• Australia’s live entertainment industry has almost fully returned to pre-pandemic attendance allowances, with 100% capacity at venues now allowed in almost every state.
• The live entertainment sector received $135 million from the Federal Government to bolster the industry in March.
• It coincides with the final gasps of lockout laws in Sydney and Newcastle, with the last remaining restrictions lifted this week.
• Visit Business Insider Australia’s homepage for more stories.

The live music industry is scaling back to 100% capacity as more states relax restrictions, facing off setbacks from snap lockdowns and coinciding with the long-awaited end of lockout laws in several cities.

Venue operators in Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Newcastle and Canberra have all relaxed rules, following Queensland’s decision to return to 100% capacity in early 2021.

As of March 8, the lockout laws first introduced in 2014 are officially over, with the final restrictions on hospitality businesses in Kings Cross lifted following the lifting of the ban in the CBD and Oxford Street in January 2020. And after 13 years Newcastle’s lockout laws will be lifted in September for a 12-month trial.

The NSW Premier officially reviewed public gathering restrictions in Sydney and across the state on March 16, with 100% seated capacity returning for entertainment and sporting venues including stadiums and theatres from March 29.

On April 10, Melbourne opened indoor and outdoor entertainment, cultural and sports venues of up to 1,000 patrons to return to 100% capacity.

While those over 1,000 remain at 75%, authorities have said they are working at easing these in coming weeks.

Perth too, won back 100% capacity for theatres, concert halls, cinemas, comedy lounges and performing arts centres on April 10, with the two square metre rule for pubs, nightclubs, bars and other music events to be reviewed in May.

In Adelaide, audiences at 100% capacity will have to wear masks however, most venues are allowed to operate unimpeded.

Music venues in the state are also eligible for up to $15,000 from the SA Government’s $320,000 grants via the Music Development Office to deliver original music.

In Canberra, from April 14, cinemas and indoor performance venues with fixed-tiered seating will be allowed to return to full capacity provided events are ticketed and seated, with a 75% capacity rule for non complying venues.

Live music venues will not automatically go to 100% as “we do recognise it’s not going to be practical in all instances to be seated”, ACT health minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said in a statement.

Live entertainment industry calls for insurance scheme to protect workers

A return to pre-pandemic attendance levels follows months of advocacy by industry groups who argued the sector was being neglected.

Music advocacy organisation the Australian Live Music Business Council (ALMBC) called for venue capacity limits to be lifted for months, along with the installation of an “essential live music industry worker permit” that would allow relevant workers to travel interstate despite border closures.

And following the cancellation of Bluesfest, other industry groups including the Australian Festival Association, and APRA AMCOS, the industry body representing Australian songwriters and publishers, pushed for better protections from the government for businesses in the sector with a ‘business interruption fund’ to shield large-scale events from last-minute cancellations, with Live Music Australia calling it “a matter of urgency.”

In late March the Federal Government announced it would provide $135 million to bolster the live event sector, following the end of its JobKeeper wage subsidy on March 31.

A survey released around the same time highlighted the tenuous position of the live music sector; “the perception that live music is back disguises the devastating reality facing our industry,” ALMBC executive general manager Craig Spann said at the time.

The ALMBC survey found that nearly 80% of live music businesses said they expected to close in 6 months unless restrictions were eased, with 45% saying would be only three months before they were forced to close.

It also revealed that 70% of live music businesses 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.

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