One piece blokes: On being a performing musician in regional Queensland

Abstract

The creative industries in regional areas operate in a different fashion to those in urban areas, and this is nowhere more clear than in regional music scenes. The very nature is different. Instead of having multiple venues scattered at accessibly small distances, a gig in the next town may be a four-hour drive. Musicians need to be more versatile, more flexible, and more willing to work as a solo act. However, relatively little is known about music scenes in these areas due to the underrepresentation of this topic in the literature. This paper is based on the results of an eight-month research project that interviewed musicians, venue owners, and music businesses in the Central Queensland area of Australia. It finds that there are some difficulties with being a performing musician in a regional area. Regional musicians tend to travel more, perform for lower fees, and be more reliant on portfolio careers and solo performance. They are also more vulnerable to economic downturn in the area, such as the decline in the mining boom in Central Queensland. However, they may gig regularly with less competition than their urban counterparts. Their performances are significantly cheaper compared to bringing in musicians from Brisbane to perform in the regions. In very remote areas, a skilful musician is a valued commodity for the area. In summary, this paper thus provides important insights regarding the socio-economic and spatial challenges confronting music scenes particularly, and creative industries broadly, in remote and regional areas.