Despite promises made to Melbourne’s live music scene that its venues would be protected from the threat of residential development and noise complaints through the implementation of the ‘Agent of Change’ principle, the policy is only just beginning to materialise with Victorian Planning Minister Guy set to sign off on a range of legislative reforms.
As The Age reports, the reforms include making changes to planning regulations that will honour the Agent of Change principle, where the onus is placed on property developers and residents new to an area to shoulder the cost of soundproofing rather than making it the responsibility of targeted venues.
James Young, owner and booker of Melbourne’s Cherry Bar, and more recently Yah Yah’s is someone who has been personally affected by the failure of the government to implement the Agent Of Change principle, weighs in on why it can’t come soon enough.
The issue of new residential development threatening existing live music venues is the biggest issue facing music globally today.
With the veritable death of physical CD sales, live music has become the epicentre for artists today. As Paul Kelly said of pubs, “These places are universities for musicians.” This is where artists hopefully get paid, sell their music and merch, and grow their fan bases. This is why, more than ever, we must protect and defend existing live music venues.
And they also make a massive creative, cultural and economic contribution. For the fourth year in a row Melbourne has been voted the World’s Most Liveable City. And figures released this week by Live Performance Australia show that the contemporary music sector generated over $628M in 2013, a 30.3% rise, with Victoria providing 32% of the revenue, 31% of attendance and the biggest per capita spend in Australia. Yes, Melbourne is the Live Music Capital of the Southern Hemisphere.
The thing is, I was in New York recently when I had an epiphany. Although great venues hosted great touring bands in New York, there was no longer the incredible local music scene being supported by that city today. That was a thing of the 70s, 80s and 90s. New York is no longer a genuine caring, fostering, and nurturing music scene for local artists, like Melbourne is. And then it hit me. Melbourne could lose its reputation. Melbourne has to fight to defend its status. This is my fight. This is our fight. Melbourne is not going to lose its title as a Live Music Capital nurturing its local artists. Not on my watch!
“Melbourne is not going to lose its title as a Live Music Capital nurturing its local artists. Not on my watch!”So, to the ‘Agent of Change’ principle. Every person who hears this principle, even those who live in Brighton and walk big dogs, agree that it makes perfect sense. The person who is responsible for changing an environment should be responsible for the consequences. If I move in next to you and open a new live music venue then I should be responsible for soundproofing my venue or your dwelling because I am the ‘agent of change’. Conversely, if you build a new residential development beside my existing live music venue then you should be responsible for any soundproofing costs. Der Fred.
I own and book the Cherry Bar in AC/DC Lane Melbourne and we have operated for 14 years without any noise complaints. Now the 108 Flinders Street residential development has arrived with 12 storeys, 189 apartments and north-facing balconies facing up AC/DC lane, some not twenty metres from the back of my stage, where live music is played 7 nights a week, 52 weeks a year.
As soon as one noise complaint comes in (ONE!!), Cherry will immediately be on the wrong side of the existing law and face the real threat of being closed down. Ridiculously sound measurements are taken from the outside of the dwelling, so there is no question our noise-bleed will breach EPA SepN2 requirements.
This is why Cherry took the pro-active step of getting an expensive professional Acoustic Assessment done of our venue and an associated ‘cost of works’ that will make us compliant. These works involve double-bricking the entire back of our building, double-glazing all of our many unusually shaped windows and creating a sound-proof double-door cube-entrance.
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We hosted a very successful Pledge Music direct-to-fan ‘Save rock n roll, Save Cherry’ campaign and raised our target figure (just under 50% of our sound-proofing costs) in under 24 hours, which was an Australian record. We had to do this because politicians and Council are well meaning, but move like glaciers and the Agent of Change was for far too long just an airy-fairy concept without any legislative teeth to genuinely protect venues.
Victoria’s peak music body Music Victoria gets at least two calls every week from venues petrified of being closed down due to noise complaints. Real help, an Agent of Change embodied in Statute can’t come quickly enough.
Well, after some gentle blow-torching, State Minister for Planning Matthew Guy has jumped to action and his Government are rushing to pass the Agent of Change.
If and when this happens Victoria will be a genuine pace-setter in this country and the world. I can’t think of another state in the world that will have the protection that our existing live music venues will then have.
This fight is not over. Wealthy Developers will oppose this legislation with lawyers, venom and cash. We will have to remain vigilant. We will have to be ready to continue the fight to protect our cherished live music scene.
I’m reminded of a Winston Churchill quote during the Second World War. He was told that the war effort required more government spending and they’d have to cut Arts funding and Churchill responded, “Then what are we fighting for!”
James Young
Owner/Booker
Cherry
Yah Yah’s
