Musicians warn government venues and jobs will be lost forever without aid

More than 1000 artists including Tina Arena, John Farnham and Guy Sebastian have petitioned the government for an industry lifeline as venues remain closed indefinitely.

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More than 1000 musicians and music workers from Jimmy Barnes and John Farnham to Jessica Mauboy and Tina Arena have sent an SOS begging the Federal Government to back the embattled industry with financial support for its post COVID survival.

There is “deep anxiety” within the arts community about the future of 4000 venues and thousands of skilled workers, such as sound and lighting technicians, who may be forced to leave the music industry because of the indefinite pandemic shutdown.

It can take eight years to develop the skills of the specialised crew who make gigs happen.

John Farnham has joined the call for a financial package to save the music industry. Picture: Ian Laidlaw

The open letter features the who’s who of Australian artists from big name chart-toppers including the entire Barnes family, Savage Garden, Gotye, Guy Sebastian, Icehouse, Tina Arena and Midnight Oil, through to alternative and emerging artists such as the Teskey Brothers, Thelma Plum, Stella Donnelly, Jack River, The Rubens, Alex Lahey and Lime Cordiale.

Revered songwriters and performers including Archie Roach, Kev Carmody, Lee Kernaghan, Deborah Conway, Marcia Hines and Little River Band have also backed the government call out.

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Artists want the government to implement all the measures proposed in the $345 million survival package outlined by Live Performance Australia last week.

“Our artists and industry are always there to come to the aid of our nation during a crisis. Now it is time for the nation to come to our aid,” the letter states.

Gotye lends his support for the open letter. Picture: Anna Webber

“The Australian music sector fell off a cliff on March 13 when Government made the correct and prudent decision to shut the nation down. Without the ability for artists to play and venues to open around the country, the industry lost billions of dollars in revenue.”

The letter is also signed by industry heavyweights including Michael Gudinski, Michael Chugg, APRA chair Jenny Morris, ARIA CEO Dan Rosen, all the state government music bodies and Sounds Australia, the national music export arm.

Industry insiders fear the Federal and State governments do not grasp the complexities of the $16 billion music ecosystem, which employs hundreds of thousands of people including songwriters, screen composers, crews, managers, promoters, production houses, ticketing companies, agents, background music suppliers and venue staff.

Acclaimed indie pop songwriter Stella Donnelly has also signed. Picture: Supplied

“It’s economics 101 – you can’t expect an industry sector to recover without understanding the depth of interdependent relationships. At its heart, the live music industry is about artists and venues,” APRA head Dean Ormston said.

“Across the whole industry, from top to bottom, there is a deep anxiety that venues and music businesses will disappear permanently.”

The Rubens are among the thousands of Australian artists without a gig during the shutdown. Picture: Supplied

The shutdown has had flow-on effects in the travel, tourism, transport and hospitality sectors.

“While much of the economy starts to re-open, the ongoing restrictions on large gatherings means our industry will continue to be held back from returning to work,” the letter states.

“Without immediate government intervention, the Australian music sector will be hit twice as hard as the rest of the economy and thousands of jobs will be lost within months. The long-term cost to Treasury, the economy and the damage to our cultural infrastructure will be immense and long-lasting.”

Jessica Mauboy and her band and team are off the road because of large gatherings restrictions. Picture: Supplied

The industry acknowledged the importance of the broader economic measures of JobKeeper and JobSeeker.

Arts Minister Paul Fletcher has said about 25,000 people in the creative industries received a JobKeeper payment in April, with total payments of $76.1 million.

The government also allocated $10 million to music charity Support Act to help with financial and mental health assistance to music industry workers.

The open letter “implores” the Federal Government to implement several measures in the assistance package.

1. Extend JobKeeper for the music and broader entertainment sector beyond September to ensure the skilled workers, businesses and venues remain viable until trade is realistic.

2. Expand JobKeeper to those artists and workers in our industry who work gig-to-gig and contract to contract.

3. Establish a $40 million Australian Music Recovery Fund in partnership with state and territory governments, and as part of a broader $345m live performance industry recovery package, to ensure the sustainability of music businesses, service providers and venues over the next twelve months.

4. Boost Australia Council funding with $70 million in grants across all artforms.

5. Commit to reducing red-tape and incentivising the sector with a rebatable tax offset for live music.

Originally published as Musicians warn government venues and jobs will be lost forever without aid