City of Melbourne Outlines Three-Year Music Strategy

The City of Melbourne has revealed a bold three-year strategy to build on the $1billion music industry.

Chair of the Arts, Culture and Heritage portfolio Councillor Rohan Leppert has tabled the Melbourne Music Plan 2018-2021.

The plan is designed to create:

· A comprehensive heritage study of Melbourne’s music venues,
· Ensure Melbourne Music Week remain a unique Melbourne event supporting local musicians,
· Growing Melbourne’s music startups, musicians and innovative businesses,
· Expanding support for local grassroots artists, buskers, Aboriginal artists and musicians,
· Strengthening Melbourne’s international profile and music tourism.

Melbourne has the highest concentration of live music venues per capita in the world. “Our small venues are the life-blood of Melbourne’s local live-music scene while our major entertainment venues attract some of the biggest names in the music world,” Cr Leppert said.

The City of Melbourne will work to ensure that musicians and the music industry will be in a leadership position for when Melbourne becomes Australia’s largest city by around 2030.

The role of the city will be to engage government and industry partner keeping Melbourne a “prosperous, creative and well connected global city”.

The four main areas of focus will be:

1. Industry development and diversity
2. Innovation and technology
3. Visitor economy and international profile
4. Regulation, urban growth and infrastructure

As definition of the term ‘music industry’ it is defined by council as “emerging and established musicians, ensembles, groups, venue operators, promoters, managers, peak bodies, recording studios, journalists, bloggers, commercial and community broadcasters, professional arts companies, production and equipment providers, music educators and universities”.

The City of Melbourne will recognise music as a career and as such has introduced a “fair pay for musicians” initiative starting with its own hiring of musicians for public performances like the Library at the Dock program, now in its third season.

The City will also support technology companies and connect music and technology for the purpose of driving innovation globally in the city.

Melbourne will continue to promote its wealth of live music events as a tourism attraction and promote Melbourne as a music education city.