The Noise Wars. Developers v Music Venues

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Melbourne is experiencing another surge in this ongoing battle with many venues having to spend thousands on soundproofing based on the complaints of a very loud and new residents. hundreds of concerned artists and punters attended a public meeting to vent their frustrations and urge the government to recognise prior occupancy through the planning laws. essentially this would force developers building near music venues to soundproof. in recent years, several iconic venues have been forced to close because of noise complaints. many more are threatened now.

i've read that gentrification has killed the live music scene in san francisco. so to the Sydney music scene. what other cities are experiencing these dire problems? are music minded folk fighting back?

― Chris Radford (Chris Radford), Saturday, 31 May 2003 00:44 (twenty-two years ago)

It's pretty bad in Sydney yeah...

In conjunction with the poker machines, it's killed off most of the small venues in pubs... It's the pubs which decided not to install a room full of poker machines instead of keeping their live music area which have suffered the most from residents.

It's just fucked really. Moving in next door to a pub that has live music and then forcing them to stop having music late is just shitty behaviour.

I used to live near the Hollywood Hotel in Surry Hills which was great for tiny obscure events, and basically one person who moved in next door managed to pretty much kill it as a venue completely.

Doesn't Melbourne have some cool law where a pub has to either serve food or have live music to avoid having to pay an increased licence fee?

― dsp wanker (dsp wanker), Saturday, 31 May 2003 00:59 (twenty-two years ago)

It also isn't going to help with running a night at a late night venue if the proposed curfew laws come in...

proposed curfews..

having punters not able to get in after midnight isn't that great...

― dsp wanker (dsp wanker), Saturday, 31 May 2003 01:13 (twenty-two years ago)

those pokies are a blight on the landscape. ever since gambling laws were relaxed in Victoria, pokies have spread like the plague gobbling up and competing with live music for space. this is particularly so in the 'burbs. folks have to travel great distances for a music fix as there's little variety beyond the city limits, that is, unless one is content with 'The Australian U2 Show'. pokies and noise complaints are a diabolical combination for lovers of the raw musical experience

as for that cool law, i'm not sure. fellow melbournites jim and dan could probably answer that.

― Chris Radford (Chris Radford), Saturday, 31 May 2003 01:23 (twenty-two years ago)

i actually haven't heard of that law before but it's entirely possible it's true - there's plenty of evidence to indicate as much.

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Saturday, 31 May 2003 02:12 (twenty-two years ago)

same thing going on in Brisbane...

― frownland (frownland), Saturday, 31 May 2003 10:46 (twenty-two years ago)

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