Labor has an ambitious plan to increase the number of performance venues in NSW in just four years, and as part of that plan, they will invest $100 million to improve the state’s struggling live music sector.
According to the opposition, only 133 live music venues are listed as having registered for fee discounts in Liquor and Gambling NSW data.
If elected the next month, Labor has promised to enact several direct planning legislation reforms to increase business hours, reduce licensing costs, and protect music venues from noise complaints.
Additionally, it would establish Sound NSW, a brand-new government agency inside Create NSW that would be modelled like Screen NSW and tasked with developing and implementing a 10-year contemporary music strategy consistent with that of other states.
On Wednesday at Sydney’s Lansdowne Hotel, opposition leader Chris Minns will announce the proposal and promise to stop the erosion in live music venues that have occurred during a decade of lockout legislation and epidemic lockdowns.
John Graham, a spokesman for Labor’s arts and nightlife policy, claimed that the “unique strategy” represented a return to an activist government that seeks to protect and establish cultural places.
The Herald quoted Graham as saying that it is “appalling” that fewer than 300 locations exist in NSW. “Most of the industry is headquartered here, but for them to succeed, we need to support our grassroots venues, festivals, and performers.”
The $103 million guarantee eclipses the $34 million Victorian Labor pledged before the state election last year and surpassed the $70 million earmarked to Music in the federal government’s most recent national culture strategy.
According to a 2017 census, Greater Melbourne has 553 venues, more per person than any other city, supporting the Victorian government’s assertion that Melbourne is the world’s live music centre.
The policy demands made public on Monday by organizations representing the music business, including ARIA, APRA AMCOS, MusicNSW, Vibe Lab, the Australian Festival Association, and Live Performance Australia, closely mirror the Labor plan.
Vote Music, a policy document, said that over the past ten years, persistent regulatory challenges had made running a live music venue in New South Wales challenging and that “Sydney’s reputation as a music city was degraded locally and internationally.”
Instead of having a single set of regulations for the entire local government area, Labor is pledging a cultural State Environmental Planning Policy that would provide councils more freedom to approve longer trading hours, outdoor performance rights, and noise exemptions for music venues.
Under the budget, $8 million will go toward a “Vivid Venues” fund, covering half of the venue renovations, including soundproofing, ventilation, and video screen technology.
According to Labor, it would streamline the process of resolving noise complaints by reducing the number of agencies involved, integrating liquor and planning clearances to make the venue launch process more straightforward, and providing floor area and density bonuses for projects incorporating new music venues.
As at Melbourne’s Sidney Myer Music Bowl, which has 2000 seats, it would also finance a business case for permanent outdoor festival and concert facilities in central Sydney, Parramatta, and the west.
Crowbar, a punk and metal venue in Leichhardt, is run by Tyla Dombroski and Trad Nathan. They perform four to five acts per week, but they need help with a number of issues, including isolation, red tape, and noise complaints, according to Labor.
Despite her belief that Norton Street is starting to recover, Dombroski remarked, “We feel pretty alone among a strip of closed-down shops and enterprises.”
Dombroski claims that she is also dealing with noise concerns from a neighbour and that, if co-funding were available, she would soundproof the roof of the bar’s kitchen.
Except for the 3.30am final drink rule, the Coalition government repealed almost all of the lockout regulations for Kings Cross and the CBD and invested millions in COVID-19 recovery for the leisure and hospitality sectors. There is some evidence that after COVID, more people are going to Sydney’s Downtown at night.
But, Labor claims that other government initiatives to boost the nighttime economy have failed, with only three live music establishments taking advantage of their additional hour of trading and one particular entertainment precinct being put on trial. The opposition has committed to increasing the 24-Hour Economic Commissioner’s authority to accelerate these provisions.
