Local council offers live music industry much-needed safety net - ArtsHub

There is no doubt that lockdown will be a different kind of hell without music and entertainment, but the industry has been one of the hardest hit by COVID-19. The Port Phillip Council is offering support through funding programs that aim to keep the live music industry afloat.

The initiative is a heart-warming example of what it means to pay it forward, funded by savings of $1.7 million from the cancelled 2021 St Kilda Festival. 

An aspect of the Council’s Live Music Action Plan (LMAP) launched Monday (23 August) is Please Don’t Stop the Music which offers $5,000 per week to local live music venues and promoters who must cancel gigs due to lockdown up till 31 December 2021.

Launching alongside the scheme is a Locals Playing Locals database featuring musicians whom the Council will pay a standard rate of $250 per musician as artist fees to eligible venues for performances – local Port Phillip musicians of all performing levels and genres are encouraged to register.

Read: First round opens for $20M Live Music fund

With no live performance insurance yet available in Australia, Mayor Louise Crawford told ArtsHub: ‘It’s a small kind of complimentary measure but we’re really excited to try and help encourage venues to program live music, and that money will also go to the musicians and the crews.’

‘I think people are prepared to go out to support and participate in our fun live music events … But it’s harder for the venues to take a chance every time [with lockdowns] – that’s when the support kicks in,’ Crawford explained.

Alongside the emotional fatigue of facing disappointment, lockdowns are hitting hard financially for local musicians where the need for external assistance has become absolutely necessary. 

Pat Pierce from local indie-folk band Pierce Brothers said: ‘Live music is the voice of this town and it’s important for people to be able to start seeing the live talent when they can. The Council’s LMAP will help venues and musos by providing some certainty and support.’

St Kilda MEMO Music Hall co-owner Simon Myers adds: ‘Council’s financial support sends a clear message to artists that they are valued and will definitely assist in maintaining confidence in booking music in venues. Consistently rescheduling shows, without knowing whether they will actually go ahead, has a financial cost – and also can cost the audience’s confidence.’

Applications for Please Don’t Stop the Music opens next Thursday 2 September and Port Phillip musicians are encouraged to register for the Locals Playing Locals database.

Celina Lei is an Arts Writer at ArtsHub. She recently acquired her masters in Art, Law and Business in New York with a B.A. in Art History and Philosophy from the University of Melbourne. She has previously worked across global art hubs in Beijing, Hong Kong and New York in both the commercial art sector and art criticism. Prior to joining ArtsHub, she was an editorial assistant at the Hong Kong based ArtAsiaPacific magazine and is an art host on independent Instagram platform Club Ambroise. Celina is based in Naarm/Melbourne, Victoria. Instagram: lleizy_

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Local council offers live music industry much-needed safety net - ArtsHub
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