BREAKING NEWS (COURTESY MUSIC VICTORIA)
Music Victoria this week announced the complete findings from the 2017 Melbourne Live Music Census to over 300 music industry leaders from across the globe at a sold out Music Cities Convention.
Key findings from the study involving 2000+ respondents reveal:
- More music fans in Melbourne listen to community/public radio stations Triple RRR, PBS FM, and Triple J, than any commercial station. This happens in no other major city in the world.
- In a single week, the iconic Tote Hotel presents over 50 bands.
- The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports that in the past 25 years, incomes have grown annually by 4 per cent. Except for musicians. Artists are being paid the same fee for gigs in 2017 that they were paid 25 years ago.
- The annual audience for live music in Melbourne (17.5 million) is nearly triple that for all major sports games in Melbourne combined (6.5 million).
- Musicians cited the main barrier to their music practice is financial viability (47 per cent), while 69 per cent of respondents said that their music earning does not cover the costs of their music practice.
- The main problems affecting holding live music events is due to noise restrictions (67 per cent) and property developments (47 per cent).
Music Victoria CEO Patrick Donovan said they would study the survey results to identify problems and areas of weakness within the music industry that can be targeted – whether it’s artist pay or local government compliance – to improve Australia’s live music capital to become a leading city worldwide.
“While the topline figures of the census reveal a very robust live music scene, it’s not all rosy underneath. We will use the feedback, along with some of the best ideas discovered at the Music Cities Convention, to feed into an industry white paper to present to the political parties ahead of the upcoming state election,” Patrick said.
Project Manager of the 2017 Live Music Census, Dobe Newton said: “‘As we increasingly talk about the creative city, the 24/7 city, the night-time economy […] music is at last receiving the attention it deserves as a vital part of our cultural offering to residents and visitors, as an economic generator and job creator, and central to the social fabric of marvellous Melbourne”.
The results of the survey will be used to lobby investors and decision makers at local and state government level and in the business community to make sure that the city preserves its arts, and confronts the challenges the industry faces.
The full report can be found at musicvictoria.com.au
Announcement supplied. Image credit: Steven Penton via Flickr CC BY 2.0.
