• The live music industry is still struggling as border closures and venue capacity limits hold organisations back from return to pre-COVID-19 business.
• Australia’s peak music organisations are calling for the government to allow national tours to resume.
• “The perception that live music is back disguises the devastating reality facing our industry,” ALMBC executive general manager Craig Spann said in a statement.
• Visit Business Insider Australia’s homepage for more stories.

Australia’s live music organisations are calling on states to follow the lead of Queensland and move to 100% venue capacity, saying the perception that “live music is back” disguises the difficulties faced by the industry.

A survey released by The Australian Live Music Business Council (ALMBC) found that nearly 80% of live music businesses expect to close in 6 months unless restrictions are eased.

Almost 70% of live music businesses surveyed said they’d seen their revenue drop by 75-100% since lockdowns began, and 77% said they expected to survive the next six months only if trading conditions improved and restrictions were eased, according to the report.

45% of respondents said it would be only three months before they were forced to close.

“The perception that live music is back disguises the devastating reality facing our industry,” ALMBC executive general manager Craig Spann said in a statement.

“Those shows that are being presented are hampered by restrictions and crowd limits making them unprofitable and unsustainable, with many venues running at well under half their usual capacity for the indefinite future,” he said.

The survey highlighted that the greatest barrier to the live industry fully recovering was venue capacity restrictions.

The next was the loss of wage support through JobKeeper, and interstate border closures.

The ALMBC met with Prime Minister Scott Morrison last Friday to discuss a path forward to retain jobs and have the live music industry back to normal by the end of the year.

“With next to no community transmission, we are confident that we can work with authorities to protect the community in our venues while looking after the future of our industry,” Spann said.

“All we ask is that government at all levels work with us and listen to the deep concerns of our members.”

One of the ALMBC’s proposals is to implement an “essential live music industry worker permit” that would allow artists and crew to travel interstate, even during a border closure or hotspot designation.

Under the plan, if a border closure was triggered, artists would still be able to travel and would liaise directly with relevant health authorities to notify them of travel and adhere to health guidelines.

Calls to follow Queensland’s lead

Another live music organisation, Live Performance Australia (LPA) today called for all states and territories to move to 100% venue capacity now the vaccination program is underway.

LPA chief executive Evelyn Richardson said the live entertainment industry had proved resilient and had complied with state and federal governments over the past year but was ready to fully reopen.

“The industry has worked with all governments to get our people back to work, our shows back on stage and touring,” Richardson said in a statement on Friday.

“We set a goal of getting our theatres open at 100% capacity by March this year.

“We’ve nearly reached 75% audience capacity indoors across the country…with Queensland at 100%,” she said.

“We’re now calling on all states and territories to follow the lead of Queensland and open all indoor theatre venues to 100% capacity.”

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