Article in The Age!

IT WOULD BE SO UNKIND TO LET THE MUSIC DIE

SUZANNE CARBONE

March 19, 2010

THE din has died down over the demise of Melbourne's live music scene but the fight goes on. To appease music fans at the ballot box, Arts Minister Peter Batchelor found $250,000 to create the peak body Music Victoria and one of the names on the interim board is Darren Sanicki.

He's a music and entertainment lawyer who represents artists spanning Australian Idol winner Stan Walker and Kamahl. Sanicki composed the famous Footy Show tune More than a Game and knows live music is more than entertainment, evident from the 10,000 protesters who slammed liquor licensing laws in the Save Live Australia's Music rally.

Music Victoria hopes to secure government funding for the next five years, with Sanicki saying: ''We're 100 per cent dedicated to achieving a better outcome for the music industry.'' SLAM campaigners will deliver a petition with 20,000-plus signatures to Parliament in April. Possibly on a flatbed truck.