Parliamentary live music inquiry delivers ‘practical and achievable’ recommendations to support the industry

The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Communications and the Arts has released a report recommending that the Federal Government introduce a ticket levy on large music events to raise funds to support for small venues and grassroots live music.

Released today by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Communications and the Arts the report, Am I Ever Gonna See You Live Again?, also calls for a tax offset for the live music industry and improve regulation of live music ticket sales by improving the transparency of fees and charges.

The report was compiled by the Standing Committee following the holding 18 public hearings in Canberra, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth where it received submissions from a wide range of stakeholders, including all levels of government, artists, broadcasters, promoters, venues, festivals, service providers and peak industry bodies.

Among the report’s 20 recommendations it calls for:

• The Australian Government to investigate the potential benefits of a tax offset for the live music industry and that Treasury, the Office of the Arts and Creative Australia should be tasked with developing a policy proposal for the Australian Government to consider.

• Consumer law to be amended to better regulate the selling of tickets to live music, by improving the transparency of fees and charges within the price of tickets and limiting extreme variability in ticket prices caused by ‘dynamic pricing’.

• The introduction of a small levy to the price of tickets to large music events to raise funds to support for small venues and grassroots live music.

• An extension of the Revive Live program should be considered and funded through a ticket levy and funds disbursed by Music Australia.

In the lengthy foreword to the report, Committee Chair Brian Mitchell, the Federal MP for Lyons in Tasmania, outlined the importance of live music, and specifically explained how the likes of the report’s namesake would never have become a cultural touchstone had it never been played live.

Noting that the inquiry’s recommendations, if taken up by Federal Government, would help ensure a strong and sustainable future for live music in Australia, Mitchell advised “it was clear to us that many people across the country are doing a lot of work on live music.

“There was broad agreement about the myriad challenges and a lot of good ideas about how to grasp the opportunities of a fast-changing technological landscape.”

“Our Committee hasn’t sought to reinvent the wheel, but rather bring all that work and evidence together in a report and a set of recommendations that are practical and achievable.”

Elsewhere, he also acknowledged the challenges facing the industry, touching on how consumers now largely stream music as opposed to buying it outright, and how tours and ticket sales are now vital for musicians to make a living.

He added “there are fewer pubs willing to accommodate live acts and those who do make less money because drinking habits have changed

“Making money from playing music has always been hard but it’s harder now than ever.

“But there’s also opportunity, and young, innovative artists are finding their way to make a living. Relationships with audiences are more direct and can be more authentic - traditional powerbrokers have less authority; the music executives, the producers, the FM DJs can’t make or break artists in the way they used to (Spiderbait’s Buy Me A Pony comes to mind). Artists can have more control over their art and - importantly - their own merchandising and image.”

Responding to the report, Dean Ormston Chief Executive of music licencing body APRA AMCOS, stated “this report delivers a roadmap for a stronger, more sustainable Australian music industry that can thrive both at home and on the world stage.

“This is a chance to get the policy settings right, to build on the co-investment of successive Australian governments, back the venues and festivals that bring live music to audiences and ensure that our artists have the opportunities they deserve, both here and internationally.”

Click here to read the Am I Ever Gonna See You Live Again? report.

Image: Splendour in the Grass. Cancelled for a second consecutive year in 2015.