Australian Live Music Business Council appoints inaugural Executive General Manager

Recently formed advocacy group the Australian Live Music Business Council (ALMBC) has announced the appointment of Craig Spann as its inaugural Executive General Manager.

Established in July to provide a voice for all levels of the live sector, the Council represents agents, venues and small promoters through to ticketing companies, poster companies, media, publicists, food vendors, security, music technicians, crew and other sector stakeholders.

Spann’s background in the past 20 years has been government and business relations, media and communications, music policy development and strategic planning - working with Virgin Australia, AMIN, QMusic and News Corp.

Commenting on the challenges faced by the group, Spann stated “the live music industry has always been innovative and resilient, but 2020 has challenged our industry like never before.

“Now is the time to unite and use the collective strength of our voices to ensure the survival of our industry and be ready for a strong recovery.”

Having quickly gained 500 company members, the ALMBC has also confirmed its inaugural board with Select Music agency’s Stephen Wade moving from interim to permanent Chairman.

Others on the board are Sharlene Harris (ALH), Brian Chaldil (OzTix/Media Rare), Sophie Kirov (Lost Motel/Badlands), Christina Allen (Seamlaas), Nicholas Greco (Untitled), Phaedra Watts (Nannup Music Festival), Emily York (Penny Drop), Ross Macpherson (Macro Music), Jess Mizrahi (Deloitte Access Economics) and Haydn Johnston (Architects of Entertainment).

Aiming to lobby and educate politicians, officials and the business community that its requirements are different from most sectors, and has a different path to post COVID-19 recovery, the ALMBC is already working on two agenda-setting initiatives.

It is holding discussions with First Nations organisations and community leaders to nominate a representative to its board.

As Wade advises “we want to get this right and will continue to listen to First Nations people within our industry to make sure representation at a board level, along with ALMBCs broader activities, is led by First Nations voices and meet the needs of the community.

“Finalising the makeup of this board has been a detailed process to ensure it reflects the real-world experience of our industry and acknowledges the diversity of people and business across the country.”

It is also developing a range of resources and services aimed specifically at supporting live music get back on its feet.

One is the National Gig-Ready Dashboard, which provides the industry with up-to-date information on COVID restrictions impacting live music in all states and territories.

The data is available for the industry to use for free on its website, with an interactive version currently in development to launch “soon”.

Under Wade’s early leadership, the ALMBC has held meetings with the Federal Government, including Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, along with opposition and leaders.

A recent survey of ALMBC member showed that 70% of live sector businesses face closure within six months without further immediate action from governments and 73% of members reporting a revenue downturn of over 75%.

Images: Craig Spann (top) and Stephen Wade (below).