Live Performance Australia says industry problems not the fault of one company

Live Performance Australia has backed entertainment giant Live Nation following a critical ABC report aired on Four Corners last night.

The peak body for live arts and entertainment industry, LPA noted that while there some parts of the music industry under real pressure, to blame all of those problems on a single company is “counter-productive to addressing the real issues at stake”.

LPA highlighted that many of the issues facing the Australian industry are being experienced globally: the structural challenges and transitions affecting all levels of the live music industry including huge increases in production and touring costs; new ways that audiences are discovering and experiencing music including through streaming platforms; and, changing audience preferences for the kind of live music experience they want.

In the statement released by LPA following the Four Corners program, LPA noted that “any discussion about the state of Australia’s live music industry needs to be focused on the facts” and provided the following:

Fact: Australia’s live music industry is highly competitive. No single company dominates the market, as asserted by Four Corners. The three largest promoters are all fiercely competing for artists and audiences, among many others. LPA’s own analysis of ticket attendance and revenue for contemporary music concerts and festivals shows no single promoter had a dominant market share. This is also readily obvious from a scan of the promoter’s own websites which show past and current tours.

Fact: Our industry operates within Australian competition and consumer laws. Suggestions that companies are operating outside the law, or indeed even ‘misusing their market power’ should be backed up with hard evidence. Members of Live Performance Australia, which include our major ticketing platforms, are also covered by our industry code of practice for ticketing.

Fact: What ‘Four Corners’ conspiratorially labelled ‘secret’ or ‘hidden’ fees (the ‘inside charge’) are actually an established practice under Australia’s consumer law which requires an ‘all-in’ pricing approach where all of the elements related to different costs built into the ticket are included in the single price.

Fact: Our major promoters provide valuable opportunities to showcase Australian talent to local and international audiences. Over 85% of international tours to Australia have local support acts even though it’s ultimately a decision for the headline artist.

Fact: Average ticket prices for contemporary music have only grown by 2.7% CAGR from 2004 to 2023. There will always be variability year to year in average prices depending on a range of factors including international touring schedules and exchange rates. The comparison between 2022 and 2023 for example reflects a post-pandemic return to global touring and a shift towards bigger stadium level concerts by some major international artists.

LPA note the industry needs to “lift the conversation to a much more strategic and collaborative mindset to drive industry growth, providing more opportunities for artists to build their careers and for audiences to discover, experience and enjoy more live music.”

The Australian Live Music Business Council (ALMBC) is focussed on supporting their thousands of members who are sole traders, microbusinesses and small businesses – those in the grass roots of the music industry and the most impacted when major festivals, etc are cancelled.

ALMBC told Australasian Leisure Management “we have been successfully advocating for transparency, removal of government funding for multi-nationals, the introduction of an Arena Ticket Levy and more for some years.

“We certainly believe that multi-nationals have a great role to play in the local industry, however we must ensure that they act responsibly and not in ways that reduce or destroy the local industry.”