How did live music become central to debates on how to regulate the Victorian night-time economy? A qualitative analysis of Victorian newspaper reporting since 2003

Abstract

In Victoria, Australia, considerations of live music have become central to debates on how to best regulate the late-night economy. This paper examines the origins of this consideration and the reasons it has become a key matter in policy discussion about late-night licensing regulation. Using a media analysis of 110 Victorian newspaper articles (2003–2016), this paper demonstrates how the newspaper media has exerted significant power in producing a live music discourse. The live music discourse was firmly established by 2010, driven by the Tote Hotel’s closure (referenced in 52 articles). The number of live music stakeholders engaged in the debate (80 quoted) far outweighed those from the government (26 quoted), impacting the overall presentation of the regulations along with the value of live music to the state. Gaps in media coverage, and the political context in which these matters were being debated aided advocates in facilitating subsequent regulatory change in favour of live-music venues. Consequently, it is argued that the media reporting contributed to a policy environment where perceptions of a threat to live music venues have become a barrier to restricting hours of sale in the future.

Keywords:

• News
• framing
• live music
• alcohol
• liquor licensing

Acknowledgments

Particular acknowledgment to Professor Robin Room, Dr Amy Penny and Dr Robyn Dwyer for guidance and revisions on earlier drafts.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 Live music includes live bands or DJs using amplified music (The Allen Consulting Group, 2009, p. 2).

2 Discourses are ways of talking, thinking or representing a subject or topic, with the knowledge produced by discourses influencing social, economic and political practices; having real consequences and effects (Brown, 2008). The question of whether a discourse is true or false is less important than whether it is effective in practice (Brown, 2008). Any analysis of discourses requires the determination of how new objects of knowledge emerge, under what discursive conditions (and non-discursive conditions), and especially what effects of power they produce, for example changing policy (Brown, 2008).

3 In Victoria, lockouts – involving no entry into a licensed venue after 2 am – were trialled for three months between June and September 2008 in Melbourne’s CBD. Industry representatives and protest organisations questioned the viability of such a policy in the modern era, arguing that the lockouts would displace the problem to other municipalities outside the lockout zone or exacerbate the problem between 1 and 2 am before the lockout came into effect (KPMG, 2008). Researchers also questioned the effectiveness of such a policy implemented in isolation (Brook, 2016). The Victorian lockout trial was essentially neutralised by lawsuits, facilitated by inadequate industry consultation, which exempted around 120 of the 487 venues most affected by alcohol-fuelled violence (KPMG, 2008). Consequently, evaluations of the success of the trial were inconclusive (KPMG, 2008).

4 Fees were calculated based on trading hours (increased fees for trading after 1 am), venues’ capacity (increased fees for venues with greater than 200 patrons), and past compliance with licensing regulations (increased fees for venues that had breached licensing laws) (The Allen Consulting Group, 2009).

5 The civilian enforcement body, known as the Compliance Directorate of Responsible Alcohol Victoria, comprised of 40 inspectors charged with enforcing liquor license requirements (Wilkinson & MacLean, 2013).

6 In 2010, Patrick Donovan became CEO of Music Victoria (a state government funded body founded in 2010), after working for The Age newspaper for the previous 15 years (Music Victoria, 2016a).

7 Comparatively the Newcastle (north of Sydney in New South Wales) lockouts, also introduced in 2008, dubbed ‘The Newcastle Solution’, are considered a success with a 37% decrease in assaults and continued declines in the following years (Kypri, Jones, McElduff, & Barker 2011; Kypri, McElduff & Miller, 2016). The Newcastle solution comprised a comprehensive multi-component intervention, of which lockouts were only one aspect (Roth & Angus 2014, p. 1). Research suggests that restrictions in late-night trading hours was the key aspect of the Newcastle Solution resulting in a reduction in alcohol-related violence rather than the lockouts (Kypri, 2016).

8 Refers to venue owners, operators, directors and licensees

9 Live music industry refers to radio presenters, band bookers, etc.

10 ‘Other’ Government Officials refers to anonymous government figures, sources and spokespeople.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by La Trobe University (La Trobe University School of Psychology and Public Health small research grant 2016).