Industrial Strength: November 21

MICHAEL CHUGG GETS GLOBAL NOMINATION

Michael Chuggis the sole Australian in the nominations for the International Promoter of the Year category of February’s Pollstar awards in Los Angeles.

He’s up against some pretty distinguished names –Andy Copping(Live Nation – UK),Barrie Marshall(Marshall Arts),Denis Desmond (MCD Productions), Folkert Koopmans (FKP Scorpio Konzertproduktionen) andSimon Moran(SJM).

Chugg has won the category four times, and been nominated no less than 16 times since 2000.

NEW SOUTH AUSTRALIAN LAWS HELP VENUES…

South Australia has made its first major changes to its liquor licensing system in almost 20 years.

Key changes include the introduction of new licensing categories that simplifies the process for venues and events to apply for a licence, and cuts red tape for new and existing licensees.

Alcohol can now be sold on Sundays and major public holidays, while penalties for selling to under-18s goes up to $10,000.

The state’s Consumer and Business Services MinisterJohn Rausaid, “These changes help modernise our licensing regime and better reflect both community expectations and changes to the sector over the past two decades.

“By streamlining our application processes and licenses, we are supporting and encouraging new businesses helping to contribute to Adelaide’s vibrant nightlife.

“We’re maintaining a strong level of regulation, to ensure public safety and a safe drinking culture.”

Consultation with the community and the state’s live music industry began last November.

It also questioned if venue staff should be given drug tests, and if higher fees imposed on venues that contravene laws on serving minors and drunks.


…BUT SURVEY SUPPORTS LOCKOUTS

South Australia’s Sunday Mail reports that a new survey shows that 72.7% supported the current 3am lockouts while 27.3% reckon they made SA look like a nanny state.

The Your Say SA survey of 3350 people also reckoned a strong (68%) support for more smaller bar licences outside the Adelaide central business district, especially in Glenelg, North Adelaide, Norwood, Semaphore, Unley and Prospect.

18 LAWSUITS FLY OVER LAS VEGAS FESTIVAL SHOOTINGS

The number of lawsuits filed over the Route 91 Harvest country music festival in Las Vegas has risen to 17.

Last month, lone gunmanStephen Paddockfired on thousands of patrons from his room at the Mandalay Bay hotel casino resort, killing 58.

Named in the lawsuits are the Mandalay, promoter Live Nation and the makers of a bump stock gun accessory which allowed the gunman to fire rapidly.

According to sources, the lawsuits, citing mental and physical injuries, could see insurers forking out $1 billion if the cases win.

The hotel is accused of not checking Paddock’s room (which police say had 20 rifles) or having gunfire-location devices to pinpoint where gunfire was coming from.

ALEX LAHEY ON US TV

Australian singer songwriterAlex Laheymade her American network debut onLate Night With Seth Meyers, performing ‘Every Day’s The Weekend’ from her acclaimed debut album ILove You Like A Brother,out on Caroline Australia.

See her performancehere.

Lahey and band return from their US tour next month to play the Falls and Sydney City Limits festivals.

SEXUAL ASSAULT SCANDAL EXPANDS TO SWEDEN

The Swedish music scene has been reeling since 1,993 women working in the biz signed an open letter alleging that they have experienced sexual assault, harassment or overt sexism during their career and calling for drastic change

They included global performers asRobyn,First Aid KitandZara Larsson, as well as producers, songwriters, DJs, artist managers, A&Rs, booking agents, publishers and senior names at major and independent labels.

ROCKINGHORSE STUDIOS BACK IN ACTION

Rockinghorse Studios in Byron Bay, where some of Australia’s classic albums were made, is back in action after 12 months of renovations..

Under a new owner team led by local businessmanJohn Callanan, it continues to be a recording/ residential complex in 29 hectare of grounds to make the recording process a relaxed one.

There is an second studio installed, which will be home toMi-Sexkeyboardist and award winning film/TV composer and producerMurray Burns.

It’s a homecoming for Burns who set up Rockinghorse in 1992 with music industry execAlan De Vendra.

Among those who went on to use its facilities wereWolfmother, The Screaming Jets, Yothu Yindi, The Cruel Sea, Delta Goodrem, Mental as Anything, Eurogliders, Delta GoodremandBrian Cadd.

NICK CAVE DEFIES BOYCOTT CALLS, PLAYS ISRAEL

Nick Caveplayed his first shows in Israel in 20 years on Sunday and last night.

He told a press conference that he actively insisted on appearing in Tel Aviv to make a “principled stand” against those who pressurise artists to boycott Israel.

He revealedBrian Enohad tried to get him to sign an Artists For Palestine list three times.

“On a very intuitive level I did not want to sign that list, there was something that stunk to me about that list,” Cave said.

Those who did not play Israel includedRoger Waters. Elvis CostelloandLauren Hill.

Playing the country wereMetallica, Madonna, Elton John, RihannaandOzzy Osbourne.

ARTS PARTY REGISTERING NSW CHAPTER

The Arts Party is registering a NSW chapter and needs 750 supporters before Christmas. Go to theofficial websitefor all details.

PASS THE BUTTER, PASS THE BEAT

New Finding Consumer Trends data from Commercial Radio Australia and Presslaff Interactive Revenue show that 54% radio listeners dine out once a week, 90% once a month.

29% are influenced by ads they hear on radio, and 47% check out restaurants they’ve heard recommended by radio presenters.

“Australian” cuisine (whatever that means) is chosen by 39%, followed by Chinese (37%), Italian (27%) and Thai (25%)

COPYRIGHT AGENCY TAKES NSW GOVT TO TRIBUNAL

The Copyright Agency has taken the NSW Government to the Copyright Tribunal to demand that it pays the same rates as other governments in this country for use of its members’ material by its 200,000 employees.

The Agency reckons that that “during the last five years, NSW public servants have copied and shared up to 200 million pages of our members’ copyright material without payment.”

COULD MUSIC SA WIN A RUBY AS PART OF ITS 20TH?

Music SA could end up with a double whammy of its 20th anniversary celebrations next weekend.

It’s throwing a party at St. Paul’s Creative in Adelaide on November 30, along with an art auction to raise funds for its 2018m workshops.

Two days later it is up for a win at Arts SA’s arts and cultural Ruby Awards at the Queen’s Theatre.

It’s up for Sustained Contribution by an Organisation or Group: against Tutti Arts and Vitalstatistix.

The six categories include Best Work, Best Event, Arts Innovation and Enterprise, Community or Regional Impact Under $100,000, and Community or Regional Impact Over $100,000.

Among the 25 finalists are the Adelaide Festival, SA Museum’s Yidaki: Didjeridu and the Sound of Australia, SALT Festival, UneARTh Festival Whyalla and Stirling Fringe.

A further three awards will be announced at the event: Sustained Contribution byan Individual, the Geoff Crowhurst Memorial Award and the Premier’s Award for Lifetime Achievement.

EMPIRE VERSUS EMPIRE

Fox Television had a win over the title of its 2015 hit drama Empire about a record label in the ‘70s.

Hip hop label and publishing company Empire Distribution, Inc that has worked withT.I., Snoop DoggandKendrick Lamar, protested.

However a 9th Circuit judge sided with Fox Television, saying that a title does not violate “unless it has no artistic relevance to the underlying work whatsoever, or, if it has some artistic relevance, unless the title explicitly misleads as to the source or the content of the work.”

In this case, he said, the TV series took the name because it was based in New York, alluded to its Empire State landmark and was based on a fictitious company called Empire Enterprises.

MARRICKVILLE HUB TO BE THE “BROOKLYN OF SYDNEY”?

Sydney’s industrial heartland Marrickville could end up with a $50 million specially built creative arts hub offering cheap work spaces by up to 500 creative types including recording artists, videographers and painters.

It is the idea of building company Danias Holdings which has a number of warehouses in 18 hectares and wants to create a $500 million mixed use commercial development with a number of parks.

Its application to Inner West Council includes the $50,000 creative hub in three new building in a 13,000 square metre space which would also include an exhibition space, a rooftop bar and a café.

In fact the specific area, now used as storage space for Danias’ timber yard was used in the 1980s byMichael Daniasas a record label, Timberyard Records.

It released records from Sydney underground acts asYou Am I, Box the Jesuit, Candy Harlots, The Dubrovniks, Girl Monstar, Johnny Teen & The Broken Hearts, The Zen Geniesand 13 years ago, a band calledTeenager, which consisted of the unknownNick Littlemore(laterPNAUandEmpire of the Sun) and another unknown,Pip BrownakaLadyhawke.

Danias’ GMAngelo Angelopoulossays that the creative collaborations could lead to exciting results which could turn the largely ignored fringe “the Brooklyn of Sydney”.

TASMANIAN OF YEAR

Theatre director and writerScott Rankinwas lauded as Tasmanian Australian of the Year for 2018 in a ceremony at Government House in Hobart.

He founded Big hART, a charity which began using the arts to bring about social justice 25 years ago.

AFTER WE SAID YES, DO SOMETHING!

After the marriage equality postal vote, arts associations are calling on the Government to act on it – and to also acknowledge how divisive and traumatic the whole process was for some sectors of the community.

Live Performance Australia, which represents the live entertainment and performing arts industry, says the poll results are “a clear message of support for marriage equality” and “many members of our industry are currently being discriminated against by the Marriage Act” said CEOEvelyn Richardson.

‘We celebrate the talents and achievements of Australia’s live performance industry – it’s now time to also celebrate the loving relationships of all who work in our industry.”

Also to celebrate the poll vote, Melbourne bandThe Smith Street BanddrummerChris Cowburncreated what he has dubbed the “Rainbow Beat” – a one-of-a-kind custom drum kit which he played at their gig at Sidney Myer Music Bowl withMidnight Oil.

The kit is to be sold and all proceeds go to Minus18, which provide a network of support to Australian LGBTQI+ youth.

Check out the auctionhere.

ZEPPELIN’S CROWN OF THORS

The use ofLed Zeppelin’s ‘Immigrant Song’ in the Thor movie has sparked off sales by nearly 1,000% (well, 977%) in America.

The track from 1970’s Led Zeppelin III is #1 on Hard Rock Digital Song Sales and #4 on the Rock Song charts after selling 18,000 copies.

Zep’s compilation Mothership which includes the track has also woken out of winter hibernation and started to creak back up the US charts again.

NEWCASTLE MUSICIANS BUSTED

The Newcastle music scene is in “reeling” mode after three of its own are behind bars after being accused of being part of a $245 million conspiracy to sneak 700 kilograms of cocaine into Australia via the South Pacific.

Jazz saxplayerCraig Lembke,The Eighty Eights’ bassistKent JacksonandDennis Bathare alleged to have stored the stuff in two hulls of a yacht which was intercepted by authorities on a quiet bay on Lake Macquarie near Newcastle.

In a tale that reads like an exciting thriller, the syndicate allegedly met in Thailand to nut out plans, and some went to Tahiti to pick up the shipment.

The three made a brief appearance in Newcastle Local Court where they were formally denied bail.

FREE STREAMING KEEPS SPENDING DOWN

Nielsen Music’s 360 2017 U.S. Report reveals that Americans spend $156 annually on music. But the spend on streaming is only 9% of that, equating to $14. It was 6% last year.

Reason is that there’s so much free music on streaming services that people prefer not to open their wallets.

Nielsen found that only 29% of US music lovers subscribe to a streaming service. 45% prefer to stream for free, nearly half of which say the subscriptions are too high.

Spotify for instance has 90 million users who don’t pay. At the same time, the combined figure of people who subscribe to use Apple Music, Tidal and Spotify is 90 million.

GIZZARD GIVE ALBUM AWAY

Melbourne bandKing Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s fourth album for 2017 is out – and the band is giving it away because it is not theirs but the public’s.

All assets for the record are posted to the band’sofficial website. Theseinclude the files and formatting for fans to make CDs or vinyl copies themselves, as well as artwork.

Since the band announced the giveaway format, fans took to fund crowd-sourced vinyl pressings in several territories, a radical experiment in collective creativity.

The band is currently on its national Gizzfest run. A fifth album is still due before the end of 2017.

AND A FEW OTHER THINGS

Why was theJetandThe Temper Trapshow at the Fremantle Arts Centre on the weekend cancelled at the last minute?

Which awards post-party kicked on at an artist manager’s hotel suite? A few hundred dollars worth of alcohol was ordered from room service. Alas everyone was passed out by the time the drinks were delivered?

NZ media is reporting that Recorded Music NZ plans to change the format of the Vodafone NZ Music Awards, to be attended by just industry attendees only and to incorporate streaming and download figures in the winners’ tally. However Vodafone, which has sponsored the awards for 13 years, didn’t seem to know.

Which fact-checker at a publisher rang a musician to double check something for half a minute – and ended up on the bone for an hour while the fellow droned on and on.

ABC-TV’s Rage is this Saturday morning (12.24 am) paying a tribute toMalcolm Young.

No sooner had Sydney pop punk bandWith Confidenceparted ways with guitaristLuke “Rockets” Thomasfor allegedly sending sexual pictures to a 14-year-old fan, singerJayden Seeleywas defending himself with a claim by a 15-year-old girl that he asked for explicit photos of her in 2013. The singer tweeted in response that the girl approached him with photos via Snapchat.

During her Australian tour withShawn Mendes,Julia Michaelsis on Monday November 27 presenting a songwriting masterclass at Forbes Street Studios as part of ARIA Week. Among the hits she’s racked up for others alongside Justin Tranter wereJustin Bieber’s ‘Sorry’,Selena Gomez’s ‘Good for You’ andHailee Steinfeld’s ‘Love Myself.

Australian photographerRaph Rashidhas released the sequel to his 2005 book Behind The Beat which went into the studios of global names asMadlib, DillaandDJ Shadow. The new book Back To The Lab featuresJust Blaze, Alchemist, DJ Jazzy JeffandLord Finesse, Japan’sDJ Juco and Mitsu, Britain’sFormat, JulianoandVadimand Australia’sPlutonic Lab.

We knowAirbourneare madcap AC/DC fans. But when singer and guitaristJoel O’Keefewas asked to name the top five guitar solos that inspired him, three were by Angus.

While everyone goes for high tech videos, the one that Sony-signed Aussie bandCousin Tony’s Brand New Firebird’s ‘Morning Person’ was shot on an old Arriflex 16mm with black & white film for the verses, and then a Super8 camera to shoot colour for the choruses. The band say it gave the vid a Wizard Of Oz feel, which adds to the effect they were going for – “the simple feeling of joy that waking up with the sun gives you,” says lead vocalist and songwriter,Lachlan Rose. The vid was shot by Rose’s brother Hugo.

ABC ME is screening the Junior Eurovision Song Contest at 7.30pm Monday November 27 from Georgia. Australia is being represented by 13-year-old Isabella Clarke.

A psychology study done in New York University tracing the correlation of music habits of those with psychopath behaviour found most popular wereJustin Bieber’s ‘What Do You Mean’,Eminem‘s ‘Lose Yourself’ and ‘No Diggity’ byBlackstreet.

Adorning a building in Geelong, Victoria’s Union Street is a huge mural ofBeyonceandJay-Z. Artist Danielle Weber chose the pair because of their recognisability factor with a wide age demographic.

On that topic, Sydney artistScott Marsh’s mural in Erskineville portrayingGeorge Michaelas a religious figure, was vandalised. “I’m defending my religion,” said the 20-year old alleged culprit who faces court next month.

ABC Tasmania newsreaderPeter Geesays his helmet saved his life when he had an accident on his motorbike during a ride when he took a corner too fast. He flew 50 kilometres per hour into a field of rocks and ended with two fractured neck vertebrae.

Dunedin cops doing a morning routine check were startled to find a driver was more interested in playing the bagpipes than concentrating on the road or, indeed, keeping his hands on the steering wheel. They gave him a ticking off and sent him on his way.

Aussie bandTonight Aliverevealed that guesting on their upcoming album areCorey TaylorofSlipknot/Stone Sour, andLynn GunnofPVRIS. The albumUnderworldis out on January 12 via UNFD.

Triple M Brisbane’sLuke Bradnamhas put his multi-million five bedroom pile of bricks located on a two-block waterfront property on the Gold Coast up for sale. He and partnerCathy Hallambought it eleven years ago. It includes a pool, tennis court, boat shed and a purpose built mechanics pit in the garage.

Among GQ Australia’s 2017 Men Of The Year wereFlume(solo artist of the year),Adam Briggs(agenda setter),Client Liaison(band of the year) andA$AP Rocky(man of style).