00:00Bianca Fea has been playing live shows in the Riverland over the last four years,
00:10but says chances to play in this region aren't easy to find.
00:14For young emerging musicians, especially for singing songwriters, like myself,
00:21there are a heap of opportunities that are just there for you.
00:24You sort of have to make your own.
00:25Music SA has taken a new approach to solving the problem.
00:29In Mount Gambier, it's trialling a program designed to support venues
00:32continuing to struggle in the wake of COVID shutdowns.
00:35It's about taking the expertise into community at a very grassroots level,
00:40asking the people on the ground what they need from us
00:43in terms of skilling up and building pathways.
00:46Across the border, Music NSW have a similar program
00:50focused on the skills of regional artists.
00:52We're looking at how do we develop the artists who live in these places
00:56and create opportunities for them to tour regionally,
00:59but also, you know, around the country.
01:01This grassroots approach to supporting regional musicians and venues
01:05is backed up by new research by the University of South Australia.
01:09One of the key areas emphasised is the need to give regional artists
01:12more opportunities to have their say about the future of the industry.
01:16One of the things that the people we spoke to talk to us about
01:20is that they often experience exclusion from the discussions
01:24that are happening around live music policy,
01:26which are often centred in metropolitan areas.
01:28Music promoter Stephen Esnoff says Music SA's program
01:31has created a sense of hope within the music scene
01:34in his hometown of Mount Gambier.
01:36There's a real sense of confidence in the scene at the moment
01:39and there's a real buzz and excitement for our,
01:42like, especially our younger original musicians.
01:44Excitement born out of support for the people who entertain us.
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