Creating places in Dunedin where music venues are prioritised ahead of residential areas could rejuvenate the city’s live music scene, a draft Dunedin City Council music action plan says.
The council will consider the draft Ōtepoti Live Music Action Plan at tomorrow’s community services committee meeting.
A council spokesman said staff had been working closely with the Save Dunedin Live Music collective for more than two years to come up with a way to invigorate the Dunedin music scene and support artists, audiences and the live music eco-system.
“Supporting a thriving, vibrant music scene in Ōtepoti Dunedin is the key aim of a draft plan set to be considered by Dunedin city councillors,” the spokesman said.
Some ideas were already taking place such as the review of how the council managed noise complaints.
However, ideas such as the proposed creation of new funding streams to support musicians would need further consideration, the spokesman said.
Save Dunedin Live Music had led engagement with the music community since 2021 and many participants said there were challenges to making music within the city.
People in the music community said they had challenges finding suitable venues as well as issues with costs, accessibility, and noise complaints.
The music community said Dunedin needed more venues of different sizes, promotion and visibility for the city’s music scene and to make it accessible for all.
The Ōtepoti Live Music Action Plan proposed the creation of one or more “entertainment precincts,” where live music and gigs would be prioritised over residential land use in certain areas, such as by the Octagon.
The plan recommended an increase in acoustic insulation levels for the entertainment zones and the development of a guide for both venue operators and new inner-city residents so they knew what to expect in the area they would be living in.
The council also proposed developing infrastructure for the Dunedin music scene to tackle the issue of a lack of grassroot and mid-sized live music venues, as well as rehearsal spaces.
A Save Dunedin Live Music spokesman said the group was hoping for unanimous support from councillors.
“We’re very happy with where the plan has landed.
“It’s a really fantastic start towards building a better music scene in Dunedin.”
He said the plan would be great for creating opportunities and a lot more stability in the live music scene.
“That’s been the biggest threat over the last couple of years — the precarious nature of doing live events in a growing city.
“It’s been a struggle and this plan tries to remedy that.”
laine.priestley@odt.co.nz
