Major events hand $1bn boost to Victoria’s economy
The Australian state of Victoria has reported that major events delivered an almost A$1 billion (€619,000) boost to its economy in the second half of 2022.
The year saw a record 6.9 million attendees at sporting, music, arts and cultural events across the state, with hotel occupancy averaging 67% in H2 ’22, peaking at at 93.7% on the evening of Billy Joel’s 10 December concert.
Promoted by Frontier Touring, the one-night-only show at Melbourne’s MCG was attended by more than 76,000 fans and formed part of Always Live, an initiative envisioned by the late Michael Gudinski to revitalise Victoria’s live music scene. Gudinski, one of the best-known and most-loved figures in the concert business down under, passed away in 2021.
“Sporting and cultural events have delivered an almost billion-dollar boost to our economy in the last half of 2022”
“Victoria is the home of major events and these blockbuster sporting and cultural events have delivered an almost billion-dollar boost to our economy in the last half of 2022,” says minister for tourism, sport and major events Steve Dimopoulos. “Major events deliver enormous value for Victoria by boosting local businesses and supporting jobs – and we’re set for another huge year in 2023.”
Always Live was intended to bring music fans into Melbourne and regional Victoria and help to support local jobs and tourism businesses. The event series featured more than 60 acts such as Foo Fighters playing at venues large and small across Victoria including – in a first for the town, a Kings of Leon concert at Mildura Sporting Precinct, which attracted in excess of 10,000 fans.
The six months of events generated over $980 million in economic impact, with the latest figures showing the visitor economy in Victoria has reached $26.5bn and is back to 84% of pre-pandemic levels.
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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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Australia’s Falls Festival forced to relocate
Australia’s Falls Festival is set to relocate from regional Victoria for the first time in its 30-year history.
The event, promoted by Live Nation-owned Secret Sounds, will now take place at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne with the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Lil Nas X and CHVRCHES performing across two stages.
Secret Sounds had previously announced the event would move from its longtime home in the seaside town of Lorne to Birregurra in Colac, a small city in the western district of Victoria, after the local authority approved a planning permit.
However, despite strong community support, an application was made to the Victorian civil and administrative tribunal by a group of locals appealing the decision.
A hearing date for the appeal had been set for February and March – after the event was scheduled to take place on 29–31 December – which prompted the relocation to Melbourne.
“Thanks so much for all the support from stakeholders, artists and all who contribute to Falls, we’re thrilled that the show will go on at Sidney Myer Music Bowl, ringing in the new year in downtown Melbourne,” the festival’s co-producer Jessica Ducrou said.
A hearing date for the appeal had been set for February and March – after the event was scheduled to take place
Among those opposed to the event being held at Birregurra are Colac farmers concerned about the event’s potential impact on cattle at neighbouring farms.
Some told local media that noise and light from the show could potentially harm their livestock.
“We’ve heard all about the businesses that are going to benefit from this. But my business is farming,” the Gerangamete farmer Chris Roberts told the Surf Coast Times. “What are we going to get out of this festival going forward? I don’t know.”
The Colac Otway mayor, Kate Hanson, said the appeal application was a blow for the area.
“Council is disappointed for community groups and business owners who were looking forward to an increase in spending in the region this year,” Hanson said. “However, we’re pleased that Secret Sounds is still keen to continue to consider our shire for future Falls festival events.”
Ticket holders who are unable to attend the new venue in Melbourne can apply for a refund.
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Australia’s Beyond the Valley reveals new location
Australia’s Beyond the Valley festival has revealed a new site, official dates and full lineup for its comeback edition.
The Victoria-based event was cancelled in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and last year was reimagined as a two-day event in Melbourne dubbed Beyond The City.
This December, the four-day camping festival will return but at a new location, Barunah Plains in Hesse, some 125km from Melbourne’s central business district.
The scenic site boasts a natural amphitheatre spanning 100,000 square metres with “sweeping trees, rolling hills, a wool shed, mystic bridges and a winding creek”.
All three of the festival’s signature main stages will return, albeit with various upgrades.
The scenic site boasts a natural amphitheatre spanning 100,000 square metres
In addition, this year’s edition will host its first-ever podcast stage, as well as a secret stage installation called the Schmall Klüb where artists will perform impromptu DJ sets on no fixed schedule.
There will also be a heightened focus on accessibility for the 2022 event. Main stage performances will feature Auslan interpreters and dedicated viewing platforms, while a designated accessible campsite will be positioned closer to the main arena.
Other new features include a Beach Club with swimming pools, a series of interactive art installations, an open mic stage, sessions for yoga, pilates and meditation, and a range of other non-musical programs.
News of the relocation comes as Beyond the Valley announces this year’s lineup, led by Nelly Furtado, Kaytranada and Denzel Curry. Diplo, Bicep, Honey Dijon, Aussies Dom Dolla, HAAi and Flight Facilities are slated to join them.
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$8 million boost for Australian festivals
Organisers of large live music events and festivals in the Australian state of Victoria can apply for grants of between AUD$250,000 (€171,000) and $1 million (€685,000) via the Live Music Restart Program (LMRP).
The $8m fund will support the cost of planning and delivering an established music festival or series of events for crowds of more than 3,000 people. It will prioritise events that create opportunities for Victorian musicians and deliver wider benefits to Victorian businesses and communities as the industry continues to bounce back from Covid-19.
Designed to assist Victoria’s music festivals and events to become more accessible, the programme encourages applicants to make their events more inclusive of deaf and disabled artists, workers and audiences. Applications close at 3pm on 18 August.
“We welcome these grants at a time when businesses are facing rising costs and staff shortages,” says Australian Festivals Association MD Julia Robinson. “After over two years of disruptions, this much-needed support will ensure summer sees the return of Victoria’s favourite festivals.”
“This investment provides essential funding for organisers to continue delivering world-class events”
The initiative is part of the Victorian Government’s ongoing investment in the recovery of the state’s music industry, building on more than $1 billion in support to the creative sector since the start of the pandemic.
“Music Festivals are a vital part of Victoria’s famous live music scene and this investment provides essential funding for organisers to continue delivering world-class events,” adds minister for creative industries Steve Dimopoulos. “We’re supporting the businesses that deliver the experiences Victorians love, while creating jobs and economic benefits that extend right across the state.”
Last month it was announced that more than 130 Australian venues in Victoria are to benefit from the LMRP, which is providing grants of up to AUS$65,000 (€43,570) to 131 venues with capacities ranging from 50 to 1,200.
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Oz music venues to receive government grants
More than 130 Australian venues in Victoria are to benefit from grants awarded to support the recovery of live music in the state.
The Victorian Live Music Venues Support Program will provide grants of up to AUS$65,000 (€43,570) to 131 venues with capacities ranging from 50 to 1,200, including Queenscliff’s Blues Train, the Queenscliff Town Hall, Northcote Social Club, Cherry Bar and The Curtin Hotel.
This investment recognises the role music venues play in the state’s live music scene, the platform it gives artists and the employment opportunities it creates.
Since the start of the pandemic the Victorian government has provided more than $80m in dedicated support for the music sector
Since the start of the pandemic the Victorian government has provided more than $80 million in dedicated support for the music sector, including earlier tranches of the Live Music Venues Support Program.
The 2022/23 Victorian Budget is continuing this commitment with an additional $2.9 million to establish and strengthen regional touring circuits and expand revenue streams for local artists.
In further support for live music, the government is also offering music fans a 25% rebate for ticket purchases over $40 through the Victorian Entertainment Program.
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Australia and NZ announce first insurance schemes
After more than 18 months of lobbying, Australia and New Zealand have announced country-first insurance schemes for live music.
In Australia, the Victorian government yesterday (14 November) announced plans to launch a 12-month pilot scheme that will insure up to AUS$230 million (€148m) of events.
Subsidised by the government and delivered by the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority (VMIA), the cover will insure concerts, festivals, sporting events and conferences “against cancellation due to public health measures, or where events have reduced capacity due to restrictions”.
Organisers who have taken out the cover will receive 100% of the event’s declared value if the event has to be cancelled for the aforementioned reasons, or 50% of the event’s declared value if the event goes ahead with reduced capacity (or the organiser chooses to cancel the event because of those capacity restrictions).
The insurance will be available in December 2021 and more information can be found here. The premium is rumoured to cost 2% of the declared value of the event.
“For music lovers, it means your favourite festivals will be up and running again, and you’ll be able to book your tickets with confidence – and for industry, you’ll be protected whether your shows goes ahead or not,” Victoria premier Daniel Andrews wrote on Facebook.
The AFA has called the scheme a “game-changer” for the domestic industry but continues to call for a national solution
The Australian Festival Association (AFA) has called the scheme a “game-changer” for the industry but continues to call on other states and the federal government for a national solution.
“The inability to insure against Covid-related cancellations and restrictions has been a huge barrier to festivals getting back to business,” says AFA MD Julia Robinson.
“Health measures such as restrictions on gatherings and lockdowns, while necessary, often come with little or no notice making it difficult when festivals are months and years in the making. Access to a product that allows organisers the certainty to balance risk and safety with commercial reality would address this market failure, and it’s needed across the country.”
In addition to the scheme, the Victorian government has announced a $20m Live Music Restart package to bolster the recovery of the live music sector.
Music venues will benefit from a $8m programme to recruit and train new staff, invest in CovidSafe infrastructure and get more musicians and industry professionals back to work.
While music festivals and events will receive a leg up with $8m to help them recover from the uncertainty and impact of rescheduled and cancelled events due to the pandemic. A further $4m will bring music performances to the CBD and inner-city, complementing a previously announced $5 million for regional and outer-suburban events.
The support comes after Victoria’s sixth lockdown ended last month, with further restrictions on venue and festival capacity limits set to be scrapped in late November once the state has reached its 90% fully vaccinated target.
According to the AFA, “Victorian audiences usually enjoy over 150 music festivals each year, and just a handful have managed to get their gates open since the pandemic started”.
On 30 October, the state hosted Play On Victoria as its first ‘Covid Safe Test Event’, welcoming 4,000 people back to the Sidney Myer Music Bowl to watch Amyl and the Sniffers, Vika and Linda, Baker Boy, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and Grace Cummings.
In New Zealand, the government recently announced that it will cover 90% of “unrecoverable costs” for paid, ticketed events with audiences of more than 5,000 vaccinated people, if organisers are forced to cancel or postpone due to Covid-19 public health measures.
Eligible events must implement the use of vaccine certificates, take place live and in-person, and have been in the market prior to the announcement of the scheme, according to the government’s criteria.
They will also have to be run by New Zealand organisations and not already be funded by other government sources such as the majors events fund or the Ministry of Culture and Heritage.
The NZ government will cover 90% of “unrecoverable costs” for paid, ticketed events with audiences of more than 5,000
It will cover “actual direct costs” and organisers will have to agree to honour eligible costs incurred by suppliers.
The scheme will pay out for any events operating under alert level 2 or higher, or under the new traffic light scheme any events in an area under the new ‘red level’, or in a localised lockdown. At least 50% of the tickets will have had to be sold in order to qualify.
The event date must be scheduled to begin between 17 December 2021 and 3 April 2022 and organisers can only apply once for cancellation and once for postponement for an event.
The scheme, which is now live, has been welcomed by promoters of major events such as Rhythm & Vines (scheduled for December 2021) and Electric Avenue (slated for February 2022) but there are calls for smaller events to be included.
Insurance schemes have already been announced in the UK (£800m), Germany (€2.5bn), Austria (€300m), the Netherlands (€300m), Belgium (€60m), Norway (€34m) Denmark (DKK 500m), France and Estonia (€6m).
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Australia set to gain two major rock festivals
Australia is set to gain two new rock festivals in 2021 and 2022.
Leading Australian promoter Destroy All Lines is bringing a two-day alternative music festival to Victoria this winter.
Knight & Day will take place at Kryal Castle (Australia’s only medieval adventure park) in Ballarat between 30 and 31 December 2021.
According to the festival, attendees will be able to enjoy “a mesmerising maze, medieval performances, dungeons, torture museums, knights towers, secret dragons and a labyrinth,” alongside full-band and acoustic performances, as well as DJ sets.
Parkway Drive, Polaris and Alex Lahey are set to headline the event.
Early Bird pre-sale tickets are available on Tuesday 21 September at 10:00 AEST. Camping is not available. Find out more information here.
“The time was right to introduce a new summer festival, one which will appeal to a wide cross-section of rock fans”
Australian rock fans can also look forward to the inaugural edition of Uncaged, produced by Silverback Touring.
The East Coast touring festival will feature “a diversely curated blend of hard rock, punk [and] metal” acts, exclusively from Australia and New Zealand.
The three-city run will kick off in Brisbane showgrounds on Saturday 22 January 2022 before stopping off at Melbourne’s Coburg Velodrome (Saturday 29 January) and Sydney’s Olympic Park (Saturday 12 February).
Danny Bazzi, head of Silverback Touring, said in a statement today (15 September): “The time was right to introduce a new summer festival, one which will appeal to a wide cross-section of rock fans.”
The first line-up announcement for Uncaged will be made next Wednesday 22 September. Tickets are yet to go on sale. More information can be found here.
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Michael Gudinski to receive state funeral
Victoria, the home state of Michael Gudinski, will hold a state funeral for the late promoter, its premier has announced.
Gudinski, the Frontier Touring founder known as the ‘father of the Australian music industry’, passed away suddenly on Monday (1 March). Bruce Springsteen, Kyle Minogue, Live Nation, TEG and his longtime friend and business partner, Michael Chugg, were among those to pay tribute.
Daniel Andrews, premier of Victoria, told press yesterday Gudinski’s widow, Sue, had agreed to a state funeral for her late husband.
“I think we will be able to come together in an iconic venue and celebrate his life”
“I went and saw Sue last night and offered her and the family a state funeral for an amazing Victorian,” he told local media. Gudinski was born and raised in Caulfield, a suburb of state capital Melbourne.
The funeral, said Andrews, “will be a celebration of his life”, with the details finalised in the coming days.
“It’s got to be Covid-safe, of course,” he added, “but I think we will be able to come together in an iconic venue and celebrate his life and the mark that he made and the legacy he leaves.”
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Australian festivals cancel early 2021 editions
A swathe of Australian festivals have cancelled their early 2021 editions due to uncertainty about future Covid restrictions on mass gatherings and international travel.
Unify Gathering, a three-day event in Victoria dedicated to punk and hardcore music, is the latest festival to cancel its 2021 edition, which was planned for March.
A statement from the annual boutique camping festival says: “We’d been hoping to have enough clarity to announce the festival today, with the view to have it take place in late March. However, without enough assurances that the event can go ahead in a safe and financially viable way, we don’t want to take any risks.”
Organisers say they plan to keep much of 2021’s previously announced line-up for next year’s edition. The all-Aussie lineup was slated to replicate the bill of Unify’s 2015 debut event, which featured the likes of The Amity Affliction, Northlane, In Hearts Wake, Thy Art Is Murder, Hellions and more.
“Without enough assurances that the event can go ahead in a safe and financially viable way, we don’t want to take any risks”
In place of a live event in 2021, the festival has partnered with hard rock radio network The Faction which will host a hard rock radio takeover, scheduled to take place between 15-17 January.
Victoria-based festival Golden Plains, similarly scheduled to take place in March 2021, has also been cancelled three months after the postponement of its sister festival Meredith Music Festival.
Next year’s edition would have marked the fifteenth iteration of the event, which typically takes place annually across the March Labour Day long weekend.
In a statement, ‘Aunty Meredith’ says: “The Space-Time Continuum has wibbled, and it has webbled, but it has not wobbled open wide enough to grant safe passage for Golden Plains this Autumn.”
“When favourable atmospheric conditions return, the full, rolled-gold, four-dimensional GP experience will land again. All dancing, all singing from the same songbook, in a close encounter of the Fifteenth kind. One more spin around the sun should do the trick.”
Golden Plains’ 2020 edition featured the likes of Pixies, Hot Chip, Stereolab and Sampa the Great and was one of the final large-scale festivals to take place in Australia before the pandemic took hold.
Back in September, Meredith too announced that it would not be going ahead as planned, noting that the Covid-19 pandemic and its associated restrictions made it impossible to hold the festival’s 30th-anniversary celebrations in its usual format.
“Until we can put on a festival that lives up to the expectations of our fans, we’re going to postpone. We won’t put on a second-rate event”
Elsewhere, the organisers behind country music festivals CMC Rocks Queensland have announced that the event won’t return until it can book international acts with confidence.
In a joint statement, Potts Entertainment, Chugg Entertainment and Frontier Touring said the ongoing pandemic and subsequent restrictions mean that the staging of the event is not possible.
“As such, organisers have today announced that the March 2021 festival will not proceed as planned and will instead be postponed to 2022,” they said.
Festival director Michael Chugg said organisers would not stage a subpar festival. “Everyone knows that CMC Rocks QLD is the place they go to see their favourite international and Australian country artists in action and discover new favourites,” he said.
“Until we can put on a festival that lives up to the expectations of our fans, we’re going to postpone. We won’t put on a second-rate event”.
The 2021 event will be postponed, and event organisers will instead focus on 2022.
This year’s event, which was due to take place in March, was cancelled a week out from the event after prime minister Scott Morrison banned “non-essential” gatherings of over 500 people.
The annual three-day camping festival, which has been running since 2013, usually takes place at Willowbank in Ipswich.
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