Australia’s 2018 In Review: Gov’t Policies Help & Hinder

Zak Kaczmarek / Getty Images – Splendour In The Grass 2018

Australia’s live music revenue and attendance figures continued to rise through 2018. The latest data from Live Performance Australia (LPA) valued the entire live performance sector at A$1.88 billion ($1.35 billion), up 31.7 percent, and attendance of 23.02 million, (up 22.6 percent), the highest recorded since 2004. Contemporary music remained the largest category, representing a market share of 43.8 percent in revenue with A$826.05 million ($594.13 million), and 36.8% in attendance totalling 8.46 million.

Independent music census collections in 2018 reinforced the health of the industry. The Melbourne Live Music Census saw 55 percent of venues record attendance rises in the past 12 months. They drew 112,000 patrons each Saturday night. The census reported Melbourne had more live music venues per capita than any other city in the world, with one venue per 9,503 residents, compared to London (1 per 34,350), New York (1 per 18,554) and Los Angeles (1 per 19,607). 

Similarly, Adelaide, a UNESCO City of Music, had 1,227 gigs in 201 venues during May –  translating to a 27 percent increase in gigs and a 28 percent increase in spaces hosting live music in the metropolitan area from 2015 to 2018. The Newcastle Live Music Taskforce’s data revealed 504 gigs across June featuring 716 acts, with 80 venues hosting live music.

The gathering of such official data consolidated ties with, and support from, state governments who understand that live music has a direct benefit to tourism and employment. More money was poured into the live sector, with moves to protect venues from gentrification, subsidies for renovations that would attract more crowds, and cutting back on red tape. 

Sydney remained a key problem, with lock-out laws in the central business district and Kings Cross area introduced in 2014 turning these areas into ghost towns after dark. A parliamentary committee was convened to identify the problems. “Sydney has been doing everything it can to destroy all those places of entertainment and to turn them into apartment buildings,” Dave Faulkner of the famed Hoodoo Gurus told the committee. The panel declared a “venue crisis” and made 60 recommendations. These included more investment, simplifying planning and liquor licensing provisions, entertainment precincts establishing the NSW Music Development Office and regulation round-tables. “They endorsed many of the issues we have been advocating for,” reveals John Wardle, general manager of the Live Music Office.

While removal of the lockout laws promises to be a hot potato issue in 2019’s national elections – protest group Keep Sydney Open has become a political party – other areas are thriving. “Sydney’s live music, contrary to some reports, is going through a renaissance,” veteran venue operator Matt Rule tells Pollstar. 

LPA figures put music festivals as experiencing a significant increase in revenue by 26 percent to A$100.7 million ($72.50 million) (representing 5.3 percent share in total revenue) and in attendance by 26.7 percent to 850,000 which represented a 3.7 percent share. Major festivals including Bluesfest Byron Bay, Woodford Folk and Splendour in the Grass continued to inject between A$40 million ($28.79 million) to A$50 million ($36.99 million) to the local and state economies. However, says Bluesfest director Peter Noble, “It’s still a tough market out there.” Festival audiences continued to show a change in behaviour. Those attending metro events were more prone to smaller boutique gatherings while regional festivals were learning to revamp their customer experience offerings as music is increasingly seen as part of a holiday package.

A standout for 2018 was the number of acts that made their presence felt abroad – spearheaded by 5 Seconds of Summer, Tash Sultana, Gang of Youths, Courtney Barnett, Troye Sivan, Dean Lewis, Amy Shark and Alison Wonderland. Music export body Sounds Australia is in line for greater funding in 2019 to ramp up the strike rate. Notes Larry Heath, founder of the National Live Music Awards, “To say the work Sounds Australia does is invaluable is an understatement. We’ve never had more Aussie bands successfully touring the globe – and it’s all thanks to the resources that have been made available to them that weren’t 10 years ago. There are now clear opportunities and pathways for artists to follow on the international stage, and it’s incredible to see them flourish because of it.”