South Australian budget extends funding for music hub

Last night’s South Australian budget has ensured that new Adelaide music hub, the St. Paul’s Creative St Centre, will receive $415,000 over the next four years.

The Centre was set up by the SA Government late last year as a nucleus where music, creative, and hardware and software technology firms can work together to develop new local, national and international strategies and programs. A number of these are to be announced in the coming months.

The Centre is also home to Music SA, music/tech cluster Musictec and the Music Development Office.

The Music Development Office (MDO) is a joint initiative of the Department of State Development and Arts SA to build up the SA music industry by supporting both creative and business development locally and globally.

The Government accepted over half the recommendations of its Thinker In Residence Martin Elbourne on stimulating the local biz including collaborations, collecting data on the industry, building up songwriting and performance skills and building connections with international markets.

Last night’s budget also set aside $16 million over four years for “maximising the scope and quality” of key arts projects, “in recognition of their economic, cultural and social contribution to the State”, said Arts Minister Jack Snelling.

Getting infrastructure upgrades are arts centres in regional South Australia – Whyalla’s Middleback Theatre ($1.7 million), Port Pirie’s Northern Festival Centre ($1.4 million), Mt Gambier’s Sir Robert Helpmann Theatre (nearly $1 million) and Renmark’s Chaffey Theatre ($90,000). These improvements, including lighting and air conditioning, and would attract national and international acts, Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis said.

The SA Film Corporation received $918,000 to build a set construction workshop at the Adelaide Studios site at Glenside.

Premier Jay Weatherill stated it would attract film and TV productions to SA. “A recent Deloitte Access Economics Report showed that the South Australian screen industry contributed $77.2 million to the State’s economy in the past financial year. It also supported full- time employment for more than 750 people.”