Live Performance Australia appoints new CEO
Live Performance Australia (LPA), the peak body for Australia’s live performance industry, has appointed Eric Lassen as CEO.
Lassen brings experience as the former CEO of PayPal Australia and senior vice president and deputy general counsel for Live Nation Entertainment.
In addition to those roles, Lassen has served on several not-for-profit boards, including as the president of the Music Forward Foundation.
He succeeds Evelyn Richardson who announced in June that she would step down from her role at the end of the year after an 18-year tenure.
“Australia is home to some of the world’s best creative talent and arts and business leaders, and I’m keen to work alongside them in building and advocating for a sustainable, successful and growing industry which will excite, engage and entertain current and future generations of Australian and international audiences,” says Lassen.
“Australia is home to some of the world’s best creative talent and arts and business leaders, and I’m keen to work alongside them”
Live Performance Australia president Richard Evans added, “While audiences have returned in strong numbers since COVID, our Members are rebuilding and adapting to the post-pandemic environment, and dealing with a challenging economic and business environment, as well as managing policy and regulatory change.
“Eric’s demonstrated leadership experience and ability to successfully navigate complex business, policy and regulatory issues will ensure that LPA stays at the forefront in representing our Members’ best interests and supporting their growth and success.”
Evelyn Richardson adds: “The industry has grown strongly and evolved significantly over the past couple of decades, notwithstanding the disruption inflicted by the pandemic and other challenges along the way.
“It is driven by the passion and resilience of those who create, produce and present live performance. While the current economic and business climate continues to pose challenges, I have every confidence the industry has a bright future and that LPA will continue to play a leading role as its advocate and champion.”
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Australian concert business hits record highs
Live music attendance and revenue reached record highs in Australia last year amid significant ticket price increases, according to a new study.
Live Performance Australia’s (LPA) 2023 Ticket Attendance and Revenue report shows that contemporary music generated A$1.5 billion (€923 million) in revenue from over 14 million attendees, while music festivals generated revenue of $355m (€218m).
Victoria, NSW and Queensland generated the most revenue and attendance for contemporary music festivals – almost 77% of overall revenue, and 75% of overall attendance.
The average ticket price for concerts jumped 47% to $128.21, up from $87.01 the previous year, reflecting hikes in post-pandemic production and touring costs and increased artist fees. The average ticket price for contemporary music festivals rose by 12.4% to $190.54.
“Australians love their live music. Despite rising cost of living pressures during 2023, they were prepared to invest in memorable live music experiences with their favourite Australian and international artists,” says LPA CEO Evelyn Richardson.
“There’s always a degree of variability in the yearly results for contemporary music depending on artist touring schedules. Australia was part of a global trend which saw a resurgence in international touring activity during 2023, and a shift towards bigger stadium-level concerts by some headline artists.”
However, Richardson, who is stepping down from her role at the end of the year, references the struggles faced by Australia’s beleaguered festival sector, which was left in disarray following a flurry of cancellations – and stresses the need for support from the authorities.
“The pausing or cancellation of festivals this year shows some parts of our industry are still dealing with very challenging business conditions”
“While attendance and revenue peaked in 2023, the pausing or cancellation of festivals this year shows some parts of our industry are still dealing with very challenging business conditions due to higher operating costs, changing audience preferences and ongoing cost of living pressures,” she says.
“Governments need to look closely at how they can reduce some of these impacts, particularly regulatory, licensing and venue costs, in the interests of a strong live music industry. They also need to focus their support in areas that will make a real difference to enabling audiences to discover more of our homegrown talent.
“That said, live music by Australian and international artists continues to excite, entertain and engage audiences across all ages and genres, and also makes a significant direct and indirect economic contribution, including driving activity for our hospitality, tourism and transport sectors.”
Meanwhile, the LPA has criticised ABC TV’s Four Corners‘ investigation into Live Nation’s role in the Australian music landscape. Airing yesterday (14 October), the Music for Sale documentary claimed the vertical integration model of owning venues, booking agents, ticketing and promoting businesses was enabling the company to control the concert industry at the expense of local players – an accusation vigorously contested by the firm.
The LPA says it was not approached for comment or data for the programme, “which could have led to a more informed story”.
“There’s no doubt some parts of the music industry are under real pressure, but to blame all of those problems on a single company is nonsensical and counter-productive to addressing the real issues at stake,” adds Richardson. “Many of the challenges facing the Australian industry are being experienced globally.
“LPA’s own analysis of ticket attendance and revenue for contemporary music concerts and festivals shows no single promoter had a dominant market share.”
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Live Performance Australia CEO set to exit
Live Performance Australia (LPA) CEO Evelyn Richardson has announced she is stepping down from her role at the end of the year.
Richardson, who was named as one of IQ‘s Unsung Heroes 2020 for her work during the pandemic, says it has been a “privilege” to helm the Australian live music industry trade body for almost two decades.
“It has been an incredible journey through a time of tremendous change and challenge across our industry,” says Richardson. “I am deeply grateful for the support of our 400-plus members over many years, through both good times and some very tough years. Their resilience, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit has been a strength and reflects the incredible people that make up our live arts and entertainment industry.
“I am pleased to leave LPA in a very strong position as an effective industry voice and leader, with a strong financial base and an amazing team in my wonderful staff who do all the hard work on behalf of members.”
“Under Evelyn’s stewardship, LPA has become a trusted and highly effective source of advice, guidance and leadership for our members”
LPA president Richard Evans AM paid tribute to Richardson’s efforts during her near 18-year stint with the organisation.
“Under Evelyn’s stewardship, LPA has become a trusted and highly effective source of advice, guidance and leadership for our members across Australia’s live arts and entertainment industry,” he says. “Our members and industry have faced many challenges and twists and turns in the road over the years. Evelyn has always ensured that LPA has been at the frontline with government, other industry bodies and unions to support and advocate for our members and industry.
“For so many of us, the Covid-19 pandemic delivered previously unimaginable challenges for our people and organisations. Evelyn’s leadership during this period ensured LPA continued to provide much-needed support for our members and a strong voice to government on their needs during a tumultuous period while ensuring the organisation’s financial and operational sustainability.”
LPA will now begin an external search process for its next chief executive.
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Aussie live industry reports strong resurgence
Australia’s live industry rebounded from two years of Covid restrictions to post its second highest attendance and revenue on record in 2022, according to a new report.
Live Performance Australia’s 2022 Ticket Attendance and Revenue Report shows total revenue for the year was A$2 billion (€1.2bn), while ticketed attendance reached 24.2 million. The largest markets of Victoria and NSW accounted for 67.8% of live performance revenue and 62.4% of attendance.
Combined, concerts (average ticket price $87.01) and festivals ($169.53) made up close to half of total revenue ($940m) in the country’s live arts and entertainment industry, and almost 42% in total attendance. Contemporary music led market share for revenue (35.2%) and attendance (35.9%).
“Australians love live performance, and more people attended a contemporary music performance than the AFL, more saw a musical theatre show than the NRL [National Rugby League],” says LPA chief executive Evelyn Richardson.
“We saw many audiences come back to their favourite shows, venues and festivals in 2022 as Covid-19 restrictions were lifted and borders reopened, especially in Victoria and New South Wales. There was also a lot of pent-up demand in 2022 for shows, tours and festivals that had been delayed or rescheduled from the previous couple of years due to Covid-19 restrictions and border closures.”
“Despite the strong improvement in attendance and revenue in 2022, many parts of the industry are being impacted by ‘long Covid’”
More than 1.5 million people attended music festivals in 2022 – the highest ever recorded for this category – although 2022 revenue has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels for contemporary music as major tours only resumed in the second half of 2022.
However, the report notes some categories showed declines in some states and territories, adding that the industry is grappling with “long Covid” impacts in 2023 and into 2024, with particular pressures for small to medium companies and the not-for-profit sector.
“Despite the strong improvement in attendance and revenue in 2022, many parts of the industry are being impacted by ‘long Covid’ and grappling with critical workforce shortages, soaring production and touring costs, and shifts in audience behaviour alongside deepening cost of living pressures,” continues Richardson. “We know these problems are particularly acute for some sectors of live performance, especially our small to medium and not for profit companies.”
Australia’s live music’s scene was recently said to have reached “crisis point” after it was revealed that more than 1,300 venues closed permanently since the start of the pandemic, prompting the NSW government to launch its first “live music audit” to help revive the region’s concert scene.
“It’s pleasing to see governments recognising the economic, social and cultural importance of live arts and entertainment through arts and cultural policy frameworks at the federal and state levels,” adds Richardson. “It will be absolutely critical moving forward that governments match their policy ambition with the level of strategic investment in our industry to achieve these goals over the longer term.”
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Live Performance Australia’s message for new PM
Trade body Live Performance Australia (LPA) has called on newly elected prime minister Anthony Albanese to deliver targeted support to the sector as it navigates a fresh set of challenges in the wake of of the Covid storm.
Albanese’s Labor party defeated Scott Morrison’s conservative coalition in the Australian election on 21 May and went on to secure a majority in parliament this week.
Congratulating the PM and his team on their victory, LPA CEO Evelyn Richardson says the live arts and entertainment industry is looking forward to forming a productive partnership with the government.
“Our industry is not looking for handouts”
“LPA stands ready to work with a newly formed Labor government to advance the economic, cultural and social interests of our nation,” says Richardson. “The first priority must be to deliver a revitalised cultural policy this year, with clear strategic priorities and investment to rebuild the industry. We are ready to hit the ground running.
“Our industry is not looking for handouts. We strongly believe that public investment in arts and entertainment delivers significant economic and cultural value. Australia needs a vibrant arts and entertainment industry to contribute to our economic recovery and drive social and cultural wellbeing – at a time when it’s never been needed more.”
Covid-19 stripped the domestic live entertainment industry of AUS$1.4 billion in revenue during 2020, according to a study published last year by the LPA’s Ticket Attendance and Revenue Report. Australia imposed some of the world’s strictest travel bans after shutting itself off in March 2020.
And despite the country reopening its international border in February for the first time in nearly two years, Richardson warns the business is not out of the woods yet.
“We’ve lost billions in revenue plus thousands of people across the industry and now face a severe skill and labour shortage”
“Our industry faces a new set of challenges as we manage the ongoing challenges of transitioning to living with Covid,” she says. “Before Covid, our industry was a vast ecosystem of small, medium and large businesses, sole operators and tens of thousands of performers, artists, creatives and technical crew. We’ve lost billions in revenue plus thousands of people across the industry and now face a severe skill and labour shortage, the worst ever experienced by the industry in living memory.
“Targeted support to rebuild skills, and to underwrite and attract investment will enable us to create jobs, create new work, get more shows on stage, our touring networks re-established, and broaden our audiences both here and internationally. This will support not just our artists and industry, but all the associated upstream and downstream businesses which depend upon live events as stimulus.
“We look forward to working with a new, energised government that values who we are and what we contribute, in the months and years ahead.”
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APRA AMCOS to pay royalties for cancelled concerts
Australian collection society APRA AMCOS has announced it will pay members AUS$1.5 million (€940,000) in live performance royalties for concerts that were cancelled due to the latest Covid wave.
The initiative will compensate music creators who lost out on royalties from performances scheduled to take place in Australia and New Zealand from 1 October 2021 to 28 February 2022. It follows a similar initiative in 2020 when APRA AMCOS brought forward performance report payments from November to May.
“Just as it felt like things were starting to open up and live music was ready to kick off a successful summer season, the latest Covid-19 wave once again cancelled live events causing substantial financial loss and emotional strain to our members and the broader industry,” says APRA chair Jenny Morris. “The APRA board has approved this initiative so that swift action can be taken to support our members and pay them for the royalties they would have made from the live performances of their songs.
“When a gig is cancelled, many are affected financially, professionally and personally. But there is an intangible cost as well when our artists are unable to bring communities together, connect with their fans and when they miss out on the career development that literally can only happen on stage.”
The organisation is continuing its call on government to provide wider support to a range of businesses.
“APRA AMCOS is putting royalties into the pockets of our members for the performances they intended to play,” adds APRA AMCOS chief executive Dean Ormston. “They planned, prepared and practiced and through no fault of their own, once again they lost work and income.”
“The Omicron variant has significantly derailed the industry’s reactivation business activities and there is still an unknown around when we can put the pandemic behind us”
Members can submit claims for cancelled performances until 28 February, with payments to be distributed in March. The news provides a further boost for the live sector, days after an additional $80m performing arts package was announced by the New South Wales government.
“The Omicron variant has significantly derailed the industry’s reactivation business activities and there is still an unknown around when we can put the pandemic behind us,” said Live Performance Australia CEO Evelyn Richardson. “This package will enable companies to keep shows on stage and people in work and provide much-needed business confidence to continue investing.
“The arts and entertainment industry is working hard to rebuild after two years of continued disruption caused by Covid-19. The additional $80 million for performing arts companies will support them through this very challenging time and the $5 million provided to Support Act will be gratefully received by many of our struggling artists, performers and crews, who have again been dealt a major blow just when the industry was getting back on its feet.
“We congratulate the New South Wales government on taking the lead, after consultation with industry, on measures to support the arts and entertainment industry through a very tough transition phase. We call on other state and territory governments to step up and provide similar support to rebuild industry and consumer confidence which has been shattered.
“We continue to call on the Commonwealth government to take action with targeted initiatives, the most urgent being a national insurance scheme and a skills and training package.”
Adding that the live entertainment industry contributed $36.5 billion to Australia’s economy in 2019, Richardson added: “The pandemic is not over and we still need to get through winter which may bring new challenges. The impacts of Omicron are being felt across the country. Now more than ever government support is needed to ensure the live entertainment industry can continue to play its part in the nation’s economic, social and cultural recovery.”
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Oz live alliance ramps up appeal for Covid support
Australian trade bodies are repeating calls for a government-backed insurance scheme for live music and events after an extension was announced to a fund helping the screen sector through the pandemic.
However, nationwide assistance has not been forthcoming despite the federal government extending its Temporary Interruption Fund (TIFF) for film and TV productions.
“The Temporary Interruption Fund for the Film industry was extended by $50m [€31.7m], yet the live music and entertainment industry’s calls over the past 18 months for a similar national scheme have fallen on deaf ears.,” says a statement by united live music and entertainment industry bodies including Live Performance Australia.
“Australia now lags behind New Zealand, the UK, Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Denmark and Estonia in delivering a solution to this issue. Victoria has already delivered an insurance scheme that is now set to be tested by the Omicron-related disruptions, but a national approach is needed if the live music and entertainment industry is going to ‘ride this wave’, survive and play its role living with the virus.”
“Omicron has played out worse than anyone expected”
The sector’s recovery has been stopped in its tracks by the spread of the Omicron variant, which has led to mass cancellations and rescheduled events. The latest plea comes as three more Australian music festivals were cancelled or postponed in the space of 24 hours after New South Wales banned singing and dancing at unseated events.
NSW’s Grapevine Gathering fell by the wayside four days before it was due to take place, while touring metal and punk festival Full Tilt postponed its Brisbane edition until the end of April and cancelled its Adelaide concert set for 29 January.
“Omicron has played out worse than anyone expected,” Live Performance Australia CEO Evelyn Richardson tells the Guardian. “We appreciate the support we’ve had, but the government needs to step up and introduce a national scheme. Yes the states have a role, but it has been very disappointing that the federal government hasn’t led and pulled the states together and worked with them.
“We have people that haven’t been able to work for two years. Before Omicron, workers could get daily PCR tests to keep working, now they can’t even get rapid antigen tests. We’ve fallen into an abyss… the notion that it is all over and that we’ll ride through this, but that is not the reality we’re living in right now. We need support until things settle down.”
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Australia facing live music shortage over summer
Trade body Live Performance Australia says the country’s cautious reopening has left it facing a shortage of touring artists over the summer months.
The organisation’s CEO Evelyn Richardson says the December to February summer period is shaping up to be a quiet one, with music events not expected to return “in a major way” until well into next year.
“We’ve missed the opportunity to bring in a lot of our international touring acts for this summer, and with our domestic artists, many of those are touring internationally so we haven’t got those people touring either,” Richardson told ABC. “We probably won’t see live music come back in a major way until later 2022.”
Major international artists including Kings of Leon, Rod Stewart and Kiss are due to tour the region from March next year, while acts such as Billie Eilish, Tame Impala and Dua Lipa are expected in the second half of 2022.
A recent report revealed that Covid-19 stripped Australia’s live entertainment industry of AUS $1.4 billion in revenue during 2020
New South Wales festival staple Splendour in the Grass is set for North Byron Parklands from 22-24 July, headlined by Gorillaz, The Strokes and Tyler, the Creator.
A recent report revealed that Covid-19 stripped Australia’s live entertainment industry of AUS$1.4 billion in revenue during 2020.
Following record years in 2018 and 2019, the pandemic had a “devastating impact” on the live sector, according to Live Performance Australia’s Ticket Attendance and Revenue Report. Ticketing data showed close to 70% of revenue and attendance was obliterated after the industry was shut down in March last year.
In 2020, the number of tickets issued to live performance events fell by 68% to under eight million, ticket sales revenue fell by 69% to $600m, and the average ticket price fell from $92.89 to $87.14.
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Australian live industry calls for UK-style insurance
A coalition of Australian live music associations has called on the government to adopt an insurance scheme for live music similar to the £750m government-backed programme announced by the UK last week.
In a joint statement, Live Performance Australia (LPA), Live Entertainment Industry Forum, the Australian Festival Association (AFA) and more warned that it will be a “very sad and quiet” summer without a reinsurance scheme to protect the industry from disruptions and cancellations.
The Australian live music and entertainment sector has long campaigned for a government-backed insurance scheme, especially after the last-minute cancellation of Bluesfest – one of Australia’s biggest and best-known festivals.
However, only the film industry so far has received government reinsurance, through the federal government’s $50m Temporary Interruption Fund, announced in June 2020.
Nations including the UK, Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Denmark and Estonia have announced a financial buffer against future possible lockdowns for the live music and entertainment sectors.
“We’re not looking for a handout, promoters are willing to purchase an insurance product”
LPA’s chief executive, Evelyn Richardson, says: “The UK example shows there is a solution that can be developed in conjunction with industry on commercial terms. We’re not looking for a handout, promoters are willing to purchase an insurance product. A scheme underwritten by government just makes it viable for insurers to put policies in the market.”
AFA GM, Julia Robinson, says: “An insurance scheme will ensure that the $200m in Rise funding together with state and territory initiatives will deliver the maximum benefit for the country. Government don’t want to see these investments go to waste, and neither does the industry.”
In a comment for IQ magazine, Robinson explained warned that a lack of government-backed insurance could also impact business confidence.
Australia’s call for insurance comes after findings from the second I Lost My Gig survey – an initiative of the AFA and the Australian Music Industry Network (AMIN) – revealed that at least 23,000 gigs and events were cancelled during July due to restrictions.
Of the $64m in lost revenue, the results showed that 99% of respondents had no income protection or event cancellation insurance.
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Bluesfest forced to cancel at the eleventh hour
Byron Bay Bluesfest 2021 has been cancelled by a public health order, a mere 24 hours before doors were due to open to the public.
The New South Wales (NSW) government announced on Wednesday (30 March) that Bluesfest would not be permitted to go ahead on its scheduled dates, Thursday 31 March to Monday 5 April, due to a new Covid case in Byron Bay.
Bluesfest confirmed the cancellation in a statement published late afternoon on 31 March. “We are heartbroken that Covid-19 has spread into our local community,” it read. “We are getting the message out as quickly as possible so that those traveling to the event can make alternate arrangements.”
Read the full Bluesfest statement via our website: www.bluesfest.com.au/bluesfest-is-cancelled-for-two-years-in-a-row
Posted by Bluesfest Byron Bay on Tuesday, March 30, 2021
In a statement, Minister Hazzard said: “While the cancellation of Bluesfest is disappointing for music lovers and the local community, I hope that ticket holders would support Bluesfest and hold on to their tickets as I understand Bluesfest will be working on a new date as soon as possible.”
Under an NSW Health-approved Covid-19 safety plan, Bluesfest 2021 was set to operate at approximately 50% of normal capacity and production, hosting around 16,500 people on each of its five days, with an all-Australian line-up.
It’s just been announced that @BluesfestByron has been cancelled. While this is such huge blow for Aussie music, the health and well-being of this country has to come first. Thanks to the team at Bluesfest for doing the best they could in preparation. pic.twitter.com/4fpJBzqXAh
— Jimmy Barnes (@JimmyBarnes) March 31, 2021
The cancellation marks the second time the festival has been called off due to the coronavirus.
The last-minute cancellation of Bluesfest has prompted fresh calls for a government insurance scheme that would help live events redeem their costs in the event of an eleventh-hour cancellation.
Live Performance Australia and the Australian Festival Association, which have been advocating for a business interruption fund for the last year, say it’s “now a matter of urgency”.
“Govt has a Covid insurance system for the film industry. Music needs one too. Urgently”
Bluesfest’s Peter Noble had called for such a fund at the beginning of the year. A business interruption fund, he wrote on Facebook, would “incentivise event presenters to put on events and be protected in not going to the wall, should an out break of Covid shut down their businesses at short notice and protect artists, crew and suppliers [to] get paid should that occur”.
“The federal government did it more than six months ago for the film industry to get them back to making movies. Why are we still waiting?” he wrote.
Shadow Arts Minister Tony Burke has also called for a “Covid insurance system” for live music. “The music industry is full of viable profitable businesses unable to function because of public health,” he wrote on Twitter. “Govt has a Covid insurance system for the film industry. Music needs one too. Urgently.”
In the last year, insurance schemes have been announced in Germany (€2.5bn), Austria (€300m), the Netherlands (€300m), Belgium (€60m), Norway (€34m) Denmark (DKK 500m) and Estonia (€6m).
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