A who's who of Australian music and industry will be present tomorrow (21 February) when the Don’t Kill Live Music Rally takes place at Hyde Park in Sydney.
With 111,000 signatures already procured in a week, the collective movement to secure the music industry's sustainable future in NSW has received a groundswell of support from all corners. View the petition here.
Rhys Muldoon and Yumi Stynes will MC the rally, while Ocean Alley and The Rubens headline a stacked line-up of performers that also includes Cloud Control, Dan Sultan with Polish Club, Urthboy & Bertie Blackman and Olympia.
There'll also be a host of speakers on the night: Julien Hamilton (The Presets), Murray Cook (The Wiggles), Tim Levinson (Elephant Traks), Helen Marcou (SLAM), Adelle Robinson (Fuzzy, Australian Festivals Association), Michael Chugg (Chugg Entertainment), Dave Faulkner (Hoodoo Gurus), Jane Slingo (EMC), Councillor Jess Scully (City of Sydney City) and Gordon Bradbury (Wollongong Lord Mayor).
"Thank you so much for all of your support, over 111,000 signatures on the Don’t Kill Live Music Petition in one week, you have made it very clear that you refuse to stand by and let the Berejiklian Government take away your access to music and culture in NSW," DKLM said in a press release.
"We want our music culture to be safe and inclusive. Onerous and ill-considered regulation will not save lives. And the State Government is decimating our music culture in the process."
While the parties behind the Don't Kill Live Music movement have elected not to disclose their identities publicly at time of writing, they are well known to the music industry. Their anonymity has proven no hindrance to the 110,000 people who have signed the peition.
Don’t Kill Live Music Rally takes place at Hyde Park (Sydney) 21 February 6-8pm.
We demand that the State Government
- Reconsider the proposed music festival license and delay any commencement until after the NSW election due to the following:
- There is too much uncertainty for festival operators as to how the proposed regulatory system would work. Festival operators have not been adequately consulted and the impacts of the proposed changes are not understood by industry or any stakeholders.
- The Berejiklian Government continues to show reckless indifference to the economic impacts that the proposed regulations will impose, by rushing the new regulations through in an attempt to have them implemented prior to the commencement of the 'caretaker period', when parliament is dissolved prior to the election.
- The current regulatory body is not equipped to regulate music festivals. Their mandate is around liquor and gaming, they have zero understanding of the nuances of music festival operation or knowledge of local area needs, in the way that local councils and venues have.
- Delay the implementation of the new license date of March 1st of the proposed Music Festival License regulation until further consultation has taken place
- Delay the implementation of the new licence date of March 1st until a Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) has been completed
- Form a music regulation roundtable to review all regulation impacting live music
- Immediately undertake a Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) for any proposed legislation impacting music festivals
- Develop an industry standard with full transparency for user-pays policing and medical services
- Work with the music industry to develop robust, effective and achievable safety protocols for festivals
