Neither places to play nor places to rehearse

Palm"Local bands with their own songs have to settle for 'existing' during the first few hours of festivals or playing in bars for a pittance. And we know from experience that without gigs in sight, there's usually no rehearsal, and without rehearsal, bands eventually die." This is how Tià Lladó, a member of Reggaetonpare, explains it. He acknowledges that "if I had to start a band from scratch now, I might think about it more because there are not enough spaces that encourage a developing music scene." Meanwhile, Marina Viedma, a member of Es Gall de Sa Pastera, affirms that while musical creation in Mallorca is experiencing a good moment, the offer of venues to play is very limited. "There aren't many, and it often depends on the initiative of collectives that do what they can with the resources they have, whether to put on festivals or organize concerts," shares Viedma, who values certain institutional initiatives positively, but misses "a clear strategic line" in this regard.

Musicians like Dani Gómez and Joan Roig, members of the group Saïm, express a similar sentiment. "The feeling is that there's no overall vision, not even a real understanding of the things we do and the musical movement that exists. Thus, it's difficult to make a clear commitment to contributing to professionalization, which doesn't mean paying well for a gig once a year. It means having stable places to rehearse and play, and resources to carry out your project," they opine. In Roig's case, in fact, he claims to have gone through about fifteen different places to rehearse with the groups he's been part of, a very common dynamic among island musicians, who find it increasingly difficult to find a rehearsal room, with the rising rental prices.

"In Mallorca there are several types of rehearsal rooms, both those rented monthly and by the hour," shares musician Jaume Rosselló, "but the prices are often exorbitant. Since there are so many people looking for places to rehearse and the demand is so high, they can set whatever prices they want. There's even a waiting list," continues the member of bands such as Geometrical Sardine and BOC, among others, who adds that "the involvement of institutions in this regard is zero."

Palma is where there has been talk of remedying this shortage for some time, and where, in fact, a municipal project is underway. It was in 2019 when the City Council, governed by the left-wing pact, put out a bid for the rehearsal room project, which envisaged the construction of 10 modular, soundproofed rooms of 17.5 square meters on a plot of land in Son Forteza. The idea was for them to be spaces shared by several groups and that they could be expanded in the future. However, the works are currently at a standstill.

"We have begun the process of terminating the contract with the company that won the tender," explains Fernando Gómez de la Cuesta, General Coordinator of Tourism and Culture at Cort, "since they were unable to complete the project due to reasons attributable to them. As soon as this process is resolved, we will put the project out to tender again." And although he admits that the work is "at a fairly advanced stage," he acknowledges that the process "is taking a long time" due to the lack of response from the construction company. According to the initial project, promoted by the previous government team and which the current one plans to maintain without modifications, according to those responsible, the works were to cost 500,000 euros and the management of this space was to be put out to tender once completed.