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A small but purposeful crowd of 25 people attended last Saturday’s
AIR POCKET event, with visitors from Brisbane and Melbourne
speaking about Licensing, Legal issues, Publishing, and more.
Showcases from Resonate, Josie Cubis, Bamboo and Adrian Herd
were highlights and the showcase artists received free memberships
to CARMA, Q Music and AIR (all worth hundreds of dollars). The
Department of State Development also provided two vouchers to
business development workshops.
The forum on “What the Sunshine Coast Music Industry Needs
Right Now” was a dynamic session. The panel members were
Stu Waters (AIR), Stephen Foster (Q Music / Big Sound), Dan
Lyons (Joe's Waterhole), David Dean (Hostile Entertainment),
Eloise Brock (Sunshine Coast TAFE) and Claire Polanski (Tsunami).
Stu introduced AIR and then introduced the panel, with introducing
themselves and offering their opinions on the positives and
negatives of the current situation on the coast. These included:
POSITIVES |
NEGATIVES |
Brilliant Musicians |
Not enough people
coming to gigs |
Good venues and
venue operators |
Bands not supporting
bands |
Venues that support
local music |
Lethargic |
Amazing amount
of talent |
Councils –
three non-unified councils |
CARMA as an organisation |
Spread out geographically |
CARMA emails |
Not appealing
to drive out to shows |
Pub buses servicing
local areas – Cooroy, Buderim, Palmwoods, Woombye |
Driving distances |
Cheap local gigs |
University not
offering music |
ABC radio is
very supportive |
On the surface
the music industry doesn’t appear to be happening
at all |
Hot 91 is very
supportive |
Lack of exposure
in the mainstream culture / media |
Tsunami weekly
E newslette |
Communication
hurdles |
We have a listening
audience |
Need a regular
CARMA column in Tsunami |
Designated driver
benefits at some pubs |
No regular CARMA
newsletter / e-news |
Information is
available and there are options for support
- CARMA website
- AIR website
- Q Music website
- Christie Eliezer – themusic.com.au
- Industry Connected – Entertainment Media |
Tyranny of distance |
RADF grants through
local councils |
Venues need 70
seater buses! |
Perigean Originals |
Misbehaviour
at some venues has caused problems putting live music
in |
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Culture of free
covers funded by poker machines |
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People don’t
like paying to see music – anywhere in Australia |
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Too many middle
men between local venues and major artists (2 levels
of agents, etc) |
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Venue operators
can’t afford large guarantees |
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Some shows have
failed in the past and bigger agents / promoters are
wary of taking risks |
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Not 100% consistency
for touring acts |
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Some acts with
Triple J support, etc, still wont pull crowds on the
coast |
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Venues are transient
– opening and closing all the time, making it
hard for established agents to create solid partnerships |
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Need honesty
by promoters – say no to shows if they’re
not going to work |
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Brisbane &
Gold Coast always get booked first and so venues only
have Thursday or Sunday to choose from for major acts,
with the agent asking a large guarantee and the venue
knowing that crowds will be lower on Thursday and Sunday
nights – not commercially viable |
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Biggest venue
is 1300, limiting potential bigger shows |
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Liquor licensing
is a nightmare – eg decibel limits set below clapping
level & just above talking level |
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CARMA too focussed
on youth / under 25 |
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Not many studios
on the coast and mostly demo studios |
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Not many rehearsal
spaces |
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People will not
travel – local mindset |
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Artists find
it hard to get out there and network |
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CARMA’s
email was over quota |
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Short timeline
in promoting this event - ate sending out of information
about this event – one panel member only found
out Tuesday afternoon |
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AIR & Q Music
just aren’t hitting the area effectively |
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AIR has only
five members on the sun coast |
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People on the
sun coast looking for a sea change – not going
to ramp it up and get more busy |
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Difficult to
get people enthusiastic |
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Difficult to
get people to work together |
As well as outlining the current position of the coast’s
scene, lots of ideas were shared by panel members and the audience.
These included:
Support your own industry
Support musicians who are already working
Support our own venues
Create a music community in the local venues
Support one another
CARMA – more effective and consistent email list and news
CARMA go to where the musicians are and give them information
CARMA is very important but only as powerful as its members
CARMA is gaining clarity of vision and should try to do less
but do it better
Priority – informing people in a consistent manner
Engage local highly skilled workers to run workshops
Stronger myspace / online connections
Artists can take the initiative to change
Suncoast has the potential to be a great art scene
The scene will die if everyone is out for their own benefit
only
Legislation issue threatened venues in fortitude valley –
this was when the Brisbane music scene really cam together.
We could find an issue to band together on here
People don’t mind travelling for big acts / big events
– lets give them a reason to travel from one end of the
coast to the other
Engage with Q Music regarding the liquor licensing issues
Many thanks to Lake Kawana Community Centre and to all involved
- especially to Brett Gadenne for the 8am set up and to Eloise
Brock, Dave Dean, Dan Lyons and Claire Polanski for staying
for the big pack up!
If you missed out on this event, it was your loss. We will let
people know about these kind of activities earlier, but it is
also up to you to get there to make them worthwhile…
Cheers,
THE CARMACREW
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EXPLODE and The Sunshine Coast Music Industry Awards needs people
who are keen to volunteer and become part of this great Sunshine
Coast Music Industry Event.
Each volunteer will receive a C.A.R.M.A t-shirt and free
C.A.R.M.A membership
If possible, we would like you to attend at least one of the
following volunteer meetings:
Volunteers artSynC Building crn Howard and William St Nambour
Friday 18th th 3.30pm
Friday 25th 5.30pm
Volunteer positions are broken into sections, check out what
you would like to do and email your contact details to Kim
at info@carmacrew.com
Art Curator
Duties: Coordinate artwork submissions and assisting in the
hanging of all artwork.
Sound, Lighting and AV Assistants x 6 volunteers
Duties: Assist sound, lighting and AV technicians with set
up, operation and pull down of sound, lighting and AV equipment.
Stage Managers Assistants x 3 volunteers
Duties: Talk with sound and lighting technicians to determine
requirements for performance. Prepare for performances and
obtain all necessary resources, such as props and settings
if necessary. Manage performers and physical spaces e.g. give
cues for performers and make sure production is on time and
resources are stored safely.
Site management x 2 volunteers
Duties: Liaise with Event Manager and assist site holders
upon arrival and direct them to their site. Deal with any
problems that may arise.
C.A.R.M.A Information and Communication Centre x
4 volunteers
Duties: Provide Information and solutions throughout the event
e.g. direct enquires to appropriate person. Provide information
about CARMA, show the website, sell t-shirts, sign up new
members and manage survey sheets.
Forum x 2 volunteers
Duties: Set up forum and liase with panel upon arrival to
make sure they have what they need. Meet and greet audience
and hand out survey sheets. Collect survey sheets and pack
up.
Bar Attendants x 4 volunteers
Duties: Set up bar area, serve alcohol and keep area tidy
x 8 volunteers
Clean Up x 3 volunteers
Duties: Pick up litter during and immediately after the event
and remind the MC to announce the importance of putting rubbish
in the bin. There will not be a large quantity of rubbish
however it will be necessary to walk around about every hour
and have a general clean up.
Promotion and Publicity x everyone
Duties: Pick up posters from artSynC and place them around
the community or get us to post some out to you for distribution
Event signage x 1 volunteers
Duties: Make signage and place the signs around the event
e.g. [parking, toilets, forums, workshos group etc]. Remove
signs at event completion
Event Decoration x 2 volunteers
Duties: Get together a team to brainstorm some ideas to decorate
the place. Work with the event coordinator and the site plan
to develop a theming plan.
Event Coordinators Assistant x 1 volunteer
Duties: Wear good runners and have a good sense of humour
and an interest in event coordination would be good.
Handing out Survey Sheets x 2 volunteer
Hand out and collect Questionnaires - 4 volunteers
Duties: Stand at the entrance of lecture theatre 1 and hand
out survey sheets asking them to return them to you at the
end of the forum. Collect them and return filled out surveys
to C.A.R.M.A
Catering x 2 volunteer
Duties: Set up, serve and pack away
Marshalls x 4 volunteer
Duties: assist security, direct patrons and watch for problems
and risks through out the event
Presenters Assistant x 1 volunteer
Assist presenters with the Sunshine Coast Music Industry Awards
C.A.R.M.A has recently received funding from the Gambling Community
Benefit Fund.The Queensland Government 's Gambling Community
Benefit Fund provided $11000 to CARMA (Cultural and Regional
Musicians Association) to purchase computers, a digital camera
and video camera.
Members of C.A.R.M.A can assess computers, professional equipment
and software to develop promotional kits such as; bios, press
releases, websites, photo shoots, music videos and sound files.
Please note that proof of identity and a bond will be required
for the use of camera and video camera equipment. Under 18s
will need a Parent/Guardian to take responsibility for equipment
use.
For more information please contact : info@carmacrew.com
ISC welcomes entries from songwriters on all levels, from amateur
to professional. Entrants may submit as many songs as desired
in each category or enter the same song in more than one category.
Visit www.songwritingcompetition.com/entry.htm
to enter your songs via mail or online.
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