International stars to get big venue discount for booking Aussie acts on stadium and arena tours

More Aussie artists will get to play at stadiums as NSW government waves venue hire discount carrot at international pop stars.

International artists who book Aussie acts on their tours will get a discount of up to $20,000 on venue hire of NSW stadiums and arenas hire as the Minns Government boosts the coveted opportunity to get homegrown music back on the big stages.

Getting a support slot on superstar tours to play in front of tens of thousands of fans is a game-changer for Aussie musicians.

Rising rockers Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers are now touring America with Pearl Jam after opening for them on their stadium gigs in November while Kita Alexander has a hit on her hands with her latest single Press Pause after performing on the Dua Lipa tour.

Kita Alexander’s new single got a big boost after she opened for Dua Lipa. Picture: Instagram

Chart-topping rockers Ball Park Music will score invaluable exposure to a new audience when they open for Oasis at their sold-out stadium shows in November.

“In our career to date, we’ve had - and continue to get - great support slots where we’ve seen a direct growth in our audience that often translates to a boost in our number of long-term fans, none of which would have discovered us without that exposure,” Ball Park Music’s Sam Cromack said.

The initiative will offer promoters booking bigger venues including Accor Stadium, Allianz Stadium, CommBank Stadium, McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle Entertainment Centre, the Sydney Cricket Ground and WIN Stadium and Entertainment Centre a $20,000 venue hire discount and $5000 at the Sydney Opera House in return for choosing a local act to open the show.

The NSW Government is the first to adopt “Michael’s Rule”, named after the late artist manager Michael McMartin whose passion was to see Aussie talent get the big stadium gigs to boost their audiences.

Australian band Ball Park Music will open on the Oasis stadium tour. Picture: Supplied.

The career of the Hoodoo Gurus, who were managed by McMartin for almost 40 years, took off after supporting Lou Reed in 1984 and in the 1990s, You Am I played Australia shows with Soundgarden before touring the US with them.

“This will help Aussie artists take an even bigger stage on international playlists, skewing the Spotify algorithm to mix in more Aussie tracks and put NSW up in lights as a home of great music,” Premier Chris Minns said.

Michael’s Rule was inspired by the late Hoodoo Gurus manager Michael McMartin. Picture: Supplied.

Minister for Music and the Night-time Economy John Graham has introduced a raft of measures to rebuild the state’s live music has added 302 venues by extending trading hours.

The Government also boosted the cap on concerts at Allianz Stadium with all available slots now on hold by local promoters for more tours to be announced later this year.

But Graham said the Australian music industry remains in crisis, with only three local acts on the 2024 ARIA top 100.

“The rise of streaming is flooding our market with American music and creating a roadblock for NSW artists trying to break through. By adopting Michael’s Rule we will get more local acts on to the big stage,” Graham said.

“While local shows are suffering, fans are still paying the big money for big international acts. Michael’s Rule will help our local artists capture that attention.”

Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers with Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder backstage at Australian show. Picture: Instagram.

Teen Jesus singer Anna Ryan called on other states to wave the carrot of a venue discount at the big international acts.

“We received the news (about Michael’s Rule) at the airport on our way to Nashville to support Pearl Jam so we are proof that having Australian artists on international tours at home really does impact careers,” Ryan said.

“Hopefully other states will join the call!”

Originally published as International stars to get big venue discount for booking Aussie acts on stadium and arena tours