The Palais Theatre, St Kilda’s grand old film and music icon, has been hoovered up by American global giant, Live Nation Entertainment.
Though we’ve suspected this could be the outcome for some time, many in the local community here in Port Phillip are still scratching their heads at the news. How could a Council, so committed to local culture -- and which has so famously fought chain store retailing and marketing on its famous Foreshore -- end up with such a decision? Many in the community, and in the music industry, are angry.
Certainly Live Nation’s global reach brings international resources and connections into the equation, and its Australian subsidiary (formerly Michael Coppel Presents) brings big-end Australian music industry oomph to the table. But the threat of commercial exclusivity and monopolisation is palpable. How well will a playlist generated from market dominance serve music culture in Melbourne? How well will the Palais Theatre – our ‘Jewel in the Crown’ – fare as a pawn in their game?
The flawed decision in the first place -- to separate the Palais out from the larger Triangle Site lease – has left the Palais isolated and disconnected from the broader potentialities there. The original vision of a physically, culturally and functionally integrated Triangle Site seems to have evaporated. What interest or commitment do the new lessees of the Palais Theatre -- the single-most important institution on the foreshore – now have to the future of the Triangle redevelopment around it?
The decision on the Palais lease has also been made in extreme isolation, in a process of rigid secrecy and confidentiality. It has been two years since the community last saw a version of the tender evaluation criteria. Since then the Palais’ widely admired and trusted current managers have been dumped, without public explanation.
Our city councillors have been unable to exchange information or feedback with us on the terms of evaluation they voted on. Released with the decision’s announcement, those criteria appear to be strongly weighted towards business and financial considerations, and less towards the cultural vision and cultural appropriateness that should be the lease’s prime objective.
The councillors themselves have not even known the composition of the tender evaluation panel until its final recommendation was presented to them. The make up of the panel shows a stark deficiency in live music culture and industry expertise: only one member out of seven with a genuine background in live music culture – and that member served the panel only in the first part of its deliberations.
The City has now, at least, provided us with a large amount of information on the background to the tender process and its evaluation – much of it laudable within its limited terms and context. But we have been left with many more questions, and alarm bells ringing, about what has just happened. What really has just happened – with our beloved Palais Theatre? -- with the future of live independent music culture in Melbourne? -- and with our local council?