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What’s going connected successful those smaller venues fills JC with dread, some arsenic a venue relation and a instrumentality of the section unrecorded euphony scene. While the larger venues person the system of standard to much easy spend necessities, specified arsenic security, JC says helium fears for smaller rooms.
The flow-on effect of that? Up-and-coming bands – similar Powderfinger was successful the 1990s – volition suffer their pathway to success.
The Zoo was (and inactive volition be, for a mates of months astatine least) a captious stepping chromatic betwixt tiny section bars and the larger rooms successful Brisbane – deliberation The Triffid, Princess Theatre and The Tivoli.
It mostly comes down to economics, and changing spending habits arsenic a cleanable tempest of skyrocketing rents, higher involvement rates and myriad different cost-of-living pressures.
Those astir apt to consciousness the squeeze? Live music’s people demographic – young people, mostly successful their 20s, and mostly unencumbered by household commitments.
The Zoo’s owner, Shane Chidgzey, has sympathy for those concert-goers not spending wealth implicit his bar, adjacent if that was the venue’s main root of income.
It’s what helium calls a “post-COVID hangover” – radical are people much cautious nowadays erstwhile it comes to spending money.
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“People privation to person the large experiences due to the fact that they were stuck wrong truthful long, truthful they’re chasing the large artists to spell and spot – and that doesn’t permission a batch near over,” Chidgzey says.
“So you’ve got to take to spell and spot your favourite artists internationally, oregon spell and spot up-and-coming artists. You mightiness person capable wealth to bargain a ticket, but you don’t person capable wealth for thing else.”
Making the section country adjacent much precarious is the mode radical thin to observe euphony successful 2024. What’s happening connected Spotify present isn’t that overmuch antithetic to what’s happening connected Spotify successful different countries.
When I was discovering Powderfinger, I was immersed successful the section euphony ecosystem – the aforesaid ecosystem successful which Bernard, JC and the boys were immersed.
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“I was listening to Triple Z erstwhile I was a teen to observe bands, oregon going to [record stores] Rocking Horse and Skinny’s to perceive to a grounds and bargain it,” Collins says.
“Look, you can’t blasted young people, it’s conscionable a antithetic market. It’s conscionable what it is, and it’s hard to recognize however to seizure it.”
To get a amended knowing of the situation, I spoke with idiosyncratic who thinks astir this worldly for a surviving – Dr Ben Green, a taste sociologist astatine Griffith University.
Green agrees with JC.
“One of the spaces we spot that reflected is successful the Australian charts, which person an historical deficiency of Australian artists successful the apical 50,” helium says.
“We tin look astatine what was thing of a occurrence communicative successful the 1990s, erstwhile you had a nationalist younker broadcaster dispersed crossed the onshore with Triple J, hand-in-hand with the emergence of these all-ages euphony festivals and, of course, you’ve got the TV, you’ve got Recovery [which aired Saturday mornings connected the ABC].”
What a clip that was. And obscurity was the spot of the Australian euphony manufacture connected show arsenic overmuch arsenic successful Brisbane.
“People speech astir the ‘Big Four’ – Powderfinger, Custard, Regurgitator and Screamfeeder,” Green says.
“Well, they came from the section scene, but the mode they turned into nationalist figures was done that media and done those festivals.
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“That is what’s missing now.”
So what tin beryllium done? Last week, Chidgzey suggested a levy connected large planetary acts – a dollar oregon 2 connected apical of the already hefty summons terms – which could beryllium poured into the section scene.
Green says there’s merit successful that approach, on with different regulatory levers governments could pull. An underwritten unrecorded euphony security scheme, for starters (The Zoo’s security measure went from $35,000 to $65,000 successful 2 years), and a euphony venue spot – thing that has had immoderate occurrence successful the UK.
“There are ways of protecting venues due to the fact that we recognise, OK, it’s successful the nationalist involvement that we person these spaces, but arsenic a axenic capitalist venture, they’ve got issues,” helium says.
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“Because they’re a nationalist good, however tin we publically enactment them for the bully of society?”
As for getting section euphony into the ears of young people, Green says it’s clip multinational streaming services pulled their weight.
“Streaming platforms aren’t neutral – they tin beforehand and item definite things, they tin beforehand definite playlists – truthful determination are ways that they could beryllium obliged successful nationalist markets, to person the equivalent of a section contented quota,” helium says.
Certainly worthy a listen.
So, if you can, get to a section gig. Climb up those Zoo stairs for 1 past time, to spot it disconnected successful style. Hell, if you person capable wealth to burn, bargain the joint!
But, arsenic Chidgzey said past week, that exemplary has got to change.
Brisbane City Council worked with the authorities authorities to get the Valley Special Entertainment Precinct disconnected the ground, ostensibly to support the unrecorded euphony country from complaining neighbours (but, successful reality, mostly protecting doof-doof playing megaclubs).
Surely they tin bash it again and find a solution truthful the adjacent Saints, Go-Betweens, Powderfinger, Violent Soho oregon Jungle Giants tin navigate their ain pathway to nationalist and planetary success.
The amusement simply indispensable spell on.
English (US)