LIVE ENTERTAINMENT NO LONGER STREAMING

By Bayley Cocking

A REGIONAL live entertainment venue has been forced to cease all live-streaming performances, following a recent change in Victorian COVID restrictions.
Initiated after the state’s sixth lockdown, new rules dictate that venues will be unable to live-stream from their premises if their venue is not their home.
Piano Bar, with four sites across regional Victoria, have been streaming live performances from their venues for almost 18 months.
Co-owner Andy Pobjoy said the updated rules “make no sense” and were “contradictory”.
“When we were live-streaming from our venues, it was basically a one-man show,” he said. “If we had two people performing, then we would ensure that they were socially distanced in accordance with COVID-safe rules.”
The Victorian Government website states that religious services can still be live streamed from their place of worship, with up to five people allowed on-site to assist with recording.

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Following the rule change, independent business group Commerce Ballarat shared their frustration with the rule change on social media, maintaining that the “restriction has been reactive with no evidence provided to suggest small businesses streaming has caused any COVID transmission.”
“The new rules are hypocritical,” Mr Pobjoy said. “We were able to live-stream with only one person on site and we’re the ones that are breaking the rules.”
According to a study from the University of London, experiencing live music can greatly improve an individual’s well-being, self-worth, and mental stimulation.
Mr Pobjoy said the streams greatly assisted with the mental health of all who participated in the performances.
“Probably half of our viewers are people who live alone,” he said. “The live streams were crucial in connecting people with each other, they fostered a sense of community and hopefully helped to ease the hidden costs of isolation.”
Since the first lockdown in March of 2020, Piano Bar has broadcast over 300 performances, with one stream reaching almost 150,000 views.

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Geelong resident Joel Murphy, who viewed some of the online live streams in the past year, said the live streams were “a lot of fun”.
“I would head to Piano Bar before and between lockdowns,” he said. “When it was closed, the live streams were the next best thing, and a great way to switch off and enjoy yourself during isolation.”
“It’s a shame that Piano Bar can’t stream anymore, I know that a lot of people really loved tuning into them.”
To navigate the rule change, Mr Pobjoy set up his piano, microphone and recording equipment in Geelong’s Eastern Gardens, while he constructs a temporary venue in his garden shed at home.
“It’s a real challenge to stream from home, because Piano Bar is such a unique venue and I want to match that as best I can,” he said.
“All the hard work will definitely be worth it, and we just can’t wait until we can perform in our venues with crowds again.”

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