Aussie Stars Play Parliament House Before Budget

Performing were Cold Chisel’s Jimmy Barnes, Baby Animals singer Suze DeMarchi, Something For Kate guitarist Paul Dempsey and singer-songwriters Josh Pyke, Benny Walker and Gordi.

The Parliamentary Friends of Australian Music meet was convened by politicians Ewen Jones and Julie Owens, with collection societies APRA AMCOS and the Australian Hotels Association. The industry is seeking a commitment from the government to set up a structure that would help acts and businesses get a global foothold and to help Australia gain a further reputation as a centre of musical excellence.

APRA AMCOS head of member services Dean Ormston pointed out, “The Australian contemporary music sector contributes over A$5 billion ($3.79 billion) to the Australian economy, employs thousands of people, and has tremendous export potential. “More Australian artists than ever are touring internationally, exporting their music – the soft diplomacy and tourism values are substantial. We are an innovative industry and we’re looking for government support in leveraging the industry’s potential.”

The industry also wants support for a broad-based tax offset for the venue-based live music industry. A recent report by APRA AMCOS showed it would increase the number of venues presenting live music by 50 percent, provide an additional 250,000 performance opportunities for artists, and provide a cash-flow positive contribution to the Australian economy. The assembled artists also highlighted the plight of songwriters and performers who make the minimum wage of A$34,160 ($25,900) a year. Just less than 80 percent of artists make below A$10,000 ($7,580).

Only 2 percent earn more than A$200,000 ($151,645). This was worsened by declining income from record sales, competition from streaming and the effect of Sydney’s lockout laws in entertainment precincts, which saw a rise in venue closures.

Jimmy Barnes told the politicians, “Musicians struggle for most of their careers. It’s a struggling business… I have spent 45 years touring this country and this country has been really great to me, it’s been really supportive of me but in that 45 years I’ve seen a lot of great musicians and songwriters starve to death. The live music industry needs to be supported.”