Leading promoters fearful of rising cost pressures on live music

The rising cost of air fares, freight, overall supply chain issues and COVID-related compliance are increasing the cost of staging live music events according to leading industry promoters in Australia and New Zealand.

Speaking today during the Promotors Panel at the 2022 Asia-Pacific Venue Industry Congress in Sydney, Dion Brant, Chief Executive at Frontier Touring; TEG Chief Executive, Geoff Jones and Mark Kneebone, Managing Director New Zealand at Live Nation APAC, each spoke of the challenges promoters are facing as the live music industry recovers from two years of COVID lockdowns across the region.

Against a backdrop of rising inflation, each member of the panel expressed concerns about touring acts, promoters and venues being squeezed in the current market.

To alleviate pressures, Brant suggested that state governments should consider reducing venue hire costs at facilities that they own, suggesting “this would be a real help”.

Jones went on to explain how the formation of the Live Entertainment Industry Forum (LEIF) during the first months of the pandemic shutdown had brought industry stakeholders together and had been successful in highlighting the value of the industry to governments.

Looking back he recalled “it seemed many in government didn’t understand the industry and thought it live entertainment was something people did for fun and didn’t realise the people that this industry touched and the long tail of businesses that work in the live entertainment space.”

Looking forward Jones suggested the industry’s best chance for future support would come from state governments.

Commenting on the situation in New Zealand, Kneebone noted “we were very fortunate in having a Prime Minister (Jacinda Ardern) who was Minister of Arts and Culture at the same time which made having access to those kind of conversations easier.”

Kneebone also commended New Zealand’s events industry insurance programs which went out to suppliers and kept them in business which, he added “is why this summer events and concerts will happen.”

Commenting on the availability of acts, each member of the panel was encouraged at how new acts such as Harry Styles, Justin Beiber, Ed Sheeran had gravitated beyond arenas to become acts capable of filling major stadia, replacing the heritage acts of past decades.

Chaired by Tim Worton, Group Director - Arenas for ASM Global (Asia Pacific), the Promotors Panel is a popular mainstay of the Venue Management Association’s  annual Congress.

Overall, the 29th Asia-Pacific Venue Industry Congress, which concludes tomorrow at the ICC Sydney, has attracted more than 360 delegates and 40 exhibitors.

Image: The Promoters panel at the 29th Asia-Pacific Venue Industry Congress.