You hear a lot of horror stories about the state of Sydney’s music scene, but sad as it is to see a venue finally kill the stage lights and lock the doors, there are plenty of other developments scattered throughout the Harbour City.
One of the most recent contenders to step forward is Six8, which bills itself as a kind of Uber for live music (but without, you know, the gender discrimination). Want a band to appear at your birthday at short notice? Having a barbecue in the park and need an acoustic act to entertain guests? Jump on Six8 and choose your artist.
We speak with managing director Keith Sue during a Six8 Live Music Night at Redfern’s Arcadia Liquors, along with some special guests.
Breaking down barriers between musicians and music lovers
“I guess at its heart, we’re wanting to break down barriers for both sides,” Sue explains. “A lot of artists we’ve spoken to, and also those we know through friendships, have been finding it hard to find gigs and find some way to get their music out there.
“And then we have our hosts, which are just regular people like you and me who like experiencing live music, and being able to do that in ways they haven’t tried before. We can come to a venue like Arcadia and be able to see some bands, but there are so many other ways that live music can happen. It can be in your living room for a cocktail party, it can be down at the beach, wherever. So we’re really trying to open up those experiences.”
In truth, it’s an interesting idea. Sign up as either artist or host, and in short order you have your very own gig. For those who have zero contact with the music industry and rely on a turkey-shoot of dredging Facebook to book a band, they get to target exactly the kind of music they want to hear. In turn, artists get the booking and find themselves with a built-in crowd of potential fans, and better still, an hourly rate.
“We stumbled upon the idea from both sides,” says Sue. “My business partner was really keen to get a band around to his place one afternoon just to hear some tunes, and it turned out to be ridiculous, trying to just reach out there and find a band.
“There was an awesome saxophonist from New Orleans who was playing with us. He was brilliant, really killing it, but couldn’t get a gig because he didn’t know anyone in the industry and was finding it hard to break into. So it’s about building a community. People are interested in the idea, it’s just finding a way of allowing it to happen.
“We’re really keen to see how innovative people get, since they can really just let their imagination go wild.”
An appetite for live music
On the night of our interview, Arcadia Liquors is packed out. Punters had heard of the night through word of mouth (or been enticed from outside by the fairy lights, it turns out), and the majority stick around for the entirety of the show. One person from the crowd, Emily, thinks it’s a great way to learn of new live music.
“I walked past, and I love fairy lights, that always gets me. But I love live music, I’m always drawn to it. I like checking out new artists. There’s more underground places to see now, I think. The fact that everyone is on board with checking out live music – you know, there’s some good artists out there now, you just need to find them. Mainly [through] word of mouth. It’s not so much advertisements. It’s honest opinions from people you know.”
From a larger perspective, it’s about getting people invested in live music. That’s how you drive change.
One of the evening’s performers, Sam Newton, agrees that the growth in underground and non-traditional venues is a great boon to Sydney musicians these days. Across showcase nights such as these, as well as Six8’s format of audience exposure, there are strong avenues for both emerging and established acts.
“It’s pretty difficult. If you look at Facebook, it’s a whitewash of a million different events, and there’s so much paid advertising already there. How do you get someone to choose your event? There’s lots on now.
“Before this small bar thing trickled up from Melbourne, getting gigs was hard. Without them I reckon there’d be half of what there is. Sydney isn’t very good at going out to see live music all that often. They take it for granted, the fact that they live in this hybrid, vibrant area. Especially around the Inner West. I’m a very optimistic person, and I think it’s doable. I think the Six8 model is going to make it easier, and now it’ll be interesting to see how people use that. How people narrow it down to work out you’re the band they want.”
“It’s about creating new spaces for music,” Sue suggests, and right on cue his voice is nearly drowned out by cheering from downstairs. “If I can get on an acoustic guitarist at somebody’s place on a Sunday afternoon, that’s great. From a larger perspective, it’s about getting people invested in live music. That’s how you drive change. If people give a shit about it, then policy will change, you’ll see politicians start to move on [lockout laws].
“If I can use Six8 to get people invested in live music and understand who the artists are by talking to them in their own lounge room, some of those difficulties are going to start to evaporate.”
Six8 is Australia’s new platform for musicians to connect with event hosts. Find out more at six8.com.au.
