JAKEB SMITH attends the EMERGING MUSIC FORUM facilitated by BRISBANE MARKETING at the Brisbane Powerhouse and writes a short report on it. This is that.

You’ve no doubt heard it said that Brisbane has one of the top music scenes in the world. It comes from a Billboard magazine article back in January 2007, where Brisbane was named as one of the top five “unlikely” cities for new music. By that one publication’s reckoning, Brisbane, Beijing, Birmingham, Berlin and Marseilles have produced more than their share of successful international acts, considering their circumstances. In that light, Billboard aren’t suggesting we’re outclassing Sydney or Melbourne, they’re saying that: of all the places they’d written off as cultural backwaters, we are one of the best.

Now that may sound cynical, and it is, but considering the portrait of Brisbane painted by Pig City, our music scene’s shtick is one of creativity against the odds, and Billboard agrees. What Brisbane music isn’t – despite claims to the contrary – is properly supported. Quite a few government press releases have quoted the story in the 18 months since it was published, but no department can claim to have created a conducive climate for acts like the Bees Gees, Savage Garden, Powderfinger, the Veronicas or Pete Murray to become successful. These are the artists Billboard was referencing in that article – talented, mainstream songwriters who would have succeeded anywhere. The troubling thing about Brisbane’s music scene, is that it does a poor job of supporting artists that don’t find mainstream national or international success.

With this in mind, I was a little sceptical when walking into the Powerhouse’s Visy Theatre – amidst a host of name-tagged industry types. The concept for the Emerging Music Forum, was for us to have our say, but it was also a cry for help. Brisbane Marketing has been charged with designing a new campaign, one that adequately sells Brisbane as a valid cultural hub – and thus: tourist destination – and they needed our direction.

Of course, once we were all seated,  the Brisbane Marketing facilitator quoted the infamous article almost immediately. Yet, despite furthering the myth that this story has roused, the man seemed very genuine about helping the city – and its musicians – to be as boundless and fruitful as everyone now assumes they are.

The pitch to the gathered forum members was that the City Council want to market the city in a similar way to which Melbourne is, and help foster a more supportive environment for live music. Brisbane Marketing came – they claimed – with open minds, wanting all direction to come from those at the forum.

It was agreed that Brisbane has a large body of talented musicians, whom most people seemed to either manage or book. But despite an initial flourish of self-congratulation, dissenters soon turned the conversation around to the many problems facing Brisbane musicians, and the music scene at large. A local venue owner stated that, while our artists are particularly passionate about what they do, they have had to get where they are without the help (and sometimes, blatant hindrance) of the government, be it on a local or state level. The conversation was then spurred towards the undue regulations Brisbane venues face, which are out of line with Sydney and Melbourne. There was a bit of agenda-pushing at this point, but the woes of local establishments strike at the heart of Brisbane’s problem.

It was noted that the city has a dwindling number of live venues for musicians to play at. This was blamed on licensing and public liability issues, as well as noise restrictions. You can’t have a jazz band play at Coffee Club, for instance, nor can you hold a social Salsa night at a pub, without jumping through legal and financial hoops. Music coming from cafes and restaurants at South Bank cannot exceed 75 decibels either, I learned.

A council representative claimed that none of it was their fault, detailing the hard work council had done for the Special Entertainment Precinct, before blaming everything on liquor licensing. He went so far as to suggest we all leave the room, because further discussion would be pointless without them present. A veteran music journalist later had a swipe at him about poor public transport.

A couple of local commercial radio guys introduced themselves, and loudly professed to “totally support Brisbane music”, but had little else to contribute. They hooked into the sandwiches though.

There was talk from – I believe – a QUT representative about modelling Brisbane’s music scene on that of other successful cities. The Brisbane marketer had a number of websites saved, from places like Seattle and Liverpool, and clicked through them all briefly. He assured us it was an angle his department were pursuing. The web was then talked about briefly, and the utilisation of it, though no ideas were actually raised. BigPond’s downloadable Powderfinger concert was praised highly however. I believe the logic is that making extra money at very little extra cost is a great idea, and, well, it is. One has to wonder though, how long it will be before people get sick of micro-payments, and realise the content isn’t that exclusive.

Still, for a demographic of people who spend most of their leisure time at home, having a record of the one concert they attended this year, isn’t a problem to pay for. The problem, it was identified, is that people are getting their entertainment in far more passive ways these days. The heady, pub rock days of the ‘80s, and to a lesser degree the ‘90s, are over. People can be entertained adequately at home, for free, and there is often little incentive to go out at night, when The Valley, for most, is usually quite distant.

Many people also mentioned (and many more agreed) that there is a negative culture surrounding our Special Entertainment Precinct, and live music is often overshadowed by drunks, drugs, and police. There was strong support for trying to revive music in the suburbs, where people could head to their local and see music on any given night. The council said they would try to help with some sort of framework for this – special precinct allowances and such. It was implied, by my reckoning, that Brisbane needs to attempt to make seeing local acts cool again.

One such musician in attendance suggested that part of the problem is that musicians aren’t valued very highly, likely because they are so plentiful, and often draw little crowd. And while a few people supported this point, I find it moot. Brisbane music was built on adversity – suck it up, and use the subsequent creative energy to go away and excel at what you do. Obviously I didn’t actually say this, or anything, in fact, playing instead the role of observer.

In all it was an interesting discussion, but the problems seemed to reside with people who weren’t in the room. The conversation steered quickly away from a marketing perspective as well, with everyone pointing the finger at liquor licensing, and complaining about how tough it is being in the music scene. I’m not sure anything was really achieved, but there is talk of setting up an online forum to discuss more of the issues at hand. We are at a “tipping point” – we were told, constantly – and the next 5-10 years are crucial for Brisbane to forge its image as a cultural city, and not just “Bris-Vegas”.

What do you think of the state of Brisbane music, past, present or future? And what slogan would you use to market Brisbane music now? You can have your say, email Jakeb Smith at .

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