Australian nightclubs just got screwed...
kwality
620 Posts
From The Age NewspaperPatrick DonovanJuly 11, 2007MUSIC to dance to is about to cost more. A landmark decision yesterday will cost nightclubs and dance party promoters — and maybe punters, at the end of the line — millions of dollars a year.The Copyright Tribunal yesterday sided with artists to approve an application by the Phonographic Performance Company for an increase in music licence fees paid to artists and record labels by nightclub venues and dance parties.It lifted rates for recordings played in nightclubs from seven cents per person a night to $1.05 per person. The dance party rate rises from 20 cents to $3.07 per person.The nightclub industry fears the increase will send many clubs broke.Clubs Australia executive Anthony Ball said that it could even make dance parties too expensive to run for some operators."The increase from (almost) eight cents per person to $1.05 … is astronomical, it's over 1000 per cent," Mr Ball said."It will see clubs that provide discos and dance nights withdraw their services in suburban and regional parts of the country. They might just decide it's all too expensive."Likewise the Australian Hotel Association. "We're a bit stunned by the size of the increase," said the director of national affairs, Bill Healey. "It will be very difficult for some to stay in business, but it might open the door for some live music."Not surprisingly, musicians took the opposite view, hailing the decision.Lindy Morrison, the former drummer of the Go-Betweens, who is also a Phonographic Performance Company board member, was elated with the decision. The work of recording artists had been "subsidising" the revenues of nightclubs for too long, she said."As an older artist, receiving those cheques becomes very important."Dean Cherny, a DJ with Melbourne band Dirty Laundry, agrees with the principle, but wonders about the practice. He expects the increase will particularly affect smaller bar owners who do not charge entry. He points out that clubs work on cash, so "if there's a fixed cost, then people are going to be far less likely to declare".Phonographic Performance Company chief executive Stephen Peach said it was "highly unlikely" to send any clubs broke. "What we've got to keep in mind is that number is less than half the price of checking a coat, it's probably 20 per cent of the price of a drink."The majority of artists at the seven-cent rate would be earning less than a couple of hundred dollars a year from nightclubs. At this sort of rate, no one is going to be retiring or buying a holiday house — it's going to get them more towards getting a reasonable income."Phonographic company board member Paul Christie, who was Mondo Rock's bass player, said: "Artists are entitled to a fair day's pay for a fair day's work and this will go some way towards compensating us for our creative output."But Dror Erez, who runs The Prince in St Kilda, was flabbergasted by the 14-fold increase in licence fees."The CEOs of the record companies will be sharing this money. Most of the music we play is from overseas, and I bet those artists don't see a cent," he said.After operating costs, the Phonographic Performance Company distributes half the money to record labels and the other half to Australian artists.
Comments
Hey B*van, how come you got your loc as Brisbane/Tokyo/Scotland... what there's no cities in Scotland?
Such a great idea.
Oh yeah, I need to change that, I'm in Edinburgh, which is the nicest city in Scotland methinks. Glasgow is bigger but a little more full on...
Politely put.
"I was gonna pay you $25 an hour, but because of these new laws you actually owe me money to play your music..."
I feel that the whole Australian "nightclub" / "dj" scene is totally fucked up anyhow, I was struggling out there as a DJ for something like 10 years, and few-and-far-between did anyone offer me any type of gig to motivate me, both financially or as an artist, after establishing myself and winning local competitions, promoters would still throw you $50 for 2 hours, and the cab ride home was $25 each way, and this was pre-Microwave and I had to buy new tunes weekly for the gigs... pure bullshit, you'd explain your situation to them, and they'd just go grab any shit DJ-in-a-box regardless of how good they were.
I soon figured (even if it was a little too late) that I could travel overseas and get a little respect and a little scrilla and support myself off what I like to do, even though my intergrity was tarnished in some way by playing commercial music at times, I still find ways around it, and it's the best I've felt as a DJ ever... I honestly think being a DJ in Australia is like being a bucketful of rats fighting for a piece of chee$e, you know? I came back home after 6 months of living and DJing overseas, and no one offered me any work, and if they did, it was "free". That's why I'm in Scotland. Fuck being a DJ in Australia.
Anyways, I know my post doesn't have anything to do with what they are charging, but it is yet another example of how fucked up the entertainment industry is in Australia.
peace.
my advice, get the hell out the entertainment industry in Australia, it's in shambles matey. Either hold a day job, or if music is your passion, move overseas for a minute and make some connections...
peace.
I know exactly how you feel, being in Australia puts you in a prime place to relocate for up to 18 months to Japan to teach English...
http://www.teachinjapan.com
I filled in the info form, went for a meeting in a week and was overseas within 6 weeks of filling the form out (I could have gone earlier too, but wanted to sew things up at home). Trust me, I ain't ballin', shit, I ain't even DJing at the moment, but the Aussie mentality when it comes to music drives me nutty... good luck man, if you need any help, just PM me...
bev
That said, I think we could easily use some more 'innovative' / exciting shit down here.
yeah...
And sheep, you don't know how many times I've thought of packing up and bailing to Japan... if things stay the way they are it'll be Konichiwa Tokyo in no time!
Oh come on, don't tell me you don't drop Boys Light Up every now and again.
I got an Automator/James Reyne mashup I drop from time to time. Sleep and Reckless..
Normal people dig it.
yep it closed, although it may have reopened under a different name - incidentially Paul Nice was the dopest dj I ever caught manning the white piano there
Anyways, I have heard of great things about Honkeytonks. Honestly, that is the only club/venue I know of out there.
Time to start using that student loan to travel.....hahahhahahahaaaaa!
"Come on down"
Theres only really 2 cities in scotland...!
The artists won't be gettin paid at all if all the clubs and nights close down.
I suspect this has more to do with major labels loosing money left right and center than anything else. It will be intresting to see how they will police this.
But sheep is right being a dj in australia tends to suck the big one. I've been concentrating on just collecting the music i love rather than trying to play it out anywhere. Which thanks to these new laws just got a lot harder.
ahhhhh, good ol' Brisbane, I miss hanging out with you and ol' Bruce Highway, but there's less of the small town tall poppy syndrome anywhere outside of Australia matey, and you know it!! I miss those record fairs tho, the last one was a fucking mint of raers, pity I just bought them and put them in storage!
peace.
So true.