505’s Open Letter

As we near the celebration of our 8th birthday and move into our fourth year at Cleveland Street we are being forced to ask the big questions. Times are certainly tough across the board especially in the arts, government funding is being cut left, right and centre and everyone is struggling. We have always aimed to fight the good fight, to provide a place for the best of the best to play to a respectful and appreciative audience, a place for musicians to call home where the music comes first.

 

 To remain true to what we believe is needed to make that happy home we remain completely independent and unfunded by any government bodies. While this enables us to truly strive for autonomous management and closer to the golden dream of an artist run community that is self sufficient, it also means that we rely directly on you, our community for our financial support.

A lot has changed in the past few years since we opened Cleveland Street. There are now many more venues and many more gigs to play and attend. We have to now ask are we still relevant, would you miss us if weren’t here, has 505 served its purpose or do we still hold an important place in this community? We certainly think we do. We have dedicated our lives, time and given continuous financial support to this project which we have always believed to be vitally needed in Sydney.

But this past year has been the hardest for us in our eight years. We still believe we program some of the best music in town, people tell us every day that we have the best venue in town, we get great press and editorial and even win awards yet numbers are down across the board, 505 is struggling and we are not sure what more we can do. An idea no matter how good it is in theory can simply not survive without support.

We are proud to have been around for eight years and to have lead the way for so many other spaces and been the inspiration to many more, but it’s easy to take things for granted once they have been around for a while. The cultural contribution 505 has made to the live music scene in Sydney is undeniable, over our eight years we have presented close to 1200 gigs, employed thousands of musicians and contributed significantly to the arts sector. We have struggled to keep entry fees down and bar prices low despite rising costs to ensure that gigs are as affordable as is humanly possible. All the takings from the gigs go directly to the artists and to the running cost of the venue.

Every other week a new venue seems to open with live music. Very few of them are dedicated music venues, for most of them music is ancillary to their main core of business, they are able to pay for the cost of the entertainment through high volume turnover of food/beverage and they do not support or insist upon a focused listening environment. For us it is the other way around.

We believe, and will always believe, that it is vital to have a dedicated venue where the music comes first but we are now having to compete with the venues that are able to have no cover charge, offer free drinks and other incentives to draw you all in. We don’t want to become another venue with free entry and background music. We are the only full time venue in Sydney where music comes first and it would be an absolute shame to see that disappear.

So it seems we have reached an impasse and are seeking some signs of where to go to from here. On one hand our figures tell us that you all prefer to go to the other venues that offer free entry and are not necessarily music focused. Yet on the other hand you tell us that you love our venue and support what 505 is doing.

In eight years we have never laid down our cards but the time has come, here they are. If you all truly do want what you tell us you want, then don’t hesitate to come out and hear the great music you love. Times are tough for everyone, the world is in financial crisis. We are all feeling the pinch and it might costs you a few dollars but seeing live music and supporting musicians will feed your soul for days. We need punters in the door and we need them now. We want to ensure that when the economy turns 505 is still standing having survived through the worst, but to do so we need your support. A few visits from each of you now will make all the difference to 505 being here in the future.

We still believe that Sydney needs an artist run, performance focused, dedicated room. If you do too then the time is now to show you care. Pop in buy a drink, tell your friends, come at least once a week and make sure that 505 makes it to a decade.

Cameron and Kerri

Directors 505