Live music is at the crux of a successful music industry, and thanks to the legends over at Music Victoria, a vibrant program has been created to help foster and maintain a sustainable live music sector.
The program, Live Music Professionals, is ultimately geared towards strengthening Victoria’s diverse and vibrant music communities and support the people responsible for bringing live music into Victoria’s live music venues and festivals, including independent promoters, venue owners, venue managers, and band bookers.
Returning for its third year this year, Music Victoria called for applications for the free professional business development program back in April, dividing the program into two streams.
The venue stream was open to those involved in a venue that supports live original music; while the independent promoter stream pertains to those putting on regular events without exclusive ties to a venue. A panel of industry experts then spent the last month deciding on the lucky participants, and future key players in the music industry.
In exciting news for our local region, Luke Hindson from the much-loved Torquay Hotel was named one of the 20 successful applicants for the 2019 Live Music Professionals program from the venue stream.
The professional business development program will see Hindson matched with some of Victoria’s most skilled and experienced music industry professionals and treated to one-on-one coaching sessions, as well as specialised workshops, masterclasses, conferences, and networking opportunities, with the aim to build stronger live music businesses throughout Victoria.
“I’m the venue booker at the Torquay Hotel, and I’ve done that for about two years now,” Luke explains. “I’m not particularly experienced in booking, and so when this opportunity came up, I applied straight away.
“I’m really lucky, and very grateful naturally. I’m just surprised at how good it is; it’s great to be surrounded by people like me and those I admire in the industry, and I think it’ll pay off in spades, in lots of ways. It’s already begun to do that actually.”
To date, 85% of participants in the Live Music Professionals program have reported new business opportunities as a direct result of being involved in the program, with the majority of the participants also reporting that the program identified and helped them to overcome their weaknesses identified through SWOT analysis; increased their music industry networks and gave them a boost to run their businesses more effectively, in turn leading to a growth of their business. Whilst many also reported an increase in ticket sales.
While Luke’s experience extends to being a recording artist and a touring musician, he’s already done a stellar job over the last year, turning the hotel into a serious music hub with their ‘Summer Series’ last year and their equally epic ‘Surf Series’ this year, which saw the iconic regional music venue host a specially curated season of incredible Australian music.
In just a year the venue has brought the likes of Sunny Coasts’ pub-punk trio The Chats, legendary Australian rock-royalty The Living End, Warrnambool’s Didirri, party starters Confidence Man, Melbourne’s Slowly Slowly, Sydney’s The Beautiful Girls, Kim Churchill, Fremantle foursome San Cisco, Ziggy Alberts, Melbourne’s Gretta Ray, thrash rockers DZ Deathrays, Sydney’s raw-power Ruby Fields and electronic purveyors Boo Seeka.
“That was a lot of hard work,” Luke admits. “We didn’t have the reputation for putting things on like that so people were very reluctant to send their best acts down. But that was a big win for us, and this year’s booking has been the same, if not bigger.”
He’s not wrong either, with Aussie art-rockers Tropical Fuck Storm, alternative-rock duo Holy Holy, and indie pop queen Montaigne already locked in to take to the stage in the coming months.
If you were lucky enough to check out any of their sold-out gigs last summer, you’d have noticed that at each show the team had selected a local artist to support each act, which is something that Luke describes as a core value to them.
“We’re really proud of our region,” Luke beams. “One of the big reasons we decided to do this is that coming from a band myself, we really believe in fostering a culture of live music for younger bands. So with all our contracts, we add that we can choose and pay a local act to play the gig, giving them the opportunity to play on the big stage with some of their favourite artists.
“People think we’re crazy, but I think it’s really important, and hopefully, this will be a stepping stone for a lot of acts,” Luke says, nodding to the quality musical acts we’ve got access to right on our coastal doorstep.
With plans to make the Torquay Hotel a premier music destination for local, national and international artists, this development program will only take Luke and his vision to new heights, connecting him with fellow, like-minded participants while also building his own industry connections and skills thus creating a more sustainable business, that in turn, will surely have a positive impact on regional live music in general.
And it’s already looking good! Earlier this month program winners were invited to a conference with guest speakers from Love Police Touring, Falls Festival, the Australian Festivals Association and more, which Luke says is already creating new opportunities for the hotel.
“I don’t want to say too much, but because of a meeting at this conference, we’re looking at bringing our first major international artist down for the summer, and that’s a really big milestone for us,” he shares. “People don’t want to risk their reputation bringing a big act down to an unknown venue. But once you get one, it’s easier to get more and that’s where we want to be.”
Keep your eyes on The Torquay Hotel regional music lovers, we’re predicting big things in the coming months! Keep your eyes on their Facebook for more news.
For more information on the Live Music Professionals program visit www.musicvictoria.com.au/livemusicprofessionals
