From 2017 to 2019, there was a 48% growth in the economic contribution made by live music across Victoria ($1.72b to $2.55b), where most of the growth was identified at regional Victoria box offices (12% growth a year in regional, compared to 10.5% growth in metropolitan areas).
In 2019 the data in the census reveals that:
When comparing 2019 with 2020-21, it is inevitable that the census data would show large reductions, including:
“The insights from our census provide a great benchmark. This is the first time we have access to whole-of-state data and findings that will help guide the potential and growth trajectory for our live music industry,” said Schinkel.
“Victoria is renowned for its world-famous live music scene. As such, our priority is to secure support, partnerships, resources and investment that enhance and build the Victorian live music sector to make it even better,” said Schinkel.
Looking at 2023, Simone Schinkel, Music Victoria CEO, said the Victorian live music industry is still in unchartered waters.
“It’s no surprise that we are still managing the ripples of the pandemic. We have a three-year back log of events, and significant government investment bolstering us up. We have not yet settled into a new normal, and it’s going to take ongoing long-term strategic planning, commitment and support to reach the full potential, that we were on track to achieving!
Music Victoria is creating solid partnerships for change, including:
Music Victoria also welcomed the Andrew’s Labor government commitments at the recent election, which align strongly with the recommendations in the census. These include:
“Over the last three years, we seen bands broken up, workers leave the industry, fan networks disperse and venues suffer major losses. We must not underestimate the challenges ahead.
However, given the consistent and significant growth in revenue and attendance between 2014 and 2019, there is every reason to suggest that Victoria’s live music sector can be reinvigorated.
Victoria’s live music recovery requires significant commitment and cooperation, which will be guided by the findings in our census. It will inspire action to make Victorian live music even better,” explained Schinkel.
The census data is available at here.
Visit Victoria and Music Victoria have partnered to engage six artists and bands from Phillip Island, Bendigo, the Dandenong Ranges, Geelong and the Bellarine, Daylesford and the Macedon Ranges and the Mornington Peninsula to create unique playlists that reflect their region’s sound.
This running initiative began last year with Evelyn Ida Morris, Tom Richardson, Alice Skye, This Way North, Benny Walker and Harry Hook Is Real. The series celebrates Victoria’s talented musicians and performing arts culture. It is supported by Visit Victoria’s Stay close, go further campaign, encouraging Victorians to turn the music up, hit the road less travelled and explore more of what Melbourne and regional Victoria has to offer.
Meet the makers below:
“Phillip Island is a great place to relax for a few days, go to the beach and on walks... If you head down at low tide you can walk inside and around a little cave that is on the beach. It can look particularly amazing when the sun shines in and creates shafts of light throughout.”
Get to know Dainis & Ambrin from Cool Sounds as they share their favourite spots in Phillip Island.
“This playlist represents a glimpse of the music being created across so-called-Victoria. Before this place was ever a goldfield… before it was Upside-down Country, it was, and always will be, Djaara Dja."
Yorta Yorta winyarr Allara shares her favourite destinations in Bendigo and beyond.
“It’s an inspiring and fascinating insight into the traditional lifestyle of Wurundjeri Ancestors. I loved finding out about some traditional Wurundjeri medicinal uses of plants and berries. I did this walk with my bandmate Nigel, and we learnt so much about the healing history of the forest where we make our music.”
“Bellarine (Bellawiyn) is known as a resting place, I think that is why so much creativity comes out of here. This playlist captures the history and the future of the music community, as well as the memories I have as a younger musician.”
Hollie Joyce shares her favourite spots in Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula.
“There's really old botanical gardens, which open up to the old viaduct. It plays with your eyes because it's like a backdrop from a Charles Dickens book. If you go up and around, you can walk along the dam wall and make it into a beautiful old cemetery.”
Singer-songwriter Jae Laffer shares his favourite spots in Daylesford and the Macedon Ranges.
“This playlist encapsulates some classic Peninsula artists that I would often (and still do) watch and play alongside, along with some of the best up and coming artists from the area. I also added some of my favourite Victorian road trippin' tracks! ”
Get to know musician Aaron Schultz as he shares his favourite spots in the Mornington Peninsula.
The Far East Music Festival will take place on the wilderness coast in the small and remote coastal township of Mallacoota in Victoria on the Easter weekend, April 7-9 2023.This fledgling festival, born out of the ashes of a black summer, brings forth the green shoots of recovery and calls out to the healing spirit within us all.
Project partner and Songlines Music Aboriginal Corporation Co-CEO, Robbie Bundle says:
“The entire human family needs nurturing and music is the channel for that. We are living through challenging times, particularly for young people.Their voices need to be heard. They need to be seen and recognised.The beauty of the natural environment in Far East Gippsland has always been personified by the people who reside there, and how they protect the Country they live in–expressed so eloquently over many years through music, art and culture.”
The Festival will feature touring artists along with local and regional acts and an array of activities and workshops to inspire participation and connection—including the return of the legendary percussion street parade, a retro teams board riders comp, nature-based activities, creative workshops, dedicated wellbeing space, food vans and so much more. To find out how to be part of this unique festival experience, check out the full program.
Far East Music Recovery Steering Group said:‘Music and gathering together is healing. Let the gentleness of healing through connection and the truth this speaks to unite us all.’
The Festival will feature touring artists along with local and regional acts and an array of activities and workshops to inspire participation and connection—including the return of the legendary percussion street parade, a retro teams board riders comp, nature-based activities, creative workshops, dedicated wellbeing space, food vans and so much more. To find out how to be part of this unique festival experience, check out the full program.
Far East Music Recovery Steering Group said:‘Music and gathering together is healing. Let the gentleness of healing through connection and the truth this speaks to unite us all.’
In Mental Health at Music Victoria: The Casual Counsellor, Music Victoria's Mental Health Clinician/Consultant, Bree Chapman-Stewart, unpacks a three-step strategy to help members of the music industry better support the mental health of industry colleagues.
There are some basic steps you can take to support the wellbeing of bandmates, friends and family members, in counselling:
Watch this video to hear from Bree about how to support a band mate, friend or family member with mental health challenges.
Music Victoria offers the Victorian music community FREE and confidential mental health support services with support from the Headway Program funded by the Victorian State Government.
Outside of business hours, you can connect with the Partners in Wellbeing Helpline on 1300 375 330. For urgent support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Many venues, festivals, events, musicians, promoters and agents are aware of the need to make gigs more accessible and inclusive, to ensure we can reach a wider audience and include a wider range of artists. If this is new for you, knowing where to start and how to go about this can be overwhelming. 1 in 5 Australians live with disability, a huge proportion of our population, and there are a whole range of different access barriers and solutions that we need to consider to ensure we build an inclusive music industry.
Being accessible starts online. Access to information is critical for some people to make informed decisions about whether an event is going to be accessible for them to attend.
As part of the Music Venues Project, Music Victoria is providing free training in online accessibility to venues and other music industry stakeholders to show you how to make your digital content, from your website to your social media channels, accessible to everyone in the community.
This masterclass will share tips and tricks on digital accessibility and provide you with information and resources to go away and make immediate improvements to your online presence.
Presented by disabled musician and access consultant Morwenna Collett, this online session was delivered via Zoom in two parts and was open for anyone willing to to attend.
Music Victoria acknowledges the Traditional Owners, the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation, on whose unceded land we advocate, support and celebrate on. We pay our deep respects to Elders past and present, and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and communities. We acknowledge them as the first artists, the first musicians, and the first creators of culture. We deeply respect the role that music and songlines play in the continuation of their culture for the past 60,000+ years.
Applications for Creative Victoria's Live Music Restart Program - Festivals & Events have opened, with funding of between $250,000 and $1,000,000 available to support the delivery of a single live music festival or event (3000 capacity in-person or more) or a series of live music festivals/large scale events, in Victoria.
If you are an experienced event organiser with an established Victorian live music festival or event, hear directly from Creative Victoria as we work through the application process together spelling out requirements and key selection criteria to be addressed.
The Live Music Restart Program - Festivals & Events ('the program') is intended to support the return of large, complex live music festivals and events in Victoria (with a capacity of 3000 or more in-person attendees) delivered by event organisers with a proven track record of delivering these types of events.
The funding round will open 3pm 21 July 2022 and close at 3pm on 18 August 2022.