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Industrial Strength March 3, 2016

Industrial Strength: March 1

Sydney represented at Music Cities conference

Sydney will be one of the cities discussed at the Music Cities Convention to be held on May 18, the day before The Great Escape kicks off in Brighton. Kerri Glasscock, Executive Director of Sydney Fringe and 505 Club, will be talking about how Sydney live music’s affects its culture and economy.

Also on the speakers panel are Mirik Milan (Night Mayor of Amsterdam), Carlos Chirinos (Dept of Music and Performing Arts Professions, NYU Steinhardt), Jocelyn Kane (Executive Director San Francisco Entertainment Commission), Dr. Julia Jones (Director Busk in London), Kate Hewitt (Director Tramlines Festival Sheffield) and Chiara Badiali (Music Coordinator, Julie’s Bicycle).

Previous Music Cities meets, which attracted up to 170 delegates from 11 countries, looked at how Melbourne and Adelaide work with their respective state governments and bureaucracy to bolster their live music sectors.

ARN posts revenue jump

Following the 25% profit leap for Southern Cross Austereo and Pacific Star’s 40% revenue rise in its first half, the Australian Radio Network also had a strong 2015. Revenue was up 22% to $221 million, with costs increasing by 21% to $138 million. However the New Zealand radio division NZME fell victim to the country’s soft economy, and reported a decline of 5% in revenue to $120 million.

New indoor entertainment arena for Brisbane?

Venue operator AEG Ogden has put forward a proposal to the Queensland Government to build a state of the art 15,000-capacity indoor arena in the heart of Brisbane. The concert and sports venue will cost $400 million, reported The Sunday Mail. The State Government is considering the pitch. It’s not known where the arena will be built, but The Sunday Mail reckons it is the riverside Parmalat dairy factory in South Brisbane, adjacent to the South Bank cultural precinct and within easy walking distance to the $3 billion Star casino and resort being built at Queen’s Wharf. AEG Ogden already runs Suncorp Stadium and Brisbane Entertainment Centre in the city.

Heritage push for Brisbane’s Tivoli

In the wake of news that Brisbane’s Tivoli Theatre is up for sale, an online petition has begun urging the State Government to bestow heritage protection on the Fortitude Valley building to prevent it from being turned into apartments.

The petition,was initiated by music fan Wayne Wilson. By yesterday it had 2091 signatures, and easily on its way to reaching its 2500 target.

The sale of the 1500-capacity Tivoli has attracted concern on social media since the Tamworth-based O’Rourke family put it on the market again, insisting it be sold to someone who’ll keep it running as an entertainment venue.

It’s the third time the O’Rourkes have put it on the trading block since buying it in 1999 when it was a theatre-restaurant and in receivership. Citing ill-health and family commitments forcing them to offload it, the family had approached music industry operators to take it on, but were turned down. The estate agent reported the sale has generated 80 phone inquiries and 2100 online.

More Venue Updates: new venues, armed burglary, closures

* After re-opening its doors five months ago and seeing some shows sell out, Melbourne’s Croxton Park Hotel is this Friday launching the Croxton Front Bar as a small live music venue. It will host special events and intimate gigs. Christening the venue are local band and Spunk signings Gold Class.

* The Red Rattler in Marrickville, Sydney, will host a monthly (first Thursday a month) showcase of “unique Aussie talent”, presented by new record label Lazy Thinking. The label was co-founded by FBi Radio co-founder Cassandra Wilkinson, musician and writer Jim Flanagan, company director and FBi life member Paul Mcleay and ‪#sausagequeen Chrissy Flanagan. The series bows March 10 with Lovely Head, Autosuggest and Portamento.

* The new owners of Queensland’s Bajool Hotel, Dean and Tracey Hanson, report that bringing back live music has seen them average 60 patrons on any week night.

* Staff at the music showcasing Peninsula Hotel in Newcomb, Victoria, were menaced by an armed burglar who made off with cash.

* In what will help in the push to get Federal funding for a new Townsville sports and concert stadium, a poll by UMR Strategic found 67% of Townsville residents in favour of it. The Queensland Government has committed $100 million to the project. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten last year pledged to match that if Labor gains power at this year’s election.

* The long time skirmish between the City of Melbourne and community groups against building developer Jinshan over the Palace Theatre continued over five days last week at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Both sides put in strong cases. One argued that despite much of its heritage interior being demolished two years ago, the Palace was still worthy of heritage and cultural significance protection. The other side said it had no significance any more. One of its witnesses said that the building had once been a hotel, so there should be no issue about it becoming one again.

* Hobart City Council yesterday met to investigate giving the 101-year old City Hall (which has hosted concerts and festivals as Dark Mofo and Festival of Voices) an initial $600,000 upgrade and how to capitalise on the venue’s position with the city’s growing cultural precinct. It’s held discussions with Ten Days on the Island, Festival of Voices, Mofo, the University of Tasmania’s Conservatorium of Music, Theatre Royal and the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.

ARIA charts take a leap year

Chart historian Gavin Ryan notes that this week’s ARIA charts fell on the special date of February 29 – which has only occurred twice before, in 1988 and 1964.

It’s the first time on this date that Australia and England have shared the same #1, with 7 Years by Danish act Lukas Graham.

In 1988, it was (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life from Dirty Dancing in Australia and Kylie Minogue’s I Should Be So Lucky over there. It came close in 1964: The Beatles’ I Saw Her Standing There was top of the pop realm here, I Want to Hold Your Hand at #1 in the US but label mate and good friend Cilla Black was at totem place in the UK with Anyone Who Had A Heart.

AC/DC tour continues to pull numbers

After launching in April 2015, AC/DC’s Rock Or Bust world tour continues to pull numbers as it returns to the US. Three sold-out shows in Fargo, North Dakota; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Chicago shifted 47,939 tickets in total and grossed $5.7 million. The US run ends in April with a return ride through Europe in May/June.

NSW club grants open

The NSW Government invites expressions of interest for $2.5 million in grants under the ClubGRANTS Category 3 program. It will help 25 organisations build/upgrade arts and cultural infrastructure in their local communities in the 2015/6 financial year for grants between $100,000 and $300,000. Go to liquorandgaming.justice.nsw.gov.au.

When The Doctor Comes A-Callin’…

ABC Newcastle 1233 morning host Jill Emberson explained the reason she’s off the air is “two weeks ago I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.” She insisted she’d be back. “I don’t want this disease to define me. It’s a hurdle in the road of my life that still has a busy to-do list – great stories for you, my family to nurture, friends to love.”

Perth band San Cisco postponed both its sold out Brisbane gigs on the weekend, with management explaining, “Jordi (guitarist and singer Jordi Davieson) has just returned from the doctor with a diagnosis of acute laryngitis and has been ordered not to sing for the next few days.”

Semi-retired Immedia! and Australasian Music Business Conference founder Phil Tripp suffered a heart attack. Tripp, the SXSW rep for Australia, NZ and Hawaii was on a working holiday in Honolulu before heading on to Austin for the meet. He died for four minutes – the second time that’s happened to him. He was saved by CPR bystanders and at hospital was fitted with a digital defibrillator and pacemaker.

Tripp suffered a minor stroke in his current base of Coffs Harbour, quickly escaping the hospital after the bloke in the next bed started singing hymns thinking he was going to meet his maker.

Almost two decades ago, after a similar cardiac attack in Sydney, he was lying bored in a hospital bed he decided to start compiling the first Australasian Music Industry Directory.

Daryl Braithwaite had to cancel a number of Queensland shows after his throat had been “stricken with something weird.”

Jon English ended up in hospital and set for an unspecified “minor surgery”.

Arts in prisons

The Captive Audiences research project on five key arts programs in prisons in Victoria, NSW, NT, WA and Queensland showed these have many positive outcomes. It allows inmates to express their issues with others through songs and plays, and come to grips with them. Inmates, corrections staff and artists form a common language which help the inmates’ well-being while on the inside and make it easier for them to pursue life once released.

Associate Professor Brydie-Leigh Bartleet, Director of the Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre, told ABC’s The World Today, “People might be surprised to know that there’s a history of Shakespeare in prison, for example — also music programs, circus programs, writing programs, poetry programs, and then of course Indigenous dance and music programs.”

Bluesfest site allowed to hold more events

A unanimous vote by Byron Shire Council allows Bluesfest’s Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm to hold more events. Currently it can have 100 days of events up to 2,000 people attending, 10 days of events up to 15,000 and 10 days up to 25,000 attending including Bluesfest. It can now stage another festival (to be Boomerang when it becomes a stand-alone), as well as weddings and farmers markets in a function centre to be built on-site.

More Festival Updates: Moo, Vivid Live, Splendour, Alice Desert

* Bendigo in Victoria is the first stop on the regional Groovin The Moo to sell out. It is staged at the Prince of Wales Showgrounds in late April. Stephen Halpin of Cattleyard Promotions told Bendigo ticket buyers, “2016 is your seventh year in a row of being the first GTM event to sell out. We are very grateful for the on-going support for Groovin the Moo in your region, you guys own it!”

* The first artist announced for Vivid LIVE 2016 is Anohni (previously Antony Hegarty of Antony & The Johnsons) who plays four shows at the Sydney Opera House in May. He’ll showcase his new album Helplessness.

* Byron Bay’s Splendour In The Grass is offering patrons who can prove they have attended five or more times the chance to apply to become a Splendour Member. Benefits include four guaranteed tickets in the Member pre-sales for an event that traditionally sells out instantly. Deadline is March 7, with successful applicants advised a week later.

* Sydney’s St Leonards stages the free Living Art Weekend from Friday March 11 to Sunday March 13. Presented by the TWT Creative Precinct, it will showcase the lower North Shore creative community with exhibitions, performances, demonstrations, artist talks, open studios, workshops and activities.

* Red Hot Arts Central Australia is calling on musicians, artists, dancers, singers, painters and digital artists to apply to showcase at the Alice Desert Festival. They can also pitch ideas for shows and projects.

* Country music singer songwriter Adam Harvey will be honoured after being named headliner for the fourth Clarence Valley Country Music Muster on promoter Wendy Gordon’s Ulmarra farm. The Commercial Hotel’s front bar will be renamed Harvey’s Bar for the October 24 to 30 duration of the muster.

* After being cancelled last year, the Ballina Coastal Country Music is back this year after the local Rotary Club took over. Last year it was put on hold when founder Carol Stacey found it difficult to continue without financial support. Rotary moved the event to June to avoid clashes with other festivals at that time, and revamped the format to be more family-friendly.

* NZ gets new festival in June, with Mercury Bay Music aiming for a wide range of styles and 25 big names already signed – some of whom will present ten skills-developing workshops. Thames Coromandel District Council awarded a $30,000 grant for this first year and a total of $30,000 for the following two years.

Digital campaign behind Canberra music, arts

CBR 31 Days is a digital campaign providing artist and arts organisations the chance to tap into visitors to the city during March. These include the 50th National Folk Festival which draws 50,000 punters, the lights display Enlighten, as well as exhibitions, and beer & cider and food festivals.

Queensland tests arts value program

Arts Queensland has selected 18 arts organisations for its pilot with the Culture Counts Australian measurement platform. It will help them understand the public value of their events through feedback from the public, peers and artists.

It also aims to strengthen their peer networks and develop evaluation skills including survey design, administration and analysis. It initially chose eight organisations but expanded the number due to volume of applications.

Benefits for Spencer P. Jones

The music community is rallying around ailing Spencer P. Jones, best known for his work with The Johnnys and Beasts of Bourbon as well as his solo albums, to help with his medical bills.

The first is in Perth, on March 20 at Mojos. Drummer James Baker pulled a bill with Dave Faulkner, Midfield Legends and cover band KISStake.

The second, in Melbourne at the Prince of Wales, is on April 15 and organised primarily by Tex Perkins. The Axeman’s Benefit features The Drones, Paul Kelly, The Johnnys, Tex Perkins & Charlie Owen, Adalita, Renee Geyer, Two Am I, The Pink Tiles with MC Anthony Morgan and DJ Tony Biggs.

Those unable to attend can still donate via www.gofundme.com.

Telematics Trust offering creative tech Grants

The Telematics Course Development Fund (Telematics Trust) is offering grants for artists and music/cultural organisations working in the technology space to benefit society through education. The grants of up to $30,000 are to help make their visions come to fruition.

Paul Kelly becomes a Shakespeare brother

Paul Kelly’s next project is inspired by his most treasured possession, a 20kg three volumes of The Collected Works Of William Shakespeare. An album Seven Sonnets & A Song features the troubadour singing lead vocals on six of Shakespeare’s sonnets and a song from Twelfth Night.

The only non-Shakespearian piece is My True Love Hath My Heart written by his contemporary Sir Philip Sidney and sung by Vika Bull.

The sonnets were recorded in various studios over the last 18 months. Musicians on his 21st studio album include Lucky Oceans and Alice Keath, and members of Kelly’s band, Peter Luscombe, Bill McDonald, Ash Naylor, Cameron Bruce, and Vika and Linda Bull. Two videos will be part of the project: for Sonnet 73 directed by Sunny Leunig, Sonnet 18 by Lucy Dyson and My True Love Hath My Heart by Andy Doherty.

The record will be available to download from midnight Greenwich Mean Time as April 22 ticks over to April 23, the day of Shakespeare’s death 400 years ago. It will be launched with live appearances by Kelly on April 23 at the State Library of NSW in conjunction with Sydney Writers’ Festival and Bell Shakespeare and at The Wheeler Centre in Melbourne. Kelly will also speak about Shakespeare and performing several sonnets at Sydney Writers’ Festival on Monday May 16. Overseas performances follow on from that. Kelly says, “Just about anything you want to say, Shakespeare’s said it already.”

WA country music winners announced

Codee-Lee and Sharmain Kendrick were multi-winners at the 2016 West Australian Country Music Awards, unveiled at the Boyup Brook Country Music Festival. Presented by LiveLighter, Codee-Lee who began performing at 16 picked up best female artist of the year and best songwriter for Love + War. Toyota Star Maker 2016 finalist Sharmain Kendrick took out emerging artist while her Break Your Heart was lauded as the year’s best video.

Also picking up gongs were Jonny Taylor (male), Ralway Bell (group), Pete Byfield’s 1 (independent album) and Terry Bennett’s Fitzroy River (single).

Number Crunching

10 weeks at #1 in the US for Adele’s 25, last week selling another 100,000 album equivalents. It is the fifth album since 2000 to stay atop for 10 weeks.

25% of the town of Kalgoorlie came out to see Sheppard, it is estimated.

18th addition to AC/DC singer Brian Johnson’s car collection is a blisteringly fast Jaguar Project 7.

1 million sales in the UK for Elvis – If I Can Dream, made with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

770,000 YouTube views for Troye Sivan’s Youth video in the first 24 hours.

ABC expands arts programming

ABC-TV’s new Tuesday nights arts programming, which rolls out from March 15, includes two new series, Creatives and Meet The Mavericks.

Creatives is a four episode 30-minute series looking at names from the fields of theatre, music, art and dance. The first of these, on March 15, is indigenous singer songwriter and activist Kev Carmody. Best known for his co-write with Paul Kelly, From Little Things Big Things Grow, the Carmody episode features interviews with Kelly, Missy Higgins and Dan Sultan.

Meet The Mavericks is a 5 episode 30-minute interview series which pairs different generations of creative names. These include Tim Minchin with Radio National’s Phillip Adams, and triple j satirist John Safran with Brit gonzo journalist Jon Ronson.

NZ artist managers awards open nominations

The New Zealand Music Managers Forum in association with APRA AMCOS, NZ Music Commission and Recorded Music NZ has opened nominations for the 2016 Music Managers Awards.

Categories are Recorded Music NZ Manager of the Year, NZ Music Commission International Achievement, Best Independent Tour, APRA AMCOS Best Small Venue, APRA AMCOS Best Large Venue, Self-Managed Artist of the Year, Breakthrough Manager and NZ Music Managers Forum Industry Champion.

Last year, Ashley Page took home the Manager of the Year for his work with Broods, Joel Little and Jarryd James while Scott Maclachlan won International Achievement second year for his success of Lorde and Sol3 Mio.

And A Few Other Things…

It is a run-down cottage in the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick which was set to be sold on the weekend at $500,000. But the fact that Beyonce shot her 2013 No Angel video there saw it go for $650,000. The delighted estate agent called it the “Beyonce premium”. At the auction, they got a Beyonce impersonator to bolster up the Beyonce-ness and give the new owner a bottle of champagne while a jazz band played.

In the meantime, US country music duo Florida Georgia Line, making their first trip to Australia for CMC Rocks Queensland, will shoot a video during their stay.

DJ superstar Armin van Buuren confirmed Sydney and Melbourne among cities he would play on his upcoming Armin Only Embrace world tour, which kicks off in Amsterdam in May. It is presented by ALDA, Totem OneLove and Totem Trance.

Is the Harvey Norman chain going after rival Dick Smith’s Move stores?

The US Viacom-owned comedy TV channel Comedy Central is launching in Australia on April Fools Day … also coming is YouTube’s movie channel Red.

Channel 9’s ploy of pushing struggling Australia’s Got Talent from a 7.30 pmstart to 8 pm paid off. On Sunday night it got an extra 100,000 metro viewers,bringing the metro tally to 713,000. Last night it drew 657,000.

Yesterday’s Oscars telecast on Nine saw 378,000 tune in for the midday livebroadcast (up from 361,000 last year) while 243,000 watched the rebroadcast from9.55 pm.

Despite pleas from the NSW hospitality and live music sectors, Liquor and Gaming NSW extended its freeze on new licences for clubs in the Sydney CBD and Kings Cross to February 2017.

Tame Impala’s Kevin Reynolds reveals he’d love to work with Rhianna after she covered their New Person, Same Old Mistakes on her Anti album.

Lorde’s tribute to David Bowie at the Brits won much acclaim from peers and on social media. But the 19-year-old says she was super-nervous, and only got through by imagining she was singing directly to him. She was backed by Mike Garson on piano, Gail Anne Dorsey on bass and Gerry Leonard and Earl Slick on guitars – all of whom played with Bowie on his A Reality Tour in 2003 and 2004.

While Perth band’s End of Fashion broke their indefinite hiatus last Saturday for a gig at the Amplifier with (almost) the original lineup, Melbourne’s The Vasco Era and Little Red are reuniting for one-show only for the Keep Star Shining fundraiser on Sunday April 3 at the Corner Hotel.

It is for friend Star Gray who had been looking forward to her 21st birthday but ended up in hospital with cancer. The bands and organisers want to raise money she can get out of her hospital bed and have her party. Also playing are Dan Sultan, Big Scary and The Pretty Littles.

Back home in Melbourne after his Thailand train wreck, Molly Meldrum told Seven Network’s Sunday Night he’s been off the vodka for six weeks, he supports same sex marriage (but not interested in it for himself) and he’s back in the studio producing a single by singer songwriter Sarah Rzek.

In Tasmania last weekend, Launceston’s The Styles played a farewell show after 13 years after a period of recording inactivity … Whoretopsy played their last gig with bassist Ryan Frost as his day job is keeping him too busy.

The Kyle and Jackie O team officially turned down SCA’s earlier offer to return to 2DAY FM. But the Sydney Morning Herald’s PS column says two industry insiders confirmed another invite was made – just to Jackie O (Henderson) without Kyle to pair up with Rove McManus – although that was turned down too. PS says 2DAY are going cold on McManus’ current radio partner Sam Frost although SCA has denied this too.

Remember husband and wife team Natalia Kills and Willy Moon, judges of X Factor New Zealand who got dumped for cruel comments about a contestant? They’re back again, in a band called Cruel Youth and a new single. Kills now calls herself Teddy Sinclair. Of the NZ incident, she recalls, “I was subjected to a global witch hunt I couldn’t defend myself against due to a wide-reaching legal gagging order. It was a truly regrettable situation for everyone involved.”

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