“Let there be more music”: Melbourne music venue rallies for outdoor music permit

Leesa Snider was managing the marketing team of a busy Melbourne music venue in March when the federal government banned events of over 100 people to stop a surge of coronavirus cases.

“That killed it for us because there’s just no way to make any money with less than 100 people,” Snider tells SmartCompany.

“We wouldn’t even cover costs for staff and running costs.”

Fast-forward eight months and The Night Cat’s head of marketing is now preparing the venue’s first in-person performance since the second lockdown ended in Victoria.

But with restrictions still in place, Snider says the venue is doing things a little differently in order to make opening worthwhile.

Entry is more expensive because tickets now come with a drink minimum, which requires spectators to pre-purchase $20 of drinks, and there are multiple performances each evening.

“Instead of having one group of people stay there all night long, there’s four different sessions, so we can switch around the tablecloths and make sure everything is sanitary, before getting a new band in,” she says.

“Let there be more music”

Known for its Latin night every Sunday, the Fitzroy establishment was founded 25 years ago and has been under the ownership of Justin Stanford from 2017.

The Night Cat received a grant from Creative Victoria and Business Victoria, which it used to survive the prolonged lockdown and convert the car park into an outdoor bar.

When the hospitality industry got the green light to reopen from midnight on October 27, followed by the entertainment industry from midnight on November 8, the Night Cat was back trading — but with a catch.

No music was allowed outdoors.

Outdoor music permits are hard to obtain from Yarra City Council and applications can take more than three months to be processed.

“Once three months is up, it will be toward the end of summer, and that’s not really any good because people won’t want to sit outside and watch shows,” Snider says.

To fast-track the permit process, the Night Cat started an online petition at Change.org, which has more than 1,500 signatures and the support of close neighbours.

“Musicians have been out of work for so long, and it’s been so hard and even now there are so many restrictions.”

“At least let there be more music,” Snider says.

Uncertain future

While live music venues can open in Melbourne, there are a range of restrictions that must be adhered to.

From 11.59pm on Sunday, November 22, indoor venues smaller than 200 square metres can hold 50 people, up from 20, with a density limit of 1.5 square metres per person. Larger venues can now hold up to 150 people if there are two square metres of space per person.

Any additional rules for arts venues will be confirmed in the coming days.

In March, when the Night Cat was forced to close, all of its staff were initially stood down, before six returned part-time with JobKeeper.

About $558 million of JobKeeper payments had been received by employees working in the creative and performing arts as of November 10 — a subdivision that makes up about 40,000 of the 645,000 Australians working in the cultural and creative industries, according to Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts Paul Fletcher.

Snider says the possibility of a resurgence of COVID-19 cases remains an area of concern for the Night Cat.

“If we have any sort of blip or any cases coming back and the government decides to not extend the capacities inside, that’s going to really mess things around for us,” she says.

Grace is the first live show at the Night Cat and will run over three sessions on Saturday, November 28.