NPR News: 03-26-2023 11PM ET
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Music Biz Applauds ‘New Era’ as Labor Sweeps to NSW Election Victory
Labor’s resounding victory in the New South Wales election is music to the ears of the domestic music industry, which is heralding a “new era” for a sector damaged by years of “neglect”.
Incoming state premier Chris Minns and minister for music and night time economy John Graham had run on a Fresh Start campaign which featured the music industry high on its agenda.
In the weeks leading up to the March 25 election, the opposition Labor Party had laid-out its funding pledge to the tune of $103 million, and a multi-year plan to rebuild the music business, one that had been punished by mother nature, licensing regulations and then a pandemic, during which government was either late to assist, or entirely absent.
With Minns and his party expected to form majority government after its comprehensive victory, which sees the Liberal-Nationals ousted after 12 years in office, the music industry is keen to get to work.
“The $103 million music policy they took to the election was historic,” says Dean Ormston, CEO of APRA AMCOS.
“This level of investment will put NSW on par with some of the great music jurisdictions of the world; Quebec Canada, Liverpool England and Seoul South Korea.”
Ormston applauds the government’s music-friendly policies, which include the establishment of Sound NSW, a state music development agency; the implementation of the music industry’s Raising Their Voices report; and the promise to use local music for government advertising, on-hold music and government buildings.
Labor’s funding pledge “will see a much needed injection into the live music sector which has suffered over-regulation for many years,” says Ormston.
“It will also help supercharge songwriting, recording, export and music industry development and make the state an international leader in music creation and presentation.”
The incoming NSW Government has made the “largest single commitment to music in Australian history, at a state or federal level,” in its $103 million decision to back the industry’s Vote Music plan,” notes ARIA and PPCA CEO Annabelle Herd.
This, in addition to its pledge to support hundreds of live gigs across the state through the continuation of Great Southern Nights until 2026; plus $4 million over four years to ensure industry compliance with codes of conduct to support the drive for cultural change in music in response to Raising Their Voices; and $2 million over four years delivered to Support Act, “gives music in NSW an incredible starting point to recover and realise new heights of global recognition.”
Support Act’s CEO Clive Miller welcomes the new administration. “We look forward to partnering with you to help implement the many constructive policy changes highlighted throughout the campaign,” he states, “that will ensure that people who work in music feel safe, supported and able to achieve their creative and economic potential.”
NSW election result: ‘The new government has a valuable opportunity to accelerate the recovery and rebuilding of our live arts and entertainment industry through the development of a new cultural strategy for NSW.’ https://t.co/zejOtxrWLI
— Live Performance Aus (@LivePerfAust) March 26, 2023
The new government has a “valuable opportunity to accelerate the recovery and rebuilding of our live arts and entertainment industry through the development of a new cultural strategy for NSW,” notes Evelyn Richardson, CEO of Live Performance Australia.
“This should include a more integrated approach across government to investment in our artists and performers, companies and infrastructure for the benefit of all of our audiences.”
“Now with NSW Labor’s music policy, as well as the Australian Government’s commitment to establish and invest in a national music development agency, Music Australia, the music industry can look at coordinating serious state and federal approach to the sector’s development across the nation and work to achieve our ambition to become a net exporter of music.”
Labor had issued a final word of support in the hours leading up to the election, having ticked all the boxes presented by Vote Music, a non-partisan coalition of music industry organisations and leaders.
Last month, Vote Music presented its comprehensive plan for music development and asked for a $100 million commitment from all parties and candidates.
Labor came through.
Liberal and National coalition, however, didn’t issue a single note in support of the music industry.
“NSW is the natural home for the Australian contemporary music industry, injecting $3.6 billion in economic, social and cultural value to the state,” reads a statement from Vote Music.
“We are grateful for NSW Labor’s recognition that investment in music is good for the economy and people, and look forward to getting started on reestablishing our state as Australia’s natural home of contemporary music.”
Labor will hold at least 47 seats in the 93 member lower house, marking just the third time since World War II that the party has swept to power from opposition in NSW.
As votes were being counted at midday Monday, Labor had moved to 45 seats, with Liberal-Nationals at 26.
With victory in NSW, Labor now governs at state and federal level across Australia’s mainland.
Click here for the ABC’s election coverage.
NPR News: 03-26-2023 10PM ET
NPR News: 03-26-2023 10PM ET
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adele: Adele announces her return to Las Vegas residency and vows to release a concert film for fans. More details
Adele delighted her fans by announcing that she will be extending her Las Vegas residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace.
The 34-year-old singer shared the news on Saturday that she will be returning to the stage in June, despite previously planning to conclude her residency this weekend. Her decision to continue performing comes as a surprise, given her earlier statement about wanting to quit performing forever due to the controversy surrounding the postponement of her residency.
On March 25, Adele made an appearance on stage where she shared the exciting news of her extended Las Vegas residency. The singer, famous for her hit song “Easy On Me,” hinted that her concerts would be filmed for those unable to attend in person.
In a video posted on Twitter, Adele expressed that she felt her current 34-night stint performing for 4,000 people per night was not enough, and she wanted to do more.
She announced her return for a few weeks in June, during which time she would be filming her shows. She stated that she would release the footage so that anyone who wanted to see her performances could do so.
Additionally, she mentioned that she would be returning from the summer and performing from August until the end of fall.
Adele’s decision to extend her Las Vegas residency follows her admission that she almost gave up performing altogether after the postponement of her residency in January 2022. In her address to the audience on Friday, she acknowledged the controversy surrounding the postponement and stated that standing up for herself had been a difficult decision.
She explained that it had been a highlight of her life to perform for four months in Las Vegas and expressed her gratitude to her fans for being there. Adele also shared that if she had not stood up for herself, she might not have been able to perform for her fans again.
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The reason Robert Plant regrets touring with Led Zeppelin
(Credits: Far Out / Alamy)
When Led Zeppelin became one of the biggest bands in the world, there was a persistent expectation for them to perform live as often as they possibly could. While the talents of Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Bonham and John Paul Jones sounded great on record, they were undoubtedly a live band, and if you wanted to get the real Zeppelin, you simply had to catch them on stage.
As such, Zeppelin toured relentlessly throughout the 1970s, taking their private Boeing 720 – nicknamed ‘The Starship’ – all across the world to play to their fans. The Zeppelin live shows grew to new lengths, adding lasers and light shows to proceedings. While the band members undoubtedly loved flaunting their stuff every night, it ultimately came with a sacrifice.
For those that had young families, being away on tour for large periods meant that they could not spend time with their children during the formative years of their lives. For Robert Plant, this led to a deep regret that he had not formed a close bond with his daughter Carmen. In fact, Plant once explained that he was away on tour so often that when he would finally come home, Carmen wouldn’t recognise him and would sometimes get scared thinking he was a robber. “What I recall for the first two years is my daughter not really knowing who I was,” Plant said. “And getting rather agitated when I came back off tour, as she thought I’d come to rob the house.”
If his relationship, or lack thereof, with Carmen in the early days of her life caused regret, then it would be nothing compared to the deep tragedy Plant and his family suffered in 1977. It was that year that the Plants lost their son Karac at just five years old. It was a tragedy that would have reinforced the deep regret that Plant had at touring with his band so often. Discussing the loss, Plant told Louder Sound: “In 1977, we lost our son, Karac. He was only five years old. I’d spent so much time trying to be a decent dad, but at the same time, I was really attracted to what I was doing in Zeppelin. So when he bowed out, I just thought: ‘What’s it all worth? What’s that all about?’”
There were other deeper questions ruminating in Plant’s head, though. “Would it have been any different if I was there, if I’d been around?” he asked himself. Perhaps it was that loss of Karac that had Plant put the brake on for a short while. “So I was thinking about the merit of my life at that time and whether or not I needed to put a lot more into the reality of the people that I loved and cared for – my daughter and my family generally,” he added.
So while Plant and the rest of Zeppelin were known to enjoy their touring days with all the wild stories of throwing televisions out of hotel rooms, they came at a great sacrifice, and it wasn’t until Robert Plant had suffered a great loss and saw his daughter looking into his eyes and not recognise him, that he realised that there are more important things in life than playing music on tour.
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NPR News: 03-26-2023 9PM ET
NPR News: 03-26-2023 9PM ET
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ICONIC MUSIC PHOTOGRAPHER, SCARLET PAGE, UNVEILS NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN IMAGES IN HER AUSTRALIAN DEBUT EXHIBITION ‘CAPTURES’
… live, behind-the-scenes, album, and portrait shots from her … of music legends having grown up in the industry alongside … highlights include working for prestigious music publications in the UK, … captured at very early Silverchair gigs in “scuzzy little venues” …
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NPR News: 03-26-2023 8PM ET
NPR News: 03-26-2023 8PM ET
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Girls Aloud to release new music to mark ‘Sound Of The Underground’ anniversary
Girls Aloud singer Kimberley Walsh has confirmed the band are set to release new music to mark the 20th anniversary of their debut album ‘Sound Of The Underground’.
It comes after the band recently released a special vinyl edition of their 2002 debut single of the same name, with all profits from the pressing going straight into The Sarah Harding Breast Cancer Appeal. The singer died from breast cancer in September 2021, after revealing her diagnosis to the public in August 2020.
The girl group recently revealed that over the past year, the group raised more than £1million in funds for breast cancer charities.
Now, according to Walsh the remaining members will release some alternative takes from the record, which first came out in May 2003.
She told the MailOnline: “We’ve got some fun alternative versions of songs lying around and little re-releases just to kind of mark that because, you know, it’s a big deal. 20 years is a long time and the love that we still feel for ‘Sound Of The Underground’ and some of the songs from the first album are still huge. So it still feels like something to celebrate, but in a kind of sort of discreet way, I guess.”
Despite that the singer said the band would not be reconvening to record new music or perform live.
Walsh added: “We’re not really doing anything together as a group for obvious reasons. I think there’s already been one re-release of ‘Sound Of The Underground’ with different girls singing different lyrics, which is quite fun.”
They previously confirmed that they were planning a one-off reunion gig, doubling as a benefit concert, in Harding’s memory, which never materialised and now seems unlikely.
Meanwhile, Wargasm recently honoured Girls Aloud with a raucous cover of their 2006 hit ‘Something Kinda Ooooh’.
Venues in Frankston, Northcote, and Anglesea helping to develop emerging artists
Local band Speed Mullet were recording last week at Frankston’s Singing Bird Studio.Credit:Simon Schluter
An eclectic line-up of bands over the next three months at Singing Bird includes another local band playing a farewell show ahead of an overseas tour, the return of interstate favourites C.O.F.F.I.N and several international metal bands.
“It’s a lot of work, but we see a lot of good local bands coming through here, rehearsing, recording and working towards playing here too. We can talk to them about what other bands are doing, maybe line-up video shoots, and just help give them a leg up … that’s what it’s all about.”
Around the same time Singing Bird was closing its doors due to lockdowns in 2020, Andrew Mansfield was making plans for his new venue, Northcote Theatre, not far from the Northcote Social Club he opened in 2004.
“We signed a lease on the [Northcote Theatre] property two weeks before the first lockdown, so the project itself has had its challenges,” he said. “It didn’t exactly go to plan.”
The heritage-listed venue, designed by Edward Twentyman Jnr, is thought to be the earliest surviving cinema in Victoria. A refurbishment began early last year and the Northcote Theatre now hosts regular live music with capacity for 1400 patrons.
Andrew Mansfield (right) with partners Ash Ibraheim and Ben Thompson before work began last year on refurbishing Northcote Theatre for live music.Credit:Justin McManus
“It’s the success of Melbourne’s whole music scene, and the broader community and venue scene, including Frankston and satellite areas and regional venues … seeing all these venues go back to work is what makes Melbourne a great music city,” Mansfield said.
“And it’s an honour to have custodianship of a place like this. For a long time before we had it, it was eking out an existence as a wedding reception place, but it was built for purpose. It was built to be a hub of community arts engagement in Northcote and the broader north.”
The venue opened for live music nine months ago, and has a mix of international artists and Australian acts booked. Over coming weeks American singer and guitarist Marcus King, singer and songwriter LP, Kurt Vile, plus Australian stars Holy Holy, the Murlocs, Northeast Party House, Jen Cloher and Ball Park Music are all playing the Northcote Theatre stage.
“It’s hard graft, but we are what’s called destination hospitality,” Mansfield said. “We’re not a pub, we’re not sitting people down in a beer garden or a front bar.
“It’s a three to four-hour window we’ve got people for, and if the headline band finishes at 11.30, that draws a line under the night. It’s a small window to achieve what you need to do.”
Dr David Corbet’s passion for live music turned into a not-for-profit, volunteer-driven project called The Sound Doctor, bringing live music to Anglesea Memorial Hall. Tex Perkins played a sold-out show on Friday night and on Saturday it was Mia Wray. Adalita and Jen Cloher each have upcoming headline shows at the venue.
Grace Cummings on stage at Anglesea Memorial Hall in December last year, presented by The Sound Doctor.Credit:
Californian Ty Segall played to a packed room at Anglesea in late January, and other proud Sound Doctor projects have included Julia Jacklin, the late Archie Roach, Grace Cummings, Emma Donovan, Augie March, CW Stoneking, Joan As Police Woman, Ben Lee and more.
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Dr Corbet, who runs the Anglesea Medical practice, said any money made from the shows is put back into future Sound Doctor projects “to get artists we couldn’t afford otherwise” and to scrub up the old hall, just off the Great Ocean Road, for each show.
“One of the things we focus on is the intimacy,” he said. “For the audience it’s a unique experience being so close to these artists, you feel so much more part of the experience than some bigger venues.
“It’s what live music is all about, connecting with an audience.
“Maybe I’m biased because I come from a music background, but music is vital, it’s the lifeblood of so many communities.”
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