Keeping Grassroots Music Venues Open?

There’s been much media attention around the recent proposed adoption of Michael’s Rule. My opinion has been sought upon this emotive subject by several diverse media outlets over the past couple of weeks. Don’t get me wrong, any proposed solution to get the general public’s attention back onto popular music is good. But Micheal’s rule is very limited in scope and is mainly driven by emotion from the death of a well-known music manager. It ignores some fundamental facts and mechanics about making this a ‘real’ law, as Australia has numerous statutory Free Trade Agreements already in place. A Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is an international treaty between two or more economies that reduces or eliminates certain barriers to trade in goods and services, as well as investment. Australia negotiates FTAs to benefit Australian exporters, importers, producers and investors by reducing and eliminating certain barriers to international trade and investment.?Michael's Rule would break these FTAs, plus there’s the fact that no one has discussed the operational mechanics, other than me, on how it would operate in the field. By my calculations there are only approximately only 150 international tours that visit Australia annual. So, all this fuss is about putting Australian bands into 150 support slots; hardly worth the bother.??

Back in my birth country, the UK, they are taking a much more pragmatic approach as their locus is firmly on keeping local, grassroots music venues open. Meanwhile, in Australia, according to the Australasian Performing Right Association,?over 1,300?small and medium sized music venues have closed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, that's roughly a third of the entire sector. If you do the math's that's around 10,400 gigs lost per year. Unless immediate action is taken there will be many more closures. Would it not make more sense for Australian music's peak bodies and media to keep their attention on keeping the small, grassroots music venues open? In January 2024, Music Australia, a new national body to develop and support new contemporary music, was created as part of Labor’s national cultural policy.??APRA AMCOS said the creation of Music Australia was proof the federal government now recognised the sector as a legitimate industry “worthy of investment”.? To put this problem into a worldview this is not only a problem in Australia but also the UK and USA, something that breaking an FTA would not solve. ?

The globalized music industry is booming, ticket sales are at their highest ever, profits are fantastic, and the stock prices of listed music and entertainment companies have never been healthier. So, where’s the problem? In business speak it's all about “pipeline”. In simple terms, a pipeline in business?represents revenue-generating opportunities. In a B2B sales environment, a pipeline captures and shares each opportunity's stage, status, and likelihood as they progress towards a close/sale. Your local grassroots music venue is the research and development laboratory of this pipeline. Without these venues the pipeline will run dry very quickly. Audience tastes are very fickle, and those acts filling the arenas will be back into the small venues within a couple of years, if there are any left open. If I was the CEO/COO/CFO of one of the major music/entertainment, globalized companies my attention would be on strengthening my pipeline and working on building a more robust and secure longterm business to keep the shareholders and investors onboard, as they are also very fickle?creatures only?interested in return on investment (ROI) and not in music per say. That would mean an imperative to keep a certain number of key local music venues permanently open. ?

Back to the UK, where the popular music peak bodies?and?stakeholders are currently ‘manufacturing the consent’ of government and the general public on how to keep grassroots music venues open. One valid initiative?has been?the creation of the Music Venues Trust (MVT). The Music Venue Trust is a UK registered charitable organisation which aims to protect, secure and improve grassroots music venues in the United Kingdom. My ex-boss Sir Paul McCartney has spoken out in support of the MVT, saying that "If we don’t support live music at this level then the future of music in general is in danger". My good musician friend John Robb, MVT CEO Mark Davyd and music venue owner Hannah White make a great case for this strategy on BBC’s Breakfast (link below). Can we please get back to the job in hand and have an unfied strategy to keep local, grassroots music venues open as this is the best way to get eyes on Australian artists and keep this industry alive and kicking. Think locally but act globally is my mantra.

https://youtu.be/3-723R1E9bY?si=8Gwsk17xVB-gRBQY

Please note that I am available for guest lectures, conferences, panels, workshops, broadcasts, record production, mixing projects (live & studio) and I have been known to play the odd DJ set too, just message me and I will get straight back to you.?#DKHQ