Plan To Revive Adelaide Music Scene By Glastonbury Booker Released
Following on from Sydney City Council issuing their “groundbreaking” plan to revive its live music scene, a similarly detailed planto revive Adelaide’s live music industry developed by the South Australian Government in association with their ‘Thinker In Residence’ Martin Elbourne, has been released. First hired by the SA Govt last September to look at ways to stimulate the city’s struggling music scene, Elbourne – the booker for Glastonbury festival and a co-founder of Womadelaide – issued his final report on Tuesday. Entitled The Future Of Live Music In South Australia, the report (available in full here) includes 49 recommendations across a range of areas including regulations, audience development, and economic development, which can be used by industry, musicians, and government to create a sustainable cultural scene.
A key recommendation is the call to establish a South Australian Contemporary Music Advisory Council, which would report directly to Premier Jay Weatherill, who applauded the report. “The Live Music residency by Martin Elbourne has brought together and inspired our local music industry. His report will be used to help us strengthen live music across the State. This is about treating music as an industry as well as an artform,” said the SA Premier. Mr Elbourne added, “I look forward to following the progress being made by the South Australian Government in implementation of these recommendations; in particular the establishment of an advisory council to ensure the live music industry in South Australia continues to grow sustainably.” Copies of the report can be downloaded at www.reverb.net.au
ARIA Launches Spotify App
ARIA officially launched its very own Charts app for popular music streaming service Spotify today. Having been touted for more than a year following the introduction of an official ARIA streaming chart, which was launched last December, the new Spotify app features the weekly ARIA Charts for Albums, Singles, and specialty genre charts (such as soundtrack, compilation, Australian, and more), complete with streaming links. The ARIA Charts Spotify results will be updated in conjunction with the weekly release of the ARIA figures. “Essentially the Charts App hosts a series of playlists, that update automatically at 7pm every Saturday night,” says ARIA Communications Manager Luke Woods, adding that it “will provide Spotify users with quick and easy listening access to all of the ARIA Charts each week.” (via The Music Network)
Arts Centre Melbourne Chief Quits Following Budget Blow-Out
Arts Centre Melbourne Chief Excecutive Judith Isherwood has quit her post of four years, departing amidst reports of the arts institution’s financial deficit of approximately $7.2 million. The struggles follow a massive budget blow out in which The Famous Spiegeltent has been axed, while the Arts Centre faces ongoing restructuring and staff retrenchments. In September, Isherwood – who led the government backed reopening of Hamer Hall after its $132m renovation – said the Arts Centre would continue to present its current programming with a “full twelve month program scheduled for the current financial year,” in spite of the budget deficit. Victorian Arts Centre Trust president Tom Harley applauded Isherwood’s tenure, including the government backed reopening of Hamer Hall after its $132m renovation. “On behalf of the Trust, I would like to express the considerable debt of gratitude that Victorians owe to Judith,” Mr Harley said. “Judith has also been responsible for invigorating the centre . . . Arts Centre Melbourne has attracted growing and broader audiences with many people experiencing (its) rich offering for the first time.” The Chief Exectuive’s interim replacement is Jodie Bennett, the Financial Officer and Corporate Services Executive for Arts Centre Melbourne, beginning 20th November. (via The Age)
Venue Wins Lawsuit Against Man They Refused To Let In
An Oxford Street venue has won its court battle against a sports journalist who claimed he was refused entry because of his age and not his drunkenness, as the Palms bar alleged. A tribunal court has found in favour of Palms bar, which denied that it had turned away 62-year-old Sydney newspaper writer Richard Sleeman on the basis of age discrimination. Sleeman says he was “hurt, humiliated and ridiculed” by a bouncer at Palms on the evening of December 23rd, 2011, told he was too drunk to enter the venue and to “go away and sober up somewhere else.” Mr Sleeman had also unsuccessfully sued the nightclub for defamation in the District Court, in which he claims he was not drunk. “I quickly came to the conclusion that I was being excluded because I was too old. I simply didn’t fit into the mix of people in the club, and being told I was too drunk was simply his way of excluding me,” he says of the security guard who denied him entry. The Palms on Oxford tendered statements from older patrons in a bid to prove it had no discrimination against older punters and the tribunal found that the experience of these older venue-goers suggested The Palms bouncer had indeed acted on what he believed to be Mr Sleeman’s intoxication. (via Sydney Morning Herald)
Sunbeam Sound Machine Sign To Dot Dash/Remote Control
Sunbeam Sound Machine are the latest signing to Dot Dash/Remote Control, which will digital release a Double EP on 29th November. The group were formed this year and are the musical banner of 24-year-old Melburnian Nick Sowersby. EP One is the debut release of Sunbeam Sound Machine, written and recorded at Sowersby’s parent’s home in Seaford, described as “a raw-sounding, playful collection of songs” from the singing-multi-instrumentalist, including first single ‘Cosmic Love Affair’ (listen here). The self-titled second EP is more insular, dreamlike and cohesive, recorded at him homes in Fairfield and Collingwood. Live, Sunbeam Sound Machine perform as a five-piece band, and are currently playing a residency at Melbourne’s The Tote every Thursday in November.
Pricewar Music Signs Melbourne Artists Sydonia & Ezekiel Ox
Melbourne’s prog-leaning heavy rock band Sydonia and the powerfully dynamic Ezekiel Ox (current frontman of The Nerve and Over-Reactor and formerly of Mammal and Full Scale) have both signed on with Pricewar Music, a Brisbane-based artist management company. “We couldn’t be happier,” says Sydonia frontman Dana Roskvist of the signing. “We have a second album to put out in early 2014 and we have found Pricewar Music to help us going forward.” Ox also has new material to be released for 2014, focussing on his solo material, “I am over the moon to be working with Pricewar, and look forward to building this facet of my career through 2014 and beyond,” he says. The two new signings join Pricewar Music’s current roster of The Good Ship, The Blackwater Fever, Storm Chasers and Jackson Dunn.
