LIVE MUSIC NEEDS MORE HELP

This week marks one year since live performance was shut down by government decree.

It was March 13, 2020 that the newly formed National Cabinet put a stop to gatherings of more than 500 people - forcing the cancellation of countless festivals, concerts and shows planned for the weeks and months ahead.

The reasons for the shutdown were sound. It had to happen to contain the virus. But it was a wrecking ball through an industry already fragile after years of Liberal cuts and neglect.

As I said the very same day without significant government help the sector would be brought to the brink: “Most performers are literally ‘gig workers’: no show means no income. The same goes for the people who help put the shows together.”

A few days later Labor and unions started calling for a wage subsidy. Other countries were doing it to save jobs and keep workers connected to their employers. Scott Morrison said it was a “dangerous” idea and too hard to set up.

When JobKeeper was finally announced many freelance and independent artists and their crew found themselves ineligible because of the way the government designed the scheme.

Sadly, our calls for changes fell on deaf ears. The government either didn’t understand that many in the arts community were missing out - or it just didn’t care.

Labor’s calls for more targeted assistance also went unheeded for months. And when the government finally announced support it took another six months before money started flowing.

A year on - and now those artists and crew who did benefit from JobKeeper will have it ripped away from them on March 28.

The justification for wage subsidies in the industry is still there. Live music has not recovered - far from it.

Even if we could now confidently predict there will be no more outbreaks and no more lockdowns and and no more border closures it could still be many months before touring is back to normal - or as close to normal as we’re likely to get.

Yes, some shows are back. But most are happening at venues running well below capacity - and government support is the only reason the numbers are adding up for those venues.

When that support is withdrawn some venues are likely to go under. That would mean a permanent hit to the industry, simply because the government gave up.

The government is back to pretending there’s no problem. We’re right back where we were a year ago. We’ve come full circle.

The impact of the last 12 months on the live entertainment industry has been profound. The picture is bleak.

According to a recent EY study done for the Live Entertainment Industry Forum, the live music shows and events industry in Australia contributed $12.5 billion to the Australian economy in 2019 pre-COVID – that’s expected to have fallen by 86 per cent in 2020.

A survey done by Live Performance Australia tells us that almost half of the live entertainment industry expects to operate at between zero and 40 per cent of pre-COVID business activity and revenue in 2021; and if JobKeeper is completely withdrawn at the end of March, a third of those companies will have to make staff redundant.

According to I Lost My Gig, an initiative of the Australian Festivals Association and the Australian Music Industry Network, 55 per cent of workers in the music, creative and live entertainment industry are considering leaving it.

So where does that leave us?

This is a test for the government. The evidence is clear – the live music industry has not recovered from the COVID crisis, and it is a long way off returning to pre-COVID levels. While the industry has done its best to adapt, its revenue streams simply aren’t the same.

These are viable businesses hurt by government regulation and government shutdowns. If no further assistance is delivered following the end of JobKeeper, many of these businesses will go under and jobs will be lost.

The music will fall silent. Is that an outcome the government is willing to see?

This opinion piece was first published on themusic.com.au on Tuesday, 9 March 2021.