CULTURE DOGZ.
A cultural music doco that hits like a movie.
From the underground to the airwaves, CULTURE DOGZ is the untold truth about how Australia let its music scene rot — and why we have to fight to bring it back.
This is not about the "music industry" — it’s about who we are as a country. In a GLOBAL context.
Soaked in the beer stained carpets of broken venues, CULTURE DOGZ is, outrage, celebration, and resurrection.
BY JIMMY HEATHWOOD / BLOKBSTR
This is not a vibe piece. This is a cultural document. A political statement.
A music-fuelled slap in the face to apathy.
Find the stories. Expose the truth. Ignite people through memory, rage, humour, music, and momentum.
STYLE: Documentary / Expose Series FEATURING Narrative + Satire + Music
TONE: Loud. Gritty. Funny. Devastating. Real.
STATUS: Concept Development
A GENRE BENDING, COLOURFUL PUNCH TO the INDIE FACE.
THIS IS NOT A FOUR CORNERS DOCUMENTARY.
IT HAS CHARACTER. THINK GUY RITCHIE. THINK TRAINSPOTING. THINK KNEECAP.
Australia holds nearly 18% of the worlds total poker machines, mostly outside casinos, with most in non-gambling venues like pubs and clubs. An unusual global anomaly.
= Pokies in NSW generate more gambling losses than any other jurisdiction on Earth. Over $8 billion per year. That’s more than New Zealand’s entire GDP for arts, sports, and recreation.
And yet — our governments keep the machines spinning, while our venues go silent. SHHHHHHHH!
CULTURE DOGZ, is the connection between this abuse of greed and the suffocation of music culture and art.
Scroll to bottom for cold, hard, objective facts and statistics.
DID YOU KNOW?
Australia’s live music culture is collapsing, NOT because people stopped loving music, or because music became bad — but because powerful systems chose to kill it off.
This isn't about shouting into the void. It’s about cutting through the noise with humility, truth, and a mic still warm from the support acts last song.
We’re not here to posture — we’re here to connect, to reckon, and to rebuild. We are here to inject music back into a culture that has been bled DRY by CULTURE DOGZ.
Real artists. Real stories. Real stakes. Real CORRUPTION.
It is confronting, but it is also INSPIRING. The tone of this is DARK, But the feeling is UPLIFTING. YOU WILL LAUGH, YOU WILL CRY, YOU WILL SING. YOU WILL BUY TICKETS. YOU WILL VOTE DIFFERENTLY. YOU WILL SUPPORT MUSIC.
It’s not polite.
It’s not polished.
If INXS started now, would the world get Never Tear Us Apart?
If AC/DC started now, would we ever hear Thunderstruck?
If Sia started today, would Chandelier ever leave her bedroom?
What would Australia’s be without the music legends who unite us, who give us identity?...... Musicians Grit their teeth so we can all bask in their glory….SO….
…Why have we destroyed the music?
Thus, destroying our very own culture.
?
THIS IS CULTURAL WARFARE
Poker machines killed the cultural economy.
They offered venues an easier way to make money, and in doing so, eroded the economic need to support music, art, and genuine hospitality. NSW didn’t just trade art for profit—it traded community, creativity, and future icons for flashing lights and silent suffering.
If NSW had treated live music with the same legislative protection and financial backing it gave to pokies, Australia might have the global music capital it deserves.
CULTURE HASN’T CHANGED. SYSTEMS HAVE.
Venues are rewarded for pokies, not performances. (Scroll to bottom of document for stats that will make you SICK) (Aus has 18% of the worlds poker machines)
Young artists are suffocated before they can even start.
Kids escape into their screens because there’s no longer anywhere real to go.
And behind it all: a system of policy failure, developer greed, gambling addiction, and political negligence.
dark under-currents
Gambling profits instead of art programs.
Liquor laws and property moguls over community and culture.
Refusal to invest in the emotional and creative health of this nation. We don’t just have a funding problem — we have a values problem. This isn’t theory — it’s blood on the floor.
CULTURE DOGZ WILL NOT SHY AWAY FROM CONFRONTING ISSUES / STORIES.
Real artists. Real fans. Real deaths.
Stories of suicide tied to gambling addiction, facilitated by predatory pokie placement.
Artists who gave up.
Young people who are suffering as a result.
People who have lost EVERYTHING.
Cultural icons who saw the decline and tried to warn us.
People love music more than ever. Young people haven’t turned their backs on culture — culture turned its back on them.
If things feel different than the 80s — it’s not because youth have failed. It’s because:
They have nowhere to play. No time to create.
No support to survive.
This series isn’t just about what’s missing — it’s about why it’s missing, and how we get it back.
THIS IS EXISTENTIAL
In a world more polarised, isolated, and divided than ever — music is still the great unifier. A good
song doesn’t care who you vote for. It doesn’t care about class, race, postcode, or belief. Music is the last shared language. And our kids need connection — now more than ever. Without it, what are we?
HOW IS CULTURE DOGZ UNIQUE?
Told and acted from inside the pit, not behind a desk. With GRITTY, FUNNY script writing that actually portray THE CULTURE, not just talk about it.
No neutral tone. This is a call to arms.
Cinematic reenactments, street-level satire, pure storytelling fire.
We party and protest in the same breath.
Think: KNEECAP doco x Trainspotting x Nathan Fielder x Skate Kitchen x unfiltered ABC rage It’s the riot act — with a soundtrack........
Shot and lighted like a film, yet raw and engaging like you are THERE. Narrative, satirical moments cut between interviews / stories with captivating intensity.
STRUCTURE / direction
Each episode features real life stories, narrative scenes, humour, outrage and inspiration.
A Narrative / character play that progresses through entire series.
Cinematic, sometimes surreal (Atlanta, Euphoria, Kneecap, Bait)
Vibe - INFLUENCE
SOUND / MUSIC - BLOKBSTR provides music composition (based off their upcoming album - Culture Dogz) - alongside big name artists who feature in the series. EG. INXS, ACDC.
Moments where music becomes the message — emotional resonance, social punch, or full- blown chaos
Real-world interviews: artists, punters, bouncers, bookers, icons, politicians..
Narrative voiceover / story arc
Featured artist music moments
Visual grit + conceptual punch-inS
EPISODE IDEAS
What if INXS started now?
Big question, emotional entry point, dream vs reality. Without the opportunities to grit their teeth in a thriving pub scene, Would we ever heard Never Tear Us Apart. What would we sing at weddings?
Blow Up the Pokies
Why should a pub pay for a band, marketing, security and all the other mess that comes with music - When they can have 10 money sucking machines in a dark room with one bartender and peanut machine.
Cost of Culture
Rent, red tape, insurance, the impossible economy for artists, Police prices at festivals. This list never ends.
Plugged Out
Disengagement, streaming culture, what'skeeping kids away. Social Media as an attention empire - not a connection tool.
From Pub to Parliament
Politics, policy rot, and a roadmap for reform.
The Comeback
DIY warriors, new movements, reimagining our scene. Shining the light on those who are
This is not a vibe piece. This is a cultural document. A political statement.
A music-fuelled slap in the face to apathy.
Find the stories. Expose the truth. Ignite people through memory, rage, humour, music, and momentum.
OBJECTIVE STATS
NSW Poker Machine Industry vs The World: Shocking Stats 1. Global dominance of Australias poker machines
Australia has just 0.3% of the worlds population but operates approximately 6% of all gaming machines
(excluding Japans pachinko parlours), and a staggering 76% of all poker machines located in pubs and clubs
globally.
Australia holds nearly 18% of the worlds total poker machines, mostly outside casinos, with most in non-gambling venues like pubs and clubsan unusual global anomaly.
2. NSW holds almost half of Australias pokiesand huge loss figures
New South Wales alone accounts for nearly half of Australias ~190,000 poker machines, meaning roughly
10% of all poker machines on earth are in NSW pubs and clubs.
In FY202223, NSWs non-casino pokie losses reached AUD 8.18 billion, averaging AUD 986 per person.
3. Daily losses that boggle the mind
NSW gamblers lost approximately AUD 2.17 billion in Q1 2025, which equals more than AUD 24 million
dailyover AUD 1 million per hour.
Record annual losses in 2024 hit AUD 8.64 billion, a 67% increase year-over-year.
4. Historical perspective: unbelievable longterm losses
Over the past 30 years, NSW losses on poker machines are estimated at AUD 135 billiondouble Victorias
losses (~AUD 66 billion).
5. Per capita impactAustralia vs the world
Australia leads the world in percapita gambling losses: average annual individual losses are about AUD
1,635 vs USD 809 in the U.S. and USD 584 in New Zealand.
Australia loses roughly AUD 25 billion a year gambling overallhalf from pokies.
6. Social harms and community impact
High poker machine density areas in NSW show 20% more family violence incidents and 30% more
domestic assaults.
Up to AUD 20 billion may be laundered annually through NSW pokies, according to AML regulators.
7. Global contex twhere NSW stands out
Most countries limit pokies to casinos; Australia is among ~35 countries allowing them in public venues.
Per-capita machine density in NSW is among the highest worldwide, rivaling only some U.S. states.
WHAT THE FUCK R WE DOING
NSW holds ~10% of global poker machines.
Residents lose AUD 24 million/day and AUD 8.6 billion/year.
30-year losses: AUD 135 billion.
Social harms include domestic violence and major money laundering concerns. Australias percapita gambling losses are the highest in the world.
THE CONNECTION. ABOVE FACTS = FUCKED Music Scene.
1. Pokies Became the Business Model
Over the past few decades, pubs and clubs that once nurtured live music scenes shifted to a low-
risk, high-reward revenue model: poker machines.
Live music costs money: artists, sound techs, promotion, licensing.
Pokies don't. They’re cash cows that generate millions in passive income every day.
As a result, venues slowly stopped prioritising live entertainment. Why book a band for $1,000 and risk low bar sales when the machines in the corner are quietly making $5,000 that night—no noise complaints, no staff, no broken glasses?
2. Disincentive to Innovate or Offer Real Hospitality
Pokies don’t demand ambience, food quality, or atmosphere. They operate 24/7, rain or shine. That means:
Venues don’t need to cultivate community or culture anymore.
The incentive to book artists, host events, or support new talent disappears.
This has created a landscape where the majority of licensed venues don’t book music, especiallynot original or emerging acts.
3. Landlords and Developers Follow the Money
As pokies flood venues with cash, property owners raise rents and buy out venues, knowing these sites are lucrative gaming hubs.
Music-friendly venues can’t compete financially.
Culturally important spaces are replaced by pokie palaces disguised as pubs. Venues that once gave rise to iconic Aussie bands now can’t afford to exist.
4. The Human Cost: Audiences Disappear
With venues pivoting to gambling instead of music:
Local scenes dissolve.
Artists leave the state—or the industry.
Young people have fewer safe spaces to gather, perform, or discover new music.
When nightlife becomes synonymous with gambling rather than creativity, cultural decay sets in. 5. The Ironic Twist: Musicians Are Often the Victims
Many musicians supplement income by working in hospo—but that sector is increasingly pokies-focused, not performance-based.
Artists who used to be hired to fill rooms now watch pokies fill them instead.
In Summary:
Poker machines killed the cultural economy.
They offered venues an easier way to make money, and in doing so, eroded the economic need to support music, art, and genuine hospitality. NSW didn’t just trade art for profit—it traded community, creativity, and future icons for flashing lights and silent suffering.If NSW had treated live music with the same legislative protection and financial backing it gave to pokies, Australia might have the global music capital it deserves.