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Australian orgs welcome $34m live music pledge

Australian music organisations have welcomed a pledge by the Victorian government to invest A$34 million in the state’s live music sector.

Premier Daniel Andrews, who is seeking a third term, and minister for creative industries Steve Dimopoulos have also promised cash to support 10,000 concerts over the next four years and $1,000 grants for artists if Labor prevail in this weekend’s state election.

The commitment also includes  $2.5m for a Live Music Major Events Fund, providing grants of up to $50,000 for festivals across the state, plus $2.4m for music industry charity Support Act to assist Victorian artists, managers, crew and music workers who face challenges with their mental health.

“We greatly appreciate this election commitment from the Victorian government,” says Support Act CEO Clive Miller. “If realised, it will have an enormous impact for our programs in Victoria, and help us to help the industry build back better after the disruptions of the past few years.

“We know from our own research that people working in music have elevated levels of psychological distress, suicide ideation, anxiety and depression, and that our prevention, education and training programs have real impact, as they are designed and delivered by people who work in music and have lived experience.”

“It will go a long way to helping the music industry get back on its feet and share great music with Victorians”

Miller adds that Support Act’s remit had increased significantly over the past few years, and that he hopes other governments – and the Victorian opposition – are also factoring Support Act into their upcoming budget planning.

The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) has also backed the move.

“The Victorian music community was hit hard by extended lockdowns leading to live performance cancellations, and now face the challenges of reopening with rising costs, skills shortages and poor consumer confidence,” it says.

“This commitment addresses a range of aspects in the music ecosystem including live music, festivals, education and importantly the mental health toll on our community. It will go a long way to helping the music industry get back on its feet and share great music with Victorians.”

 


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Great Southern Nights sells more than 75,000 tickets

More than 75,000 tickets were sold for Great Southern Nights, a government-backed concert series which brought more than 1,000 Covid-safe gigs to venues across New South Wales (NSW) during November.

The series, presented along with the Australian recording industry association (Aria), was organised with the aim to reinvigorate NSW’s live music scene.

Artists including Tones and I, the Presets, Thelma Plum, Jimmy Barnes, the Veronicas and Tash Sultana performed throughout the month.

The shows are supported by NSW’s tourism agency, Destination NSW. The state’s minister for jobs, investment, tourism and Western Sydney, Stuart Ayres, says: “NSW has led Australia, and even the world, in getting live entertainment back on stages, from Great Southern Nights’ 1,100 gigs across NSW to musical theatre reopening in Sydney.

“We have demonstrated that live music is crucial to NSW’s social, cultural and economic well-being and can be enjoyed while following the health advice, which supports NSW’s approach to further easing restrictions in recent weeks.”

“We have demonstrated that live music is crucial to NSW’s social, cultural and economic well-being”

ARIA CEO Dan Rosen added, “It is extremely heartening to see the impact that the Great Southern Nights initiative had on all areas of the live music industry in NSW – from artists and venues to sound and lighting crew.

“This program helped kick-start the live music industry, by getting thousands of artists and music industry professionals back to work and ensuring music fans could experience our great Australian artists in a live environment once again.”

The concert series concluded with two shows at Qudos Bank Arena (cap. 21,000), organised by TEG, Live Nation and the NSW government.

The shows, dubbed Greatest Southern Nights, invited more than 12,000 fans over two nights in a seated, ‘Covid-safe’ setting.

Ocean Alley headlined the first gig, on 28 November, joined by Jack River, Ruby Fields and Jack Botts, with Bernard Fanning and Matt Corby, supported by Merci, Mercy, played the second on 5 December.

TEG CEO Geoff Jones recently spoke to IQ about what it was like organising the first indoor arena shows in Australia since the coronavirus pandemic hit in March.

 


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Australia prepares for live music comeback

The Australian recording industry association (Aria) has teamed up with the New South Wales (NSW) government to put on 1,000 Covid-safe shows across the region, as Australia announces a furthering easing of coronavirus restrictions.

Artists including Tones and I, the Presets, Thelma Plum, Jimmy Barnes, the Veronicas and Tash Sultana are performing as part of the Great Southern Nights series in November.

“This celebration of outstanding Australian artists and incredible live music venues across NSW gives us all something to look forward to, from eventgoers to industry,” comments the minister for jobs, investment, tourism and western Sydney Stuart Ayres.

“With the NSW Government’s 24-hour economy strategy set to reinvigorate Sydney’s nightlife, Great Southern Nights will be a big step forward for our state’s live music and hospitality community that has been hit hard in recent times.”

The government has invited venues in Sydney and regional NSW to nominate themselves to host the shows, which will be put on in accordance with appropriate physical distancing and capacity requirements.

In NSW, a current 50-person capacity limit on music venues, theatres and pubs will be scrapped from 1 July, replaced instead by a one-person-per-four-square-metres rule. Outdoor venues with space for 40,000 people will be permitted to operate at up to 25% capacity, giving the go ahead for events of 10,000. All events must be seated and venues with a capacity of over 40,000 must remain closed.

“This celebration of outstanding Australian artists and incredible live music venues across NSW gives us all something to look forward to, from eventgoers to industry”

Festivals and club nights are not expected to return in the region until August, depending on the public health situation.

Organisers of Byron Bay’s Splendour in the Grass festival last week called off the 2020 edition, which had previously been rescheduled from July to October. Tickets for the 2021 festival, which will take place from 23 to 25 July, are available here.

The new follows an announcement from Australia’s prime minister Scott Morrison last week that the four-square-metre rule, rather than capacity limits, was to apply to venues as the country moves into stage three of its reopening plan next month.

Under the regulations, any seated, ticketed events of under 40,000 people is to be allowed to take place, given there is the adequate amount of space. Nightclubs and large-capacity stadiums will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

The different regions in Australia are approaching the reopening of live music events at varying paces. Large venues in Western Australia were this month able to host up to 300 people in multiple, divided spaces, whereas venues in the state of Victoria will only begin to welcome 50 guests from next week.

Industry body Live Performance Australia has proposed a AU$345 million (€209m) recovery package for the country’s live business, which typically generates $2.2 billion (€1.2bn) each year.

 


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Australian ministers raise concerns over harassment allegations

Two Australian ministers have written to industry association Aria regarding “recent allegations of [sexual] misconduct, harassment and assault in the media, entertainment and arts industries”.

According to Aria (Australian Recording Industry Association), Mitch Fifield, the minister for communications, and Michaelia Cash (pictured), minister for jobs and innovation, sought assurances the recorded music body is doing everything in its power to create “safe workplace cultures” for its members, in the wake of recent allegations of sexual harassment in the Australian music industry.

More than 350 leading female figures in Australian music, including top artists Courtney Barnett, the Veronicas, Tina Arena and Missy Higgins, in December signed an open letter calling for “zero tolerance for sexual harassment, violence, objectification and sexist behaviours” in Australia’s music industry.

#meNOmore: Aus artists and pros rally against sexual harassment

The letter, which also contains multiple anonymous accounts of alleged sexual harassment and assault, launches the #meNOmore movement, follows the similar #närmusikentystnar (‘when the music stops’) campaign in Sweden and a previous industry backed initiative in Australia, Your Choice, which aims to combat the “growing cultural issues around behaviour and lack of personal accountability” in the live music industry.

In addition to raising the Australian government’s concerns, the letter to Aria also draws attention to the resources available to music businesses from a number of public bodies, including the Commonwealth Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Australian Human Rights Commission and Australian Public Service Commission.

Aria responded with a letter to its members, obtained by TMN, which is reproduced below:

Dear members,

We are writing to advise you that ARIA has recently been contacted by Senators Cash and Fifield, in their Ministerial capacities, in relation to ‘recent allegations of misconduct, harassment and assault in the media, entertainment and arts industries’. Assurances have been sought that every effort is being made by ARIA members to ensure safe workplace cultures with robust policies and procedures to deal with instances of misconduct and harassment.

ARIA supports diversity in the workplace, and promotes a safe and non-discriminatory environment for all employees.  As members would know, ARIA does not support or condone any form of illegal, abusive, discriminatory or unlawful behaviour in relation to its own employees or those of its members.

ARIA is committed to ensuring that our working environment is safe for everyone, and will work with its stakeholders and the broader music community to promote a music industry that is safe, diverse and non-discriminatory.

Ministers Cash and Fifield have noted that the Commonwealth has a number of institutional resources which are available to ARIA members to draw upon, to ensure that appropriate policies and procedures are in place to deal with these matters, both contemporary and historic. They have advised that resources available include both the Commonwealth Sex Discrimination Commissioner (Kate Jenkins) and the offices of the Australian Human Rights Commission, the Australian Public Service Commission (ASPC) and the APSC and its Commissioner (John Lloyd).

It is ARIA’s expectation that the majority of its members will already have well established procedures and policies in place, but we note that the resources outlined above, perhaps in conjunction with external direct advice, may be useful for a review of existing policies and practices, or their development.

Please don’t hesitate to contact ARIA if you would like to discuss any of the issues outlined above. ARIA is happy to assist any members who are looking for more information or assistance on these issues.

Thank you.

 


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