Another day, another dead live music venue. This time it’s Melbourne’s beloved East Brunswick Club, which announced that it had been sold a few months ago but has now been revealed to be the site of a new five-storey apartment block.
It’s been a shocker two years for venue closures, with The Forum, Tone, Raval and Melt kicking the bucket in Sydney, as well as Lo-Fly Hangar and The Troubadour in Brisbane. The owners of The Prince Bandroom in Melbourne also just sold to a hospitality entrepreneur who has signalled the possible end of live music at the iconic venue. Sydney’s The Annandale is also is serious trouble.
Incidentally, our chat earlier this year with MusicNSW Executive Officer Kirsty Brown showed that the live music sector brings $1.2billion into our nation’s coffers. So let’s get our shit together, guys! We don’t want to be watching live streams of shows with our mates in future because there’s nowhere to house them, do we. You can get involved by attending the next Save Live Australian Music (SLAM) Day, which will be held nationally on February 23, 2012.
via The Age.
