Music Victoria waive membership fees for the entire Victorian music industry
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Music Victoria waive membership fees for the entire Victorian music industry

The voice for the Victorian contemporary music industry has been closely monitoring the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Victorian careers and businesses over the past couple of months. In a campaign spearheaded by Support Act – I Lost My Gig Australia – the results revealed 78,437 gigs were cancelled in Victoria alone, impacting 291,940 people at a cost of $121,112,866.

In working towards supporting both the survival and development of the music community, from musicians to venue bookers to sound engineers and beyond, Music Victoria has come up with an incredibly generous initiative, offering free one-year memberships to anyone that fits under the Victorian music industry umbrella.

“We were looking for a way to support the music industry in addition to our ongoing advocacy that we already do,” explains Laura Imbruglia, Event Producer and Marketing Manager of Music Victoria.

“We understand the hardship faced by the music community at this time so we are offering support to the sector in a way that would provide most value to members – and that’s making our annual membership free.”

Ensuring Victorian music remains at the forefront of the highly competitive industry that dominates the nation, free Music Victoria Memberships will apply to eight of the 11 memberships offered, including under-18s and concession individuals, musicians, sound engineers and producers, and festivals and venues.

There are also memberships for music lovers (non-musicians who are supporters of music), musicians, a ‘Music Industry Professional’ membership that encompasses managers, booking agents, venue bookers, publicists, journalists, radio hosts and more, as well as memberships for small business and non-profit organisations. That’s just the start.

A Music Victoria membership scores you a raft of opportunities specifically catered to the needs of members, including advertising, a range of discounts on everything from Little Red Trucks delivery, health services, studio rehearsals and Professional development and events, to merchandise production, travel, retail and hospitality. You are also given the right at the Music Victoria Annual General Meeting and are eligible to feature in the Members Moments section of the monthly Music Victoria newsletter.

Celebrating their tenth year this year, Music Victoria has achieved a lot of outcomes for the music industry by working closely with the local council and the state and the federal government to grow and build sustainable careers for musicians and industry professionals. Becoming a member will not only benefit the specific interests and needs of its members but also increase the power of the Victorian music community as a whole – including us out in the regional areas – so they can continue to communicate the industries needs and nurture the Victorian live music scene in a time it needs it most.

“Not only does it provide new members with access to discounts and then advocacy, but it also provides us with power as an advocacy body,” Imbruglia says. “The more numbers we have, the stronger we are as a representative body to communicate the needs of the industry to government.

“We’ve got such a world-famous music scene in Victoria and having a strong advocacy body ensures that it stays thriving.”

Alongside the free membership, Music Victoria has also been offering free weekly online workshops (for which members can claim priority access), conducting industry roundtables to connect affected members of the community, and already advocating to get the big issues communicated to the government.

We need a strong Music Victoria now more than ever.

The free one-year memberships will remain free for anyone who signs up before Tuesday June 30. For anyone who signed up to become a member from the beginning of March when the coronavirus hit, they’ll also receive an additional one-year on their membership for free.

You can find out more about the range of memberships on offer at the Music Victoria website and find out more about the benefits here.

Music Victoria does rely on memberships to run the office so if you are in a position where you can donate, you can do so via the website.