An open letter from E tū Musicians Union to Wellington City Council.

E tū Musicians’ Union is a diverse collective of musicians from across Aotearoa’s musical landscape. Music is a key component of Pōneke’s cultural identity and integral to the well-being of the city and its people. Our vision for Pōneke is a city where music is valued and given the space to thrive.

It is crucial that Wellington City Council (WCC) recognises and responds to the needs of the city’s creative community in its approach to urban intensification and supporting the creative arts. In creating a more livable inner city, we must protect the activities that make our central city a desirable place to live. We believe the following recommendations will ensure Pōneke maintains its creative city status.

(For more information on the asks listed below), please refer to the full document at the bottom of this page).

  1. Rates for Musicians at Wellington City Council funded events. Rates should:
  • be calculated using the Living Wage, accounting for both the value of the arts and time spent on the performance off-stage
  • increase annually with CPI
  • be listed on WCC’s website
  1. Musicians’ representation on the Aho Tini Creative sector working group:
  • E tū to lead the formation of this group to make sure it represents the diversity of musicians in Pōneke
  • Musicians’ group to meet with council at least 3 times a year
  1. Wellington City Council to increase its support of both new and existing opportunities for musicians in Pōneke:

Support for local promoters and acts:

  • WCC should, where possible, prioritise partnerships with local promoters and/or ticketing agencies. Where WCC does engage with overseas promoters or ticketing agents, there should be at least one local act on the line up.

Noise control at live music venue:

  • Noise complaints should only be counted against a venue when there is evidence provided by a WCC noise control officer that a venue was exceeding maximum permitted noise emission levels.
  • Create a new zoning designation with more permissive settings for live music venues like the “High Noise Area” on Courtenay Place.
  • Expand the list of days exempt from Temporary Activity Noise regulations to include all public holidays. 

More spaces for live music in the city:

  • Introduce a targeted rate on commercial space which is vacant for more than 3 months, allowing space to be used for temporary creative events.
  • Provide targeted support and remove barriers to help transform underutilised spaces into modern venues that can support live music and our broader creative community. 
  • Introduce community pricing for WellingtonNZ and other CCO venues to make them more accessible and affordable and increase use during lower-demand periods. 

If you want to live in a thriving Pōneke, with opportunities for musicians, creatives and their audiences – please sign this open letter in support of our recommendations. They will be presented to council on the 28th of November alongside your signature. 

E tū Musicians’ Union Wellington City Council Reccomendations

Name(Required)
e.g Musician in [xxx] band, Owner and operator of [xxx] Live Music venue, Audience member, Music Teacher, Manager of [xxx] community venue, etc.
Address(Required)
I am signing in support of E tū Musicians' Union recomendations to WCC(Required)