The benefits of council-funded festivals have been criticised as being aimless, not spiking any interest from other states, and worse, of exploiting musicians, venues, labels and promoters.
These controversial points have been voiced by Nate Nott, co-owner of Melbourne’s iconic Polyester Records, in an open letter penned for The Lifted Brow.
Nott’s interest arrives as the Leaps & Bounds Festival (funded by The City of Yarra Council) drew to a close this past July, while the buzz begins for November’s Melbourne Music Week (funded by the City Of Melbourne).
The letter instantly sees ill with the status-quo of both council-funded festivals, Nott stating “the cynic inside me considers that maybe councils are misspending arts funds – that they aren’t at all in touch with what local musicians actually need.” “…The bands, the record labels, the promoters and the venues who at the end of the festival go home, as always, with little more than taxi fare in their pockets.”
Setting the context, he explains each festival’s budget, “Leaps & Bounds has a budget of around $147,500, and Melbourne Music Week’s is $944,510.”
“In lieu of money, promises are made to these music scene workers: that being under the banner of the festival will help with the exposure of any event they are involved in, and therefore theoretically boost ticket sales, and therefore theoretically lead to profit for them, or at least no loss.”
In accordance to Nott, this is not the case, and little to no monetary benefit fall into the hands of those within Melbourne’s music industry.
He writes, “it is the bands, the record labels, the promoters and the venues whose identities are being exploited. It is the bands, the record labels, the promoters and the venues that are taking large financial risks – much as they do every other time they put on a gig. And it is the bands, the record labels, the promoters and the venues who at the end of the festival go home, as always, with little more than taxi fare in their pockets.”
“…At this early point in their existences, they need to make sure they support and not exploit the local music community.”So, if local artists and venues aren’t taking the bulk of the bacon home from these successful festivals, who is?
Nott believes the councils and government are pocketing the vast majority of these economic gains, “they stand up proud and proclaim loud and wide that they support the arts – and, in a sense, they do. But in a real economic sense, it is they who see the financial benefits flow into their municipalities, and thus it is they who get to keep collecting their regular and ample salaries.”
If this is the case, what can be done?
Nott woefully continues, “the difficult task that now sits before both the City of Melbourne and City Of Yarra councils is this: they need to sell—annually and also long-term—the Leaps & Bounds Festival and Melbourne Music Week, both inner city week-long music festivals, to a city that pretty much already had a music festival occurring every week of the year.” Sharply quipping, “still, maybe it could work, if done intelligently and with decency.”
Whether you agree with the accusations or feel they may be a little far-fetched, there’s no question that this letter is at the very least thought provoking.
The letter closes with hope, “it’s hugely important that these two festivals and any others are recognised not as just additional middling music festivals, but as stimulating jamborees in which every band, record label, promoter and venue wants to be associated with and take part in. And while they work at achieving this, at this early point in their existences, they need to make sure they support and not exploit the local music community.”
Read Nate Nott’s full open letter over at the The Lifted Brow.
(Photo: Chapterfest 21 for Melbourne Music Week 2013. Source: Facebook)
