Singer, songwriter and creator of Sydney's tiniest music venue, The Newsagency

Hello!

I am Alison Avron. I am a singer, songwriter, piano player and most known for creating the very intimate music venue, The Newsagency.

I started The Newsagency in 2011 because I wanted to launch my first EP in a comfortable, listening environment that didn't come attached with the pressures of bringing a huge amount of people. Since then I've been opening my doors every week for independent artists and audience members alike.  As a result of having the space, I've also had some great opportunities as a musician. I've released 2 EPs and a live album. I've sung with people like Kamahl, Monsieur Camembert and worked with Lady Sings it Better. Heck, I've even been nominated for things like Marrickville Council Citizen of the Year. 

The best thing of all, is that I get to combine my love for community and music.

How things have been: 

Up until now, the space runs on a venue-for-hire basis. There is no bar because I want to make it purely focused on music and keep it true to why I leased the space in the first place; somewhere I could express myself as a musician. Most of the money I receive is invested into things like venue maintenance, public liability, rent, electricity and other associated costs. If I earn any money from performing, songwriting or teaching as Alison Avron - that's an added bonus.  I've managed to keep my head above water all through creating my own music and supporting other people in their musical endeavours.  But... that's not to say there haven't been setbacks.

Last year was the toughest setback of them all. In March my mum was diagnosed with a stage 4 brain tumour (the worst kind). Naturally I moved back home to South Australia to be with her. She sadly passed away 3 months later.  As you can imagine, it was the hardest time of my life. I never thought I would be saying goodbye so soon, let alone from such awful circumstances, to the woman who not only raised me but was also the biggest supporter of my music and The Newsagency. 

I still get very sad about it - I probably always will, and as a result my momentum for everything has really suffered. 

How things are now:
 
Things really aren't going as great as I'd like them to. The reality is I'm not performing/releasing much music at the moment, or hosting many artists at The Newsagency.  But I want to start doing this all again because it's what I love doing the most. 

I'm set to record an album in October with my friend and multi-platinum record producer, Philip Jimenez, at his studio in New York.  It's an altogether daunting but exciting prospect and I feel it's what I need to get myself back in the music game. 

With the current booking model at The Newsagency I'm very limited as to how many risks I can take. I'm very dependent on the venue hire which can be quite stressful at times and I know sometimes it can be a bit of a turn off for artists. 

How things could be with your help:

By using Patreon, I'll be able to ask more people for less money but get to do more things more regularly. It's an ongoing form of crowdfunding which is pretty much based on the concept of rich people being patrons of fancy buildings like The Opera House. Except that you don't necessarily have to be rich to support me. In fact, I'm really only asking for as little as a dollar a month from the 4000 or so of my fans on Facebook. [$12/year] Depending on the amount you pledge each month you will get some great rewards like discounted entry to shows at The Newsagency, videos and recordings of my music.

With your help, I'll be able to give you music I'm really proud of AND take bigger risks at The Newsagency so you can see more shows at the space you love. 

Thanks for taking the time to read and I sincerely hope we can work together and make great stuff happen for this thriving independent music community.

XX