Melbourne may be Australia’s capital of music, but that doesn’t mean things have been running smoothly. With a construction boom under way, creating new residential properties in areas traditionally populated with traders, restaurants, cafes and shops, the landscape is changing. As far as music venues are concerned, this coexistence has not been without friction. Which is why the government of Victoria decided to step in and introduce a new grants program to support Victorian music venues to undertake sound management and soundproofing projects. Good Music Neighbours was introduced by the Minister for Minister for Planning Richard Wynne, who outlined the objective, saying it will “ensure that venues maintain positive relationships with their neighbouring businesses and residents”.

Part of the Andrews Labor government’s $22 million Music Works initiative to strengthen and support Victoria’s contemporary music sector, the program offers matched funding of up to $25,000 to venues across the state for projects – such as getting advice from acoustic consultants and sound technicians, or implementing sound-proofing measures, in fact, any action – that will help venues limit the emission of sound into the local neighbourhood.

“Victoria loves live music,” affirmed Minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley, describing the concept behind this program. “We host three times more live performances than the national average and Melbourne has more live music venues than any other city in the country – making us the undisputed live music capital,” he said, outlining the government’s approach to live music.

“Our Music Works package takes a holistic approach to the sector, with programs to support music makers, music industry workers and organisations, and now, venues,” he added.

MAKING LIVE MUSIC VIABLE
The program has been developed by Creative Victoria in partnership with Music Victoria and the Live Music Office, and is in line with recent amendments to the agent of change planning principles, which help protect live music venues from residential encroachment. Eligible venues will have a commitment to presenting original live music and be able to show a pressing need for the works. Applications will be open on an annual basis (this year’s program will be open throughout June and will close on Monday 13 July) and funding must be matched by an equal cash contribution from the venue or operator.

“This program really helps to sustain the infrastructure and viability of small venues,” says Helen Marcou, who operates Bakehouse Studios in Richmond with her husband, Quincy McLean, and who led the Save Live Australian Music (SLAM) campaign, fighting measures that threatened the viability of live music venues.

“The greatest threat facing our live music venues is residential encroachment,” she adds. “Venues are racing against time with soundproofing works to ensure that new neighbours don’t complain. Although the new planning laws have helped, some developers aren’t the best citizens and add to the problem by not having adequate sound attenuation on their new residential builds. Live music venues are mostly small businesses with high costs and small margins – it’s a struggle to make ends meet, so when the local area changes and venues are forced to sound proof, these costs could tip some businesses over. Double glazing, door seals, walls with air gaps and insulation costs all add up, and small venues could be looking at costs in excess of $100,000 to protect themselves from complaints. We are really excited that the Victorian Andrews government has reinvested in these small but very important cultural spaces.”

HOW THE COUNCILS SHOULD STEP UP
“This exciting initiative will provide tangible support to venue operators and will facilitate better outcomes for residents who live near these types of venues,” said Tim Northeast, chair of Music Victoria. “It will help keep venues sustainable as they face increasing pressure from gentrification and more venues means more opportunities for musicians and performers,” he added.

Megan Evans, manager of Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, one of Melbourne’s live music landmarks, seems to agree.

“I’m really glad that venues are being respected for the contribution their performers are empowered to make to our cultural and social landscape. Planning clauses such as 22.22 are there to safeguard the rights of residents to quietly enjoy their chosen space of living; in so doing it shifts the cost of amenity care to venues. So I’m really glad to see that Creative Victoria is extending a helping hand.”

As someone who has had much experience dealing with the interaction of a music venue with the surrounding residential properties, she offers some valuable insight.

“I’d really love to see councils help in their public spatial design to take up the hardest influence on residential sound impacts on neighbours venues are held responsible for – the noise of audiences leaving,” she says.

“The exhilaration, revelation and joy one feels after a fabulous musical experience is often hard to contain and one tends to want to share the feeling with others as they step back into the world beyond the oasis of the club. It is a part of how we deposit ourselves in our public spaces, how we connect to the landscape of our city, and how the music becomes psychologically stitched into the fabric of cultural life in the urban environment.
“But venues don’t get to help influence the sound requirements of those spaces – the most we can do is continually remind patrons to keep their volume to a minimum, so that the impact of their joy should include a care-meter for our local residents. I’d love to see councils install trees (fabulous bafflers of sound), support double glazing (great insulation too) and explore ways to meaningfully allow residents to express their presentness in the vicinity of venues to help remind patrons of their social responsibilities.”

Bennetts Lane, of course, is a venue that has been affected by the property development that has swept Melbourne – the venue is set to move to a new space in Flinders Lane to make way for a new project. “I’m very grateful we share the lane with caring, understanding and supportive neighbours – most of whom have been living beside us for many, many years. Their respect for the club I cherish and will continue to do so for a long, long time … I only wish I could take them with us on our move to Flinders Lane.”

THE SECRET OF CO-EXISTENCE
This kind of interaction is inevitable, as the city’s ecosystem is constantly changing. The relationship between venue owners, patrons and residents is a dynamic, shifting one. Sifis Tourdalakis, owner of Kritamos restaurant in Richmond, has seen this happen a lot.

“Our venue is a restaurant, not a live music club, but we do feature live music once a week and at special functions. Although we’re situated in a street where there’s mostly shops and eateries, there are some residential properties around and at times we might have caused some disturbance,” he says.

“I am a musician myself and I like to pair music with food. I think it is important to have live music in a restaurant setting, but there are a lot of things to consider, regarding the volume. You can often see that, the louder the band is playing, the louder the patrons are talking, which increases the level of noise and therefore disturbance.”

As to the effects of gentrification, he says that all parties should be cautious in order to co-exist.

“It doesn’t matter who was first in a certain area; when someone is living above a vacant shop, it is certain that eventually it will be rented and at some point there will be noise.” Which means that those seeking total peace and quiet should “avoid moving next to venues”.

That’s a piece of advice Mary Mihelakos is not going to follow. The music journalist (her column ‘Sticky Carpet’ is one of the most vivid ones in The Age), DJ and music industry insider (she regularly books bands for festivals and music venues) welcomes any government support to live music.

“We can’t stop people moving close to music venues, but it is great to see the venues being supported by government grants to help sound proof,” she says, offering a different viewpoint to the discussion:
“I live on Nicholson St on the North Fitzroy-East Brunswick border and I am surrounded by new residential developments, and waking up to the sound of excavation every morning is unbearable. I know they will be building apartments around me for the next few years. I wish someone would soundproof my house.”

* Applications for the Good Music Neighbours program 2016 close at 5.00 pm, Monday 13 July 2016. Full program details including resources and case studies are available at www.musicvictoria.com.au/gmn