Australia's live music scene is under threat and it's even more acute in regional areas. In recent years, around 1,300 venues have closed and the high cost of living is also having an impact. Researchers say grassroots programs are one way music can stay alive outside major cities.
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00:00Bianca Fea has been playing live shows in the Riverland over the last four years,
00:10but says chances to play in this region aren't easy to find.
00:14For young emerging musicians, especially for singing songwriters, like myself,
00:21there are a heap of opportunities that are just there for you.
00:24You sort of have to make your own.
00:25Music SA has taken a new approach to solving the problem.
00:29In Mount Gambier, it's trialling a program designed to support venues
00:32continuing to struggle in the wake of COVID shutdowns.
00:35It's about taking the expertise into community at a very grassroots level,
00:40asking the people on the ground what they need from us
00:43in terms of skilling up and building pathways.
00:46Across the border, Music NSW have a similar program
00:50focused on the skills of regional artists.
00:52We're looking at how do we develop the artists who live in these places
00:56and create opportunities for them to tour regionally,
00:59but also, you know, around the country.
01:01This grassroots approach to supporting regional musicians and venues
01:05is backed up by new research by the University of South Australia.
01:09One of the key areas emphasised is the need to give regional artists
01:12more opportunities to have their say about the future of the industry.
01:16One of the things that the people we spoke to talk to us about
01:20is that they often experience exclusion from the discussions
01:24that are happening around live music policy,
01:26which are often centred in metropolitan areas.
01:28Music promoter Stephen Esnoff says Music SA's program
01:31has created a sense of hope within the music scene
01:34in his hometown of Mount Gambier.
01:36There's a real sense of confidence in the scene at the moment
01:39and there's a real buzz and excitement for our,
01:42like, especially our younger original musicians.
01:44Excitement born out of support for the people who entertain us.