Shannon O'Neill

Imogen is a producer at FBi. I support this letter and will be adding my name to it. Please email her to add yours if you agree.

HI GUYS
As you may or may not know, the NSW Government is rewriting the Liquor Act and there are proposed changes which mean good news for Live Music in NSW.
This is a letter I have written as a submission to the Department of Gaming And Racing – submissions in support of these changes close this Friday, so I’m keen to get as many people to sign it and SEND IT BACK TO ME – so that I can submit the one document with everyone on it.
Please put your name and job title (or whatever role you think most appropriate when it comes to live music – supporter/punter is just as important as musician!)

SEND THIS ON TO ANYONE WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED AND PLEASE RETURN TO ME BEFORE CLOSE OF BUSINESS ON FRIDAY.

Cheers
Imogen
isemmler at bigpond.net.au

We are writing in support of changes to the Liquor Act outlined in the current draft which will benefit the support and prosperity of live music in NSW. Live music in all forms provides the backbone to our developing cultural identity. Music is the lifeblood of so many people’s lives, and the lack of live music and venues particularly in Sydney is a really depressing situation for music lovers and musicians across NSW. As a group we represent a diverse community of musicians, music lovers and music supporters across Sydney.

Compare Sydney to Melbourne where there are more live music venues and where there is a clear cultural commitment to live music from councils, communities and government bodies. People from Melbourne are proud of their live music culture. That pride in Sydney belongs to a relatively small community who support existing venues. So much of Sydney’s artistic culture exists hidden away in warehouses and ‘illegal’ venues where a desire for live music and entertainment exists, but where the infrastructure to support them does not. Where is the Government support for the creative people who can’t afford to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a Licence but who have the ability and the know how to create a live music culture in NSW? In Melbourne it takes a relatively small amount of money to open a venue where the service of alcohol is ancillary to the main purpose of business which, culturally speaking is musical/artistic performance. Please, make it easier for the music community in Sydney and NSW to prosper by supporting laws which make putting on live music simple and straightforward. We want to live in a city that is proud of its musical culture, which supports venues in communities, which has its own live music precincts where venues are protected, and where opening a venue for the purpose of live entertainment is a cheaper and less complex option than under current law.

1. Amendments to noise complaints process:
We support changes which take into considerations a venue’s ‘first rights’ in the noise complaints process. So many venues in Sydney have closed due to complaints from residents who HAVE MOVED TO THE AREA knowing there is a live music venue nearby. Live music particularly thrives in inner-city areas. These areas are also the home of a growing number of residents who move there to be close to the city and then complain about the noise. If these residents continue to complain and close down venues, where will our live music go? This law is the ONLY protection that venues have in this sort of situation.

2. Restaurant Licences:
We also support the new On-Premises Licence which has the potential to support live music, a ‘purpose of business’ which is ancillary to the sale of alcohol. For acoustic music and jazz in particular, this sort of Licence would bring live music to people of all ages in all sorts of communities. It would also provide musicians with more work opportunities.

3. We also support the Special Events Licence and the All-Ages Licence. Both will bring all sorts of music to all sorts of lives, and will also help musicians to reach a wider audience with greater work opportunities. The success of music festivals in NSW is a good example of how people flock to events which support live music: the Blues and Roots Festival and Splendour in the Grass Festival in Byron Bay; the Big Day Out; the LOUD Festival in Newcastle; Homebake Festival and last year’s Cockatoo Island Festival are just a few. There is a huge community of music lovers of all ages in NSW. They need more community events and more under-age events. They deserve it.

These changes are so positive and exciting that we wholeheartedly support them. This is just the beginning of changes to live music regulation which will help foster and develop a pride and awareness of the value of artistic culture in NSW.

The next step is to make obtaining Entertainment Licences easier for venues owners. There are combined Liquor/Entertainment licences in other States which should serve as a model for NSW. Currently venues in NSW have to approach local councils for a Place of Public Entertainment Authority, pay huge administrative costs and compile a negative impact statement from the local community. In NSW, poker machines, televisions and amplified background music are all exempt from Entertainment Licences, but an acoustic guitar in a venue requires this rigorous and expensive process. These laws are inconsistent and need addressing.

Please make life easier for people who want to put on live music in NSW. The industry, the audience and the musicians are ready and waiting. All that is stopping them are complex procedures and huge expenses involved in bringing entertainment to venues.

The fact that these changes are proposed obviously means that the State Government is committed to fostering creative culture in NSW. Please put your trust in the hands of those who are willing and able to create a music culture to be proud of. Live music has enriched all of our lives and now is the opportunity to make it accessible to as many people as possible.

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