New Peak Body AMVF Established to Protect Grassroots Music Venues
The Australian Music Venue Foundation (AMVF) aims to secure the future of Australia’s grassroots music venues.
Image by Edward Cisneros
After the Australian Government’s recent Am I Ever Going to See You Live Again report – which dived into the issues facing Australia’s live music scene – came up with 20 recommendations to help preserve the scene, a bunch of Aussie industry vets have come together to form the not-for-profit organisation Australian Music Venue Foundation (AMVF). The AMVF aims to support grassroots venues around the country and preserve Australia’s live music scene.
As first reported by The Music Network, this new peak body is made up of industry professionals and modelled on Britain’s Music Venue Trust (MVT), a similar organisation established to secure the future of local music venues in the UK.
Founding members of the AMVF include Harley Evans (Moshtix & AFA), Howard Adams (Australian Live Music Business Council), Mardi Caught (The Annex) and Adelaide’s own Tamara Boakes (Jive Bar Owner/Operator & ILVA), with Mark Davyd, the gent who co-founded MVT, helping out in an advisory role.
Along with fundraising and donations, the AMVF hopes to initiate some of the reforms suggested by the Government, including things such as a ticket levy, whereby more funds from tickets are used to help smaller venues, limiting dynamic pricing and introducing tax reforms to help offset the cost of running live music venues.
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“I’m excited that the AMVF will give all venue owners and operators the opportunity to consolidate efforts on what their real needs are alongside additional industry bodies to make real change,” Boakes, owner and operator of Adelaide’s Jive Bar, told The Music Network.
In the same article by The Music Network, Moshtix managing director Harley Evans added, “There’s a clear and obvious need for more support and protection for this critical part of the live music ecosystem, and we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to work collectively as an industry to create a sustainable and vibrant future for the long term benefit of all live music fans and the wider music community.”
With the recent cancellation of festivals including Splendour in the Grass, Groovin the Moo and Harvest Rock and venues across the nation closing, there has never been a more critical time in Australia’s live music scene. The creation of the AMVF is a step in the right direction to preserve our scene, with punters urged to buy tickets and support local artists and venues.
