Brisbane and Sydney public hearings announced for live music inquiry

The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Communications and the Arts is holding its first round of interstate public hearings this week for its inquiry into the challenges and opportunities within the Australian live music industry.

The Committee will be speaking with industry stakeholders, including peak bodies, broadcasters and event organisers. It will also host several roundtables with musicians, venues, academic researchers and Commonwealth and State government agencies.

The Chair, Brian Mitchell MP notes “the Committee looks forward to continuing its deep dive into the operational and regulatory challenges facing the live music event industry.

“The Committee is also looking forward to discussions in a roundtable format with the key music-related Commonwealth Arts agencies about how Australian live music is recognised and supported in Australia’s cultural policy Revive.”

Mitchell highlighted that areas to be explored will include

• the rapidly changing face of the Australian live music industry;

• changing audience preferences post-pandemic—including new demographic behaviour,

• how digitisation is impacting career pathways and business longevity

The Committee is keen to hear about the opportunities to foster live music as an important way to tell and maintain Australian stories, including through First Nations music.

Mitchell added “Members particularly hope to gain insights into how musicians are honing their craft, finding performance opportunities and engaging with audiences given discoverability challenges and how the royalties regime is impacting artists’ remuneration.”

Details of the public hearings are below, with the full programs and terms of reference available on the inquiry webpage. 

More information about the Committee, including membership, may be found on the Committee’s website. 

Public hearing details

Date: Wednesday, 24th July 2024
Time: 9.40am – 4.00pm
Location: Bristol Room, Royal on the Park, 152 Alice St, Brisbane

Date: Thursday, 25th July 2024
Time: 9.00am – 4.30pm
Location: The Map Rooms—The Michael Crouch Room, State Library of NSW, 1 Shakespeare Place, Sydney

Date: Friday, 26th July 2024
Time: 9.00am – 4.20pm
Location: The Map Rooms—The Michael Crouch Room, State Library of NSW, 1 Shakespeare Place, Sydney

These hearings will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live. 

Image. Credit: pexels/ sebastian ervi