Music Victoria CEO, Simone Schinkel, has announced her decision to finish with the organisation at the end of this year.
During her almost four-year term and having started in the midst of the pandemic, Schinkel has led Music Victoria by guiding crucial advocacy and vital change, including securing over $88m in direct sector investment from the Victorian Government.
Throughout Schinkel’s leadership, Music Victoria has delivered a solid program that includes research, industry resources, professional development opportunities, targeted promotion, a help desk as well as ongoing industry engagement and advocacy.
Some of Schinkel’s key achievements for Music Victoria include:
Schinkel explained that she proudly supported and represented the Victorian music industry, “My journey at Music Victoria was made possible through an incredible and inspiring community alliance. We have achieved some great outcomes and it is a bittersweet moment that I announce my departure.”
“While the landscape has changed during my time at Music Victoria, the power of music remains strong. We have continued to shape a more sustainable and equitable future. The Victorian music industry will continue to soar,” Schinkel highlighted.
“Our work is a collective effort and I am so grateful that I have had the opportunity to engage with some incredible people to achieve our vision to champion for the entire Victorian music sector,” said Schinkel.
“I extend my heartfelt gratitude to our 5,000+ members, our dedicated staff and Board – both past and present – and our partners, industry advisors, fellow peak bodies and collaborators,” Schinkel acknowledged.
Kutcha Edwards, Mutti Mutti musician and Music Victoria Hall of Fame inductee, remarked, “During Simone’s time as CEO, Music Victoria has emerged as an engaged and effective partner with First Nations music mob and community across the state. This is a testament to her commitment to deep listening, reflecting and learning, while consistently creating connection and representation time and time again.”
Sophie Paten, Music Australia Board Member, award-winning artist, and beloved Aussie export, Gordi, commented, “Simone has made an invaluable contribution to music in Victoria. She led through a particularly difficult period during the pandemic and was able to navigate conversations with stakeholders and government in a way that united and motivated the industry.”
Eliza Hull, a musical artist, writer, journalist, and disability advocate shared “I always felt truly heard, respected, and valued by Simone. Her passion for Victorian music, local artists and the local industry was evident in every decision she made. She has always had her heart in the right place, remaining focused on the bigger picture, championing accessibility, inclusion and equity in every way. While I’m sad to see her go, I have no doubt she’ll continue to accomplish incredible things. A true advocate for all of us!"
Jaddan Comerford, UNIFIED Music Group Founder and CEO, said, “We greatly value the important role that Music Victoria plays in supporting our local music industry. Thank you Simone, for guiding our peak body through a very challenging time and doing so with integrity and passion.”
Chris O’Neill, Chair of the Music Victoria Board, added that Schinkel has demonstrated incredible passion and dedication as CEO over the past four years, “Simone’s collaborative efforts with the Victorian Government have been instrumental in securing essential funding, supporting our diverse membership through the pandemic and the challenging times that have followed.”
“Through her hard work, Simone has transformed Music Victoria’s operations, strengthened internal procedures and cultivated a positive, inclusive culture within our growing team. We extend our deepest thanks to Simone for her commitment and wish her every success in her future endeavours,” O’Neill concluded.
Schinkel will finish at Music Victoria on 20 December 2024 and the Board will now commence recruitment for its next CEO.
We take our advocacy work very seriously. By advocating on behalf of the broader music community, we push beyond any one individual's needs towards a thriving ecology that is reaching its full potential, often working behind the scenes, but always making things happen, we hold the government, and each other, to account.
Victoria’s live music scene will get a $10 million boost over four years with the launch of two programs that will support music festivals and venues while providing more paid gigs for local musicians.
Live music is a significant part of Victoria’s culture – and Music Victoria has identified an opportunity to help music venues increase the accessibility of their spaces. With support from City of Melbourne and City of Yarra, Music Victoria led the Accessible Music Venues project, to assist venues to build their knowledge and identify ways to improve their onsite and online accessibility.
The live music industry has an estimated $3.5B value and contributes to Melbourne’s thriving night-time economy. State government has also “placed creativity at the heart of Victoria’s recovery and prosperity”. Working with access consultants and advisors Morwenna Collett, Amanda Lawrie-Jones and Olivia Muscat, the project assessed the online and on-site accessibility of live music venues across these precincts, with the goal of helping venues identify areas for improvement and investment.
The project’s ultimate goal was to provide Deaf and Disabled audiences, artists and staff more equitable access to Melbourne’s live music industry. The project worked with 31 City of Melbourne and City of Yarra music venues online and 7 venues on-site, the project provided specialised training and recommendations to each participant.
This project helped venues identify:
The project emphasises that "access starts online", advocating for digital accessibility as well as physical. By focusing on ‘achievable accessibility’, this project aimed to demonstrate that solutions to access barriers exist and many can be implemented with budget, heritage or building constraints.
From 2017 to 2019, there was a 48% growth in the economic contribution made by live music across Victoria ($1.72b to $2.55b), where most of the growth was identified at regional Victoria box offices (12% growth a year in regional, compared to 10.5% growth in metropolitan areas).
In 2019 the data in the census reveals that:
When comparing 2019 with 2020-21, it is inevitable that the census data would show large reductions, including:
“The insights from our census provide a great benchmark. This is the first time we have access to whole-of-state data and findings that will help guide the potential and growth trajectory for our live music industry,” said Schinkel.
“Victoria is renowned for its world-famous live music scene. As such, our priority is to secure support, partnerships, resources and investment that enhance and build the Victorian live music sector to make it even better,” said Schinkel.
Looking at 2023, Simone Schinkel, Music Victoria CEO, said the Victorian live music industry is still in unchartered waters.
“It’s no surprise that we are still managing the ripples of the pandemic. We have a three-year back log of events, and significant government investment bolstering us up. We have not yet settled into a new normal, and it’s going to take ongoing long-term strategic planning, commitment and support to reach the full potential, that we were on track to achieving!
Music Victoria is creating solid partnerships for change, including:
Music Victoria also welcomed the Andrew’s Labor government commitments at the recent election, which align strongly with the recommendations in the census. These include:
“Over the last three years, we seen bands broken up, workers leave the industry, fan networks disperse and venues suffer major losses. We must not underestimate the challenges ahead.
However, given the consistent and significant growth in revenue and attendance between 2014 and 2019, there is every reason to suggest that Victoria’s live music sector can be reinvigorated.
Victoria’s live music recovery requires significant commitment and cooperation, which will be guided by the findings in our census. It will inspire action to make Victorian live music even better,” explained Schinkel.
The census data is available at here.