GET AROUND OUR VENUES
The live music scene in the NT is a robust one, as our musos work hard to get their original tunes out there. But where would they be without a stage to perform?
WORDS TIERNEY WHITE
OUR LIVE MUSIC scene wouldn’t exist without the venues that allow our musicians to take the stage, and sadly, the situation isn’t great, as venues are continually impacted by rising overheads, and still feel the impacts of the pandemic.
Darwin Railway Club is an iconic live music institution in the Top End, attracting acts from afar and giving locals the chance to cut their teeth in front of supportive audiences. Rails Manager Anna Stewart says they’re feeling the pinch, and trying to strike a balance between overhead bills whilst keeping things affordable for punters.
“Insurance, electricity, gas, water … It’s got so much worse since [the companies] put all the prices up after COVID, and nothing’s really gone down,” she says.
“But if we put up the price of beer, people won’t come in to drink it because it’s too expensive … Maybe the government can step in and change taxes, like tax on beer, because that was going up each year which makes your profit margins change.”
The disparity isn’t just felt locally in the NT, but around Australia overall. Luckily, there are legends like the Australian Live Music Business Council (ALMBC) that go in to bat for the Aussie live music sector, with a huge win to keep federally-funded opportunities within Australia.
The federal government’s Office of the Arts funding mechanism, Revive Live, used to be open for internationally-owned businesses. Festivals like Splendour in the Grass and Groovin' the Moo – both owned internationally and both ending up cancelled – received tens of millions of dollars through those grants, and the money didn't come back to the government or to the community. It was lost.
Ant McKenna is ALMBC’s Executive General Manager, and says they advocated strongly for internationally-owned organisations to be excluded from Revive Live. They were successful, with encouraging flow-on effects.
“In the next round, we saw about 40 per cent of regional and remote venues and festivals get more than they did previously. What that's meant, for venues like Bustard Town in Darwin, it’s gained access to that funding, and those venues wouldn’t have got that money if those internationals were still in the mix,” he says.
“Speaking with the local crew [at Bustard Town], the small amount of money they've got has just made a massive difference in terms of the confidence to take a risk on a bigger act, which then builds the whole ecology. It gives confidence to everyone in the local industry. It gets more people interested in coming out to gigs. It gives opportunities for local support acts.”
LMBC also pushes for live music venues to pay less in alcohol tax, continues to advocate for government funding opportunities to stay within Australia, gives voices and opportunities to venues and festivals in regional areas, and highlights the impact our music industry has on the economy on the whole. Which, by the way, is darn significant.
In the meantime, let’s get behind our venues to help keep the lights on, by popping in for a beer, a feed, or signing up as social members.
“Relax in our beer garden, have a game of pool, and enjoy a beer. It doesn’t have to be on a gig night. Or grab a beer or a feed from any of the other venues in Darwin,” Stewart says.
“All the venues in Darwin are important – the bands can’t just play in the one venue – they’ve got to be able to pop around and play at other places and access new audiences. And for the kids to be able to go to different places. Those things are really important.
INFO almbc.org.au
