Industrial Strength: More Perth venues to close; JL Music closing; Farnham/ Newton John show hits global list; Spin Off scrapped; Quickflix reveals figures

Two more Perth venues to close

While the Perth Venue Action group gets in gear to meet the challenges of the city’s live music scene, two more of its venues went dark.

Shape Bar closed on the weekend, “taking a step back from humanity and plunging into the darkness that exists after the afterafterparty.”

Luxe Bar co-owner Michelle Mok confirmed it will shutter on Sunday May 3 after 13 ½ years. Mok, with Geoff Hayward and Andy Freeman, encourage patrons to come and scribble memories of their antics at the Luxe on the wall as part of the Luxe Confessional farewell.

In other Perth venue news, Fly By Night reached its crowd-funding target of $10,000 within four weeks, to raise money to set up its new home Victoria Hall for live performances, especially for acoustics and for the transfer of its liquor licence from the Artillery Drill Hall where it had been for 28 years.

The Bakery’s Northbridge is also closing early May but unconfirmed reports suggest it might re-emerge at another site.

Adelaide’s JL Music Publishing closing this week

Adelaide-based JL Music Publishing ceases trading this week after six years, after directors Daniel Randall and Helen Page voluntarily wind up the JL Music Group.

They stated, “With continuing falling revenues across the film, TV and advertising industries and the difficult economic climate we have made this decision to ensure that we wind up operations while the company is still solvent to ensure that we do not disadvantage our many loyal partners and friends across the globe.”

JL had 75 songwriters and composers on its book, and secured placements in Australia and globally.

NSW entrepreneur invents smart wireless earphones

Lithgow, NSW-based 21-year-old entrepreneur Jonathan Zuvela found his wired earphones constantly falling out of his ears when he rode his BMX or hit the gym treadmill. So he developed Nextear (www.nextear.net.au),“the world’s smartest wireless earphones.” The ultra small earphones pair with Bluetooth smart devices to play studio quality music. Its multi-purpose storage recharge case has the ability to stream sound from a computer or TV.

The prototypes are done, and a manufacturer in China sourced. To raise US $20,000 to start production, he began campaign on Indiegogo (https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/nextear-the-worlds-smartest-wireless-earphones). Within three days it virtually hit its target. By this week, it had raised $80,945 with the campaign ending on May 24. More functions will be added if the campaign goes over the $100,000 and then the $500,000 mark.

More 4 to 14-year-old Australians accessing music videos online

More Aussies aged 4 to 14 access music videos online, says the 11th Cartoon Network New Generations report. The demographic has an annual spending power of $1.8 billion. 31% access the internet via tablets, with a 8% rise (two out of ten) through mobile phones. Watching videos is second most popular online activity, after games. Time watching videos also increased. However, for this age group, TV remains the dominant entertainment and information source with 85% watching in the past month. They also have a strong influence on their parents’ spending.

Farnham/ Newton John Sydney show hits global list

John Farnham and Olivia Newton-John’s Sydney show on April 19 at Qantas Credit Union Arena drew 9,254 and grossed just over $1 million in ticket sales. That put it at #6 on Billboard’s global Boxscore. The duo’s Two Strong Hearts tour through Dainty Group ran over two weeks in arenas in Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane and wineries in Margaret River and Hunter Valley. We hear the shows sold a substantial number of VIP packages which included a 5-star dinner with Farnesie and Livvy before the show.

Spin Off scrapped for 2015

Adelaide’s 5/4 Entertainment scrapped its Spin Off festival for a second year, saying it again couldn’t get the acts it wanted. Spin Off has a deal with Byron Bay’s Splendour In The Grass to get some of its acts for Adelaide. 5/4’s Craig Lock explains that he knows which acts will work in the Adelaide market. If they’re not available – either because they’re doing their own sideshows around Australia or have to leave the country to attend Fuji Rock in Japan or Osheago in Canada on the same weekend – then there’s no point going ahead with it. But he still plans to stage it in 2016 if all the planets align.

QMusic reaching out

Over the next months, QMusic CEO Joel Edmondson will be in discussions with stakeholders “in an attempt to collectively imagine the possibilities for the Queensland music industry, and the role that QMusic should ideally play as a catalyst of the industry's success.” Edmondson also wants to hold more social events where QMusic members and other industry folk can network.

Festivals boost Tasmanian economy

This year’s Festivale in Launceston’s City Park generated $7.5 million for the Northern Tasmanian economy, after drawing almost 30,000 over a weekend. A crowd survey found that three out of four plan to come back next February.

No specifics are available for March’s Tasmanian International Arts Festival (this year rebranded from Ten Days On The Island). But past estimates said it generated $27.25 million for the community from a $2.5 million investment

Quickflix reveals figures

Australian streaming service Quickflix revealed that between January to March, it lost $850,000 with just $1.28 million in hand. In this period, its subscribers rose 6% from the last quarter of 2014 to 123,553 as awareness of SVOD services rose with the high profile new players entered the local market. But trial subscribers dropped by 11% from 19,564 to 17,348. Only 70% of subscribers use it for streaming, which means it has less than 100,000 streamers. This year an attempt to raise $5.7 million capital yielded $650,000.

‘Prison Songs’ chosen for Good Pitch

The indigenous documentary musical Prison Songs is among six docos chosen for the second Good Pitch Australia at Sydney Opera House. The fundraising and networking event last year raised over $2 million in funding. Prison Songs was filmed inside Darwin’s Berrimah, where most of the 800 inmates are indigenous. With a makeshift recording studio, they wrote and recorded songs (some funny, some brutal) about their lives, hopes and regrets. It took film maker Kelrick Martin four years to get prison authorities to green light the project. NT musicians Shellie Morris and Casey Bennetto helped with the music. Prison Songs aired on SBS One in January.

ASIC trying to wind up Reeltime Media

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission applied to wind up digital media company Reeltime Media in the NSW Supreme Court on May 4. It went into voluntary administration last week. In February it began trying to raise $10 million to acquire a number of services which would bring in revenues of $50 million but these stopped after ASIC’s wind-up application. ASIC said it began its move after investigating “allegations of corporate governance failures by Reeltime Media over a number of years.”

In Heart’s Wake release second video game

Byron Bay’s post-hardcore In Hearts Wake again released a video game alongside a new album. Last year it was Earth Invaders with the Earthwalker album. This year it's Skyhoppers, to go with Skydancer which is out on UNFD on May 1 in Australia, NZ and Europe (It’s May 4 in the UK) and May 5 in North America through Rise. Players fly through the sky (like the frustrating Flappy Birds) and instantly hear the single Breakway. After making it through 30 cloud pipes, they unlock album track Insomnia. The person with the highest score by May 1 wins a rare vinyl test pressing of Skydancer. This week, new single Erase debuted on BBC Radio 1 Rock Show before becoming an instant download with the album preorder.

Venues update: rows, closure threats, no-alcohol gigs

* Another live music space comes to Newtown, Sydney. The Lentil As Anything restaurant is launching Lentil On The Rocks (part live music venue, part alcohol-free mocktail bar) in its upstairs space. As it's no-booze, patrons wanting to listen to songwriters on Fridays and solo acts and bands on Saturdays can do so without having to be over the drinking age of 18.

* A row broke out in Townsville after councilors had a secret workshop where it was mooted that the $100 million promised by the Queensland government for the 25,000-seat sports and concert stadium, be diverted to an arts precinct, which would include a cultural centre and music hall. But business leaders cracked the proverbial, saying losing the stadium would set back the city years. The government warned it’d pull the dough if it’s not for the stadium.

* Hobart’s Theatre Royal posted its best result in years. Last year it drew 71,798 (62,478 in 2013) with ticket sales streaking past the $3 million mark.

* The Old Bar in Melbourne’s Fitzroy may turn off live music post-winter as “we actually lose money around half the nights of the week to do this and the joy has worn off.” Without a rise in crowd numbers, it will focus on dining.

* Police investigating a break-in at Nambour live music venue Nook & Cranny released a photo of a man who could “help with inquiries.” He was a stand-out in a glaring horizontal striped top and spotted outside the venue earlier.

* The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) hearing over Melbourne’s Palace Theatre building has to be re-tried. A Tribunal member hearing the case apparently is a member of the National Trust Victoria, one of the case’s parties alongside Save the Palace and Melbourne Heritage Action Group. It remains to be seen if the three parties continue with the case, a source said.

* Sydney music venue Newport Arms, recently acquired by Justin Hemmes, is to go through a three-year renovation. The 100-strong staff were assembled and told only 10 would be needed, but more would be brought back as subsequent stages of the revamp were completed.

* Hobart’s Odeon Theatre will undergo an $89 million renovation. Developer Riverlee applied to keep the 1916 facade, demolish the back, turn the foyer into retail space and put an 11-storey office block behind. Queens of the Stone Age played there on their last visit, and it hosted Dark Mofo events.

* The new Adelaide Oval was lauded the South Australian development of the year at the weekend’s Property Council of Australia Rider Levett Bucknall Innovation and Excellence Awards.

Little BIGSOUND back

Back for its fifth year, Little BIGSOUND is the younger one-day sibling to the BIGSOUND conference, aimed at the 15 – 25 demographic. Held Monday July 27 at the Judith Wright Centre in Brisbane, it focuses on building skills, providing info on breaking into the biz and personal contact with industry folks.

Vale

Stu McKenzie, 27, singer with Newcastle bluegrass band Good Corn Liquor died in an accident which left banjo player Ben McCauley and bassist Nicholas Wright hospitalised. Their Ford Econovan, driven by McKenzie, collided on the New England Highway with a car driven by a teenager who also died. The band was crowd-funding to finish their second EP. A fund-raiser is planned at the Albert Hotel where the band was to play in late May.

Victorian community radio volunteer and country music presenter Enid 'Estelle' Bunn passed aged 90. She started on radio in 1982 at 3CCC FM and presented Sunday Country on KLFM from 1992 until she retired in 2011.

And a few other things …

Sam Smith had his ups and downs in New Zealand. Up was that the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit superfan got to visit the Hobbiton movie set. He posted shots on Instagram showing him in Bilbo Baggins’ home, in an inn inspired by the Green Dragon from the J. R. R. Tolkien books, and wearing a wizard's hat. Down was having to rush out of his Auckland hotel with other guests and stand around on the footpath when the fire alarm went off at 9 am.

‘Daddy Cool guitarist Ross Hannaford had intrusive surgery in Melbourne for an illness that has recurred.

Former MIX Sydney and Melbourne announcer Dave Wright is in Liverpool Hospital in Sydney fighting leukemia.

The Presets told fans who support the execution of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran to delete their music. Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes wrote on Facebook yesterday, “If you believe in state sanctioned murder, are against compassion and think you are above making mistakes … please … unfollow us, delete all our music and stop listening to us altogether. Peace.”

Peking Duk will headline the pre-match entertainment for the Hyundai A-League Grand Final (soccer) on Sunday May 17.

Natalie Imbruglia sets off on a world tour after the August release of her Male album.

Country music singer songwriter and Golden Guitar winner Ashleugh Dallas invited 80 friends and family to a Tamworth hotel to her 21st – and then stunned them all by getting married to finance Chris Wattan … meanwhile, The McClymonth Sisters have discovered that their new single Forever Begins Tonight, originally written for sister Samantha’s wedding, has become the wedding song of choice in regional NSW.

Sydney-born guitarist Nick Maybury of the band Mink is the new axeman for Scott Weiland’s The Wildabouts. Maybury has been based in New York for the last ten years.

Gin Wigmore was to fly to Sydney to perform songs from her new June-due album for media and retail. But alas, she was a no-show after her plane was diverted due to Sydney’s ghastly weather.

The Melbourne Age’s Sticky Carpet column reported that plans are for the Reclink Community Cup — a charity AFL football match between community radio and music industry folks – to go national. After starting in Melbourne, and more recently in Sydney, the event will now bow in Adelaide and Perth. The four matches are expected to be played in August, with the same musicians involved in the pre- and post-match entertainment.

Wendy Matthews spent two days at the Stuart & Sons piano factory in Newcastle recording an eight track EP of Billie Holiday covers.

As of this week, 1,615 people entered the Queensland Government’s online survey of whether Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium should host more than four music concerts a year. It is at www.getinvolved.qld.gov.au ends June 12.

Organisers of the inaugural Americana festival Dashville Skyline (October 3 and 4, in Dashville, NSW) have found a way to educate patrons about the roots of Americana music. Each performer will be given a list of 20 songs from the likes of Gram Pasons, The Byrds, Creedence, Johnny Cash, Grateful Dead, Flying Burrito Brothers and Waylon Jennings. They choose one to include as a cover in their sets. These covers will be recorded live, and a CD of these given to all attendees at the end of the event.

The May co-headline tour by The Supersuckers and The BellRays was cancelled "due to issues outside the control of (promoter) Nightmare Music.” Plans are to get The BellRays back in a few months for their third visit here.

Brisbane’s The Horrortones play their last show on Sunday (May 3) at the Rock and Roll BBQ at The Triffid. Also playing are HITS who celebrate their 10th anniversary.

After listed as missing after the Nepal earthquake, Gold Coast singer songwriter Jackson James Smith rang his folks to say he was OK. But among the 389 Australians still missing, as of yesterday, was 18-year old Ballarat music fan Darcy Mahady who was heading to a music festival 240 kms from the ravaged city of Kathmandu.