: 41% supported, 38% against.
AC/DC Danish fans complain of lack of security
Attendees at AC/DC’s June 12 show at Ceres Park in Aarhus, Denmark complained about lack of security and organisation before and during the show. Fans cited “congestion, bottlenecks and hour-long queues, including at the entrance gate where fans were forced to squeeze through with little or no security.” They were also angry there was no security to remove inconsiderate fans who blocked the view of those who had paid for tickets.
Jesper Christensen, head of Live Nation Denmark, said that “the congestion at the entrance to the stadium in Aarhus was due to the way it is designed” and that the fans’ concern would be taken “very seriously”.
Marlon Williams debuts on Conan, announces NA tour
Marlon Williams made his debut US TV performance on Conan with his band The Yarra Benders and won kudos from host Conan O’Brien. “Come back any time, I’m a huge fan”. Williams announced he is to embark on a 14-date North American run from September 17 to October 9. It includes festivals as Austin City Limits, CityFolk in Ottawa and Americana Fest in Nashville, as well as venues as Washington DC’s DC9, New York’s Bowery Ballroom and the LA Troubadour. NSW’s Julia Jacklin joins at all headline dates.
Next month, Williams and band play Longitude Festival, Dublin (July 15) and Latitude UK (17) and Splendour in the Grass in Byron Bay on July 24.
In the past 12 months, NZ-born Melbourne-based Williams won Best Male and Breakthrough Artist at the New Zealand Music Awards, picked up nominations for the ARIAs, AMP and Taite Music Prize, and touring the world several times over, building a fan base with audiences and media including KCRW, BBC6 and Late Night With Jools Holland.
Williams makes his big screen debut this year, in the Alison Maclean-directed NZ movie The Rehearsal, which will premiere at the New Zealand International Film Festival and based on the first book by Man Booker prize winner Eleanor Catton. It is Williams second acting gig since The Beautiful Lie on ABC last year.
Study: Netflix makes $15.5m a month in Australia
New research from Roy Morgan estimates that Netflix generates $15.5 million a month in Australia. It calculates that of its 1,878,000 current subscriptions, 92% are paid. That means, 1,734,000 subscribing homes paying $8.99 to $14.99 a month for the service. Roy Morgan also estimates that by incorporating paid, free trials, and special offers from third parties, the number of Netflix users rises to 4,950,000.
The local services are rising too: Stan is reaching 900,000 through 332,000 subs, with an estimated 78% of these paying. That means $260,000 paying $10 per month. Three quarter of the houses with Stan also have Netflix.
Presto has 353,000 users via 142,000 subs. But Roy Morgan estimates only 64% of subscribers are paying the $10 to $15 a month, with the rest on a free trial or subscribing for free through a bundle, such as Foxtel’s Platinum package.
Public Opinion Afro Orchestra make asylum seeker stand
The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra kicked off Refugee Week in Melbourne at Federation Square with their new video condemning the inhumane treatment of asylum seekers in Manus and Nauru. The 13-minute track is a local adaption of afro-beat pioneer Fela Kuti’s Sorrow Tears And Blood which was written about the Nigerian military’s vicious response to his outspokenness in a violent assault on his community that led to the death of his mother.
Inaugural Cream to focus on Canberra experience
Cream is a new music festival staged in Canberra that highlights the city’s music talent. Booked are The Aston Shuffle, Citizen Kay, Coda Conduct, Genesis Owusu, Slow Turismo and Brother Be. Festival organiser Oli Friedmann estimates 2,000 punters will be at the first event.
Also on hand will be art, food trucks from seven nations, products from Canberra brewing company Pact Beer Co. and Sancho’s Dirty Laundry screen-printing merchandise. It is on Saturday, August 27, at Westside Acton Park. For their first event, organisers partnered up with the Noff’s Foundation and Kulture Break “to create opportunity and give value to youths, while also giving thanks to those who play real life-changing roles within the Canberra community.”
More Festival Updates: expansions, big guitars, nude swims
* When Beyond The Valley returns for a third time this year, it will be stretched from three days to four. It is held December 28 to January 1 at Lardner Park in Warragul. The first day will see acts play at the park’s local stage within the redesigned camping grounds.
* The inaugural MoVement Sydney last year drew 7,000 club-heads to 25 events. It returns October 19 to 23 to cover secret warehouse parties, nightclubs, DJ workshops, boat raves and live streams. The first event announced is Rave of Thorns at the Enmore Theatre on Saturday October 22 with DJ Hodor.
* The first artist announcement of the 20th Queenscliff Music Festival in Victoria (November 25-27) will see punters be among the first in the world to hear Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals’ first album in eight years Call It What It Is, a new collaboration between Paul Kelly & Charlie Owen, Peter Garrett & The Alter Egos, Alpine, Urthboy joined on stage by Bertie Blackman and Kira Puru, a full band accompanying Ash Grunwald, Abbe May, Blue King Brown frontwoman Nattali Rize, Kylie Auldist, Latin band Quarter Street, Julia Jacklin and Melbourne soulsters The Meltdown.
Festival Director Andrew Orvis says: “Turning 20 is a major milestone and we’re really excited about the festival this November.”
* In its eighth year, Strawberry Fields (Thursday November 17 – Sunday November 20 at Tocumwal, NSW) has introduced two new stages. One is for hip hop, neo soul and reggae and the other dedicated to Australian progressive trance. It’s just announced its first round of artists, along with market stalls, art installations and workshops.
* Among the first round of acts for the Americana-styled Dashville Skyline (September 30 to October 2) are Brian Cadd (who was in the USA country-rock pioneers The Flying Burrito Bros for a time), San Francisco’s The Brothers Comatose, The Wilson Pickers, Melody Pool and Raised By Eagles.
* The first Melbourne Rebetiko Festival looks at the musical and cultural legacy of Rebetika and its impact on Greece through local artists performing songs from 1920 to 1950. It is at Oakleigh’s Caravan Music Club August 20 & 21.
* The 4m guitar made by the Richmond Valley Woodcrafters was the star of the launch of Ballina Coastal Country Music at Lighthouse Beach. The 2015 event was not held due to funding issues but the local Rotary Club took it over. The festival normally draws 7000 over three days.
* The official Splendour In The Grass pre-party will be held in Brisbane (The Triffid on Thursday July 21) with Years and Years, Norwegian prodigy Lido, Moonbase Commander from the Sydney grime bass scene, and former ome-half of the Yacht Club DJs duo Twinsy.
* While esteemed readers of this column were, along with this even more esteemed columnist, freezing in bed at dawn this morning, one thousand skinny dippers turned up at Sandy Bay’s Long Beach Reserve at 7.42 am to take part of Tasmania’s Dark Mofo’s traditional Nude Solstice Swim.
* Official figures for the three-day Broadbeach Country Music Festival in Queensland will not be available until later this week. But it’s set to break last year’s 37,000 attendance. Massive rain on the final day didn’t deter the punters they were out in gumboots and ponchos cheering on the acts. Now in its fourth year, the country festival is slowly catching up to the Broadbeach Alliance’s Blues on Broadbeach, which this year drew 166,000. Its jazz event is on August 20-21.
ACT Event Fund open
The ACT Government is inviting applications to the ACT Event Fund from festivals and events that will take place in 2017. These are expected to stimulate and foster a range of positive economic, social and community outcomes for the Canberra region through the festival and events sector. Closing date for applications is midday Monday July 11 at www.events.act.gov.au.
Harpoons duo launch instruments company
Henry and Jack Madin of Melbourne band The Harpoons are launching their own music instruments company Hundo Instruments. They’ll invent and redesign instruments to make them easier to play. “We’re both musicians, and we’re always looking for simple tools to make our processes easier and more fun,” said Henry. “I started making instruments because I couldn’t find what I wanted in music stores.” These include acoustic marimba and an electronic drum-pad plugged into any laptop or iPad. Hundo Instruments officially launches Thursday July 7 at Schoolhouse Studios with an interactive exhibit and pop-up shop. Go to www.hundo.com.au for photos of some of the instruments.
SIMA on fund-raising campaign
SIMA (Sydney Improvised Music Association) has begun a fund-raising campaign to raise $20,000 to allow it to keep going with its programs. These include the Young Women’s Jazz Workshops, a Education Program and Children’s workshops in regional NSW to grow future audiences and the new initiative launched on the weekend called Trigger where an emerging artist is paired with a leading jazz musician to bring alive original compositions. The first saw Artistic Director Zoe Hauptmann pair young saxophonist Melissa Mony with jazz heavyweights Matt McMahon, Steve Elphick and Toby Hall. More info and donations at sima.org.au
NSW announces $770k for Aboriginal projects
The NSW Government has provided almost $770,000 for 25 projects that support training, career development, employment and marketing opportunities for Aboriginal artists, arts workers and young people across NSW.
These include $15,000 to Arts OutWest Inc in Bathurst for the day-long Jimmy Little Gathering music event of performances and story telling, and $15,000 for the Slim Dusty Museum Trust Fund to produce artworks by five artists for exhibition. A considerable amount of funds have gone to various venues and organisations to hire full-time administrators and curators.
Venue Updates: new arrivals, closures, relocations, sales
* Perth gets a new nightclub, Voyeur, next month on the site of the old Lima Bar in Subiaco. It will feature DJs and live bands, as well as some “performance art” routines. Owners Zhenya Tsvetnenko, Malcolm Day, Ricky Stylianou and Keenan Haigh have spent a million dollars in revamping the venue.
* The Queensland lockout laws have claimed a scalp even before they come into effect on July 1. Prestige Bar in Fortitude Valley, which hosts cabaret performances, has closed after 10 months. Owner Matt Bellward did the sums and figured it couldn’t continue if the expected drop in patronage followed. Twenty people lost their jobs as a result.
* Fremantle’s Fly By Night is back in the fast lane. After a year at its new home at Victoria Hall on High Street, it’s finally confirmed a five-year lease from the City Of Fremantle and a Special Facilities liquor licence. It’s ready to start booking touring acts again. In the past year it’s been working on small shows like the monthly blues Gaslight Club.
* Australia’s second longest running jazz club, Tweed Valley Jazz Club will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a gala celebration at the Condong Bowls Club on Friday June 24. Among the acts playing are The Early Birds, featuring founding club President Col Hobson.
* Geelong’s Piano Bar celebrates its first anniversary with owner (and pianist) Andy Pobjoy signing a lease on space four times bigger in nearby Shorts Place. He says the original venue’s popularity was totally unexpected, turning away 150 bookings each weekend.
* Perth rate payers will never find out how much the new Perth Stadium in Burswood will cost to run after it opens in 2018. Figures for the first four years will be made public, but not the first 10 years, Treasury officials told an Upper House Budget estimates due to “commercial-in-confidence” with operator Stadium Australia. The WA Government had hoped the Federal Government would tip in towards the $1.4 billion building cost. But Federal money went instead to the new Townsville stadium to the tune of $100 million.
* North Sydney’s Greenwood Hotel gets a new Thursday nightclub called Bookclub this week (June 23). Run by BPM Originals, Client Liaison do a DJ set at the opening, along with hot tubs and 60 tonnes of snow.
* Music showcasing Beach Hotel in Byron Bay is tipped to change hands for $80 million when Melbourne businessman Max Twigg sells its freehold. He bought it in June 2007 for $44 million, according to the Australian Financial Review. It was built in 1990 by Paul Hogan’s business partner John Cornell for $9 million.
* The NSW Government’s budget allocated $12 million for the biggest upgrade of the Sydney Opera House since it opened in 1973. Part of a $202 million renovation, it will see improvements to the Concert Hall, entry points and foyers and new creative learning centre and new function centre.
* The Hastings Liquor Accord in NSW unanimously agreed to introduce a new policy where anyone banned from a licensed venue in Port Macquarie and the surrounding Hasting region, would be automatically kept out of all its member venues. Port Macquarie Hotel, Town Green Inn, Tacking Point Tavern, The Beach House, Zebu Bar and Altitude Nightclub adopted the policy a year ago.
* Cairns will get a new music, entertainment and cultural space on August 19. The roof has just been installed on the new Munro Martin Parklands which comes with a stage, amphitheatre and large lawn area.
Number Crunching
52,000 signatures on the Keep Community Radio petition asking the Federal Government to reverse its decision to axe $1.4 million p.a. to keep community radio digital stations operating in the five major cities.
$60 million earned by Led Zeppelin’s back catalogue in the past five years, an economist testified at the Stairway To Heaven copyright trial in Los Angeles.
$40 billion contributed by advertising to the Australian economic each year (or 2.5%) – with entertainment & leisure generating $2.9 billion.
$307.8 million collected by the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) from members
8.7 million Americans tuned in for CBS’s telecast of the Tony awards – a 35% jump from last year, and a 60% rise in viewership by the 18-49 age group. It is thought that part of the spike was people wondering how the show would handle the Orlando club shootings earlier that day.
And A Few Other Things…
While Melbourne’s Cookin’ On Three Burners’ This Girl has topped the UK dance chart and reached #2 on the mainstream charts, ten Australian acts are booked to play the UK’s EDM festival Creamfields in August. Their sets are part of the specifically designed ‘Melbourne Takeover’ stage on Day 2, and includes Tigerlily, Joel Fletcher, Brooklyn, Mashd N Kutcher and Some Blonde.
NSW Police last night charged two men, aged 41 and 38, over an incident on Friday when a music video shoot in Marrickville freaked out local residents with one man in a ski mask holding an air rifle. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that among the businesses on Faversham Street included hip hop label Elefant Traks, whose staff told the paper that it had been a traumatising incident. The Riot Squad was called, and the men were charged with possessing an unregistered firearm in a public place without authorisation, the SMH said.
A five-bedroom pile of bricks in La Spezia Court on the Gold Coast’s Isle of Capri once owned by Michael Hutchence (and where INXS did some recording) is up for sale for $2 million. It’s changed hands at least twice since his death.
In the meantime, with him spending more time in LA, Daniel Johns is selling his two top floor Bondi Beach apartments. All the owners of the six apartments in the block, overlooking the beach, have decided to sell theirs en masse.
So why did the bright red dress Indy Yelich-O’Connor wear to her final school ball in Auckland look so familiar? Because her elder sister Lorde wore it to last year’s NZ Music Awards. Nice to be the same size as a wealthy sibling who has designer clothes thrust at her!
During their 40th anniversary Australian tour, Air Supply met up with the Australian Road Crew Association (ARCA) and promised to donate 5 cents from the sale each of their tickets – totalling $1,000.
After the Perth drama, as chronicled in last week’s column, The Smith Street Band’s Wil Wagner hurt his foot during the next stop, the sell-out show at Adelaide’s The Gov. He seems to have worsened it at the final two Melbourne dates on the weekend, leading to the band’s New Zealand tour being scrapped.
Iggy Azalea has told her 8.8 million Instagram followers that after three years, it’s over between her and fiancé, basketballer Nick Young who in March admitted he’d cheated on her. “Although I love Nick and I have tried and tried to rebuild my trust in him — It’s become apparent in the last few weeks I am unable to,” she posted.
Australian staff of Japan’s Sharp are up in arms, pro audio site Channel News reported. As its local sales slump (from $100 million in 2010 to the current $30 million), the company has moved from its massive warehouse in Blacktown in Sydney to North Ryde – and staffers have to wear the extra costs of the extra 50 km round trip drive each day.
A 2 x 1 metre sign outside the small South Australian town of Lameroo – declaring it was the birth place of singer Julie Anthony, along with her picture – has been stolen, police said.