Requiring government departments to use local music in advertisements, more funding for music grants and a better gig list are all on the agenda as the State Government’s live music strategy starts to take shape.

Live Music Thinker in Residence Martin Elbourne – a former booker for the Glastonbury Festival in the UK – is in the final stages of his residency and close to handing final recommendations to the State Government on how to improve the local scene.

Elbourne, Premier Jay Weatherill and several other local and national music luminaries fronted a panel session at the University of Adelaide on Friday to speak about their plans.

Weatherill said the easiest way to stimulate the sector was to inject Government procurement funds into it.

The Government’s Industry Participation Advocate is already tasked with ensuring as much of the State Government’s $3.8 billion tender bill goes to local firms.

There was no reason that role couldn’t be extended to cover music used in advertising, which could be sourced from local bands, the Premier said.

“That’s a massive opportunity for us to use the power of the government’s procurement to actually drive live music,” he said.

“There’s a great role here for us to do some simple things, to fill in some of the gaps.”

Answering a question from the audience, Weatherill agreed the music grants program ran by Arts SA was underfunded.

“I actually do think that the whole live music thing is an area of focus that we haven’t actually invested in as much as we’ve invested in other art forms.”

Elbourne suggested a centralised website with a comprehensive gig listing to make it easier for people to find local music near them.

Throughout Elbourne’s residency, a constant discussion point has been the number of live music venues operating in Adelaide.

In the past Elbourne has made his views on the topic clear – there are far too many, and it wouldn’t be a bad thing of some closed down.

A supporting voice came from FiveFour Entertainment’s Craig Lock, who complained the high number of venues in Adelaide – he estimated there were about 60 to about 500 local acts – meant too many low-quality bands were getting slots.

“How many times do you think each band is going to play in each venue? How many times can they drag their friends out to that same gig?

“It just becomes too much; there’s no hunger from bands to get shows, because they can so easily obtain a show. This is a problem that I see all the time.

“At the moment they’re going to send an email to me, and I’m going to give them a gig because I don’t have a choice.

“We are in a situation in Adelaide where we have more venues than other places, and we have less bands than other places, and we have less punters going to shows.”