Having recently help change legislation around all-age and under-age gigs, launched the Melbourne Music City App and advocated and welcomed the introduction of the Agent of Change principle to protect venues from noise complaints, Music Victoria are easily one of the big names in advocating the safety of music venues and musicians in the state. We had a chat to the team about how you can help, their biggest achievement and regional music.
Hi guys, thanks for taking the time to chat with Forte, how are you and what are you up to at the moment?
Thanks for having us! We’ve been pretty busy. Paddy and I have been working non-stop on this membership drive, and Nick has been working on a Live Music regional audit.
For those who aren’t familiar with Music Victoria, what is the goal, the ethos if you will, of what you stand for and what you do?
We’re a not for profit, independent body who are the voice of the contemporary music industry. We represent venues and artists mostly but have a say in a few things that are industry wide.
Our main projects are our monthly series of professional development workshops, The Age Music Victoria Awards, our advocacy work and our work with regional Victoria to develop the regional live touring scene.
Advocacy is a big part of what MV do, what has been a recent triumph for the music industry that you’ve been a part of?
Patrick represents the music industry on a number of government committees and advisory panels, some of the recent outcomes of this advocacy work include $250,000 in attenuation grants for a handful of venues and rehearsal studios in Melbourne, an exemption on the late night liquor licensing freeze for small venues and a commitment from the liquor licensing minister that lock outs would not return to Victoria.
Music Victoria represents the music industries interests at all levels of government, from tourism Victoria to councils all around the state and the state and federal government.
By getting involved with Music Victoria and becoming a member, are they then able to advocate alongside MV for these causes?
Definitely! The bigger our membership is, the stronger our voice! Plus when you join up you get access to a bunch of killer discounts and benefits which we’ll tell you about in more detail.
Something that’s shaken the music industry are the recent lockout laws, and we saw Patrick recently shared his view, what do you think is the solution?
Patrick says the solution is quite simple, we did it in Vic:
1. Gather statistics around the contribution of live music to the state.
2. Lobby the government to insert an object into the liquor licensing act recognising the positive contribution of live music.
3. Persuade the government to set up a live music round table to monitor ongoing issues.
4. Have a music industry representative on any committee that advises the government about alcohol harm mineralisation
With the New Year well on the way we saw there’s been a push for membership with Music Victoria, what does that include?
When you sign up to Music Vic, not only are you helping support our day to day operations and advocacy work, but you also get access to a HUGE range of discounts from heaps of Victorian and national businesses.
These include discounts at record stores, on merch production, on travel, free excess baggage for domestic flights with Virgin Australia and QANTAS and so many more.
We’ve also gained eight new discounts for members this year in preparation for the drive:
– Beat Magazine discounts on advertising rates
– Tone Deaf 10% off advertising rates
– Sensaphonics 10% off musician’s earplugs
– Too Far Gone screen printing 10% orders on Gilden shirt orders > 50
– Greville Records discount
– Polyester Records 10% discount with cash, 5% with card payments (excludes gift vouchers + tickets)
– Spotted Mallard 10% off food + drinks, 10% off band bookings + free wifi for band meetings
– St Jerome’s – The Hotel 10% off your stay
Here at Forte, we’re always about helping out local musicians. What can Music Victoria offer/what do they do for emerging local musos?
Along with our discounts we also act as a resource base, so if you have any questions you can check out our website, musicvictoria.com.au, for a bunch of info, or give us a call.
For example, if you want to know which grants are available right now for recording an album, give us a call, or check out the news page on our website. If you want a list of Victorian venues, check out our website or download our “Melbourne Music City” app, there’s also a news feed, and resources link so you have everything on hand on your phone.
Music Victoria also put on a number of panels and events, how important are these events to those in the music industry?
Our monthly series professional development workshops have been going super well. We endeavour to host about half in regional Vic per year and the topics range from “How to get started in the music industry” to “Hearing Health” to “Tax Time” so there’s plenty to learn with expert panellists within the scene.
We also run The Age Music Victoria Awards, celebrating local musos and recognising their amazing music. This is an annual event, but the categories include 11 specific genres to ensure everyone is getting some love.
Recently MV did a survey on music in regional Victoria, have the results been announced? What are your thoughts on the music industry in the regional areas?
The survey was part of a larger project we’re working on for Creative Victoria which is due later this month, however it’s clear that there are plenty of great opportunities and some amazing venues and festivals for original live music in regional Victoria.
While we’re talking about regional music, are there any bands or venues in Victoria you’re expecting to do big things?
Aus Music Festival – Warrnambool last October showcased some amazing regional talent and we loved the sets by Leah Senior, Georgia Spain and Raised by Eagles.
Thanks for taking the time to chat with us, is there anything else you’d like to add before we finish up?
We’re pretty excited about getting along to Golden Plains this weekend. We’ve also got a huge Victorian music playlist on Spotify so check it out and see you in the mosh pit.
For more information on joining, hit up www.musicvictoria.com.au and help them fight the good fight for Victorian music.
