Australia News: Live Performance Australia, Ticketek, CMC Rocks & More

– Splendour In The Grass

Live Performance Australia Cites New Figures In Call For Gov’t Intervention

Arts and entertainment industry peak body Live Performance Australia (LPA) cited figures from a new survey to call for the government to extend its wage subsidy JobKeeper for the sector.

The government is ending the scheme late March arguing 90% of the 1.3 million jobs lost in 2020 are replaced. But LPA chief executive Evelyn Richardson said that figure did not include arts and entertainment, which suffered “an estimated A$24 billion ($18.4 billion) of lost economic output and A$11 billion ($8.4 billion) lost in industry value. We’ve also seen 79,000 jobs lost, which is around two thirds of our work force.”

An LPA study showed 90% of live entertainment firms received JobKeeper in the January-March 2021 quarter. Without wage subsidy 33% will make staff redundant; 17% will reduce staff hours, 13% will wind up their business; and 51% will cut operational costs even further.

Only 2% expect it to return to pre-COVID activity this year. The figure rose to 10% in 2022, 40% in 2023, 62% in 2024 and 68% from 2025 on. Richardson emphasized, “Continued snap lock-downs, state and international border closures and audience restrictions prevent the industry fully reactivating with a return to business normality a long way off; industry is looking to 2022 with a long tail into 2023 and beyond.”

Glen Rainsbury To Head Ticketek A&NZ

– Glen Rainsbury

TEG appointed Glen Rainsbury general manager of Ticketek Australia & New Zealand. He was event manager at Brisbane Entertainment Centre and director of venue sales at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium, and held senior roles at Live Nation and Frontier Touring.

“Glen’s CV gives him a 360-degree view of the live entertainment sector,” said Cameron Hoy, managing director of ticketing to whom Rainsbury reports, as does Lee Jones who took on the new role of director – ticketing solutions.

CMC Rocks Finds Replacement Stream

After CMC Rocks cancelled for 2021, the festival organized a three-day streaming event on Apple Music called CMC Rocks Your Yard.

Held March 19, 20 and 21 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. (AEST) Morgan Evans hosts sets by Luke Combs, Kelsea Ballerini, Dean Brody, Dan + Shay and Aussie festival favorites Lee Kernaghan, The McClymonts and The Wolfe Brothers.

“We couldn’t let our CMC Rocks weekend go by without doing something for our fans, the amazing community of folks throughout Australia who come together each year to make our festival the magical experience it is,” said Jeremy Dylan, who with fellow director Michael Chugg will recount 12 years of highlights.

KISS Reschedule For Nov/Dec 2021, Hailed As Tourism Boost

– KISS

The sold-out Australian leg of KISS’ End Of The Road Tour, postponed from November 2019 due to a band member’s illness, is rescheduled for 2021 and already being hailed as a significant tourism boost.

One World Entertainment and TEG Live have the tour at 15,500-seat RAC Arena, Perth (Nov. 14), 12,000-seat Adelaide Entertainment Centre (Nov. 17), 14, 820-seat Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne (Nov. 20-21), 21,000-seat Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney (Nov. 26), 13,500 seat Brisbane Entertainment Centre (Nov. 30) and the outdoor 25,000-capacity Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville (Dec. 4).

The two final shows are forecast to inject $4.5 million into Queensland’s economy. State premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said, “Major events are vital when it comes to rebuilding our economy. These concerts will generate millions of dollars for local businesses and support local jobs which is exactly what we need in 2021.”

KISS’ Paul Stanley sees no issue if Australia still called for two weeks’ quarantine for visitors in November. “It’d be an honor to do whatever is called for,” he said. “Not just because it’s the rules and the law, you do it out of respect.”

Also allowed in under strict quarantine are One World’s April/May run with Cheap Trick, Bush and Stone Temple Pilots. TEG have Guns N’Roses in November. Splendour In The Grass (July 23-25) has Gorillaz, The Strokes and Tyler The Creator listed on its website.

Moshtix Offers Buy Now Pay Later Option

– Moshtix

Moshtix introduced a ‘buy now pay later’ option enabling patrons to pay for tickets over 10 weekly instalments, with no interest. It partnered with Latitude Financial, which has 2.7 million customer?accounts?in Australia and New Zealand. Moshtix is skewed to festivals, music venues, dance, comedy, cinema and the arts.

Moshtix managing director Harley Evans said a test run with Latitude saw up to a 40% increase in basket size. “Moshtix’s mission has always been to remove the barriers between the fan and the artist and to ‘make live easy,’” he said.

Top Dog Group Suspends Darling Brando After Sexual Assault Allegations

Sydney-based management company Top Dog Group suspended boyband Darling Brando until the result of an internal investigation into sexual assault allegations against one member.

CEO Paul Paoliello said he was “appalled by the shocking accusations” and wanted the accusers to know “I personally support them for coming forward” and asked them to get involved in the investigation.

Allegations which included sexual harassment, assault and grooming of a 14-year-old girl in 2017 first surfaced on Instagram account Beneath The Glass Ceiling. One of the members quit afterwards in sympathy with the alleged victims, saying, “I do not condone and will not tolerate misogyny, sexual assault and sexual abuse.” Darling Brando recently parted ways with Sony Music.

Michael Cassel Group Makes First NYC Hire

– Jane Abramson

Michael Cassel Group, globally widening theatrical firm, made its first hire in New York City: Former Disney Theatrical Group executive Jane Abramson joined as head of creative development. She and Mike McLeish, director of creative development, will be responsible for creating and delivering development projects.

“New York City is arguably the theatre capital of the world, and this was a move we knew we had to get right,” said Cassel.

At Disney where she was director of creative development, Abramson developed and managed new Broadway musicals as Frozen, Aladdin, Newsies, The Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins and The Lion King.

Led Zeppelin 1972 Concert Film Found In Shed

Five minutes of 8mm Led Zeppelin footage from their 1972 show at Western Springs Stadium in Auckland before 25,000 was digitized and posted on the ledzepfilm YouTube channel.

It was filmed by Lloyd Godman, then 20. Fast forward to 2019. Godman was living in Melbourne working as an environmental photographer, and accidentally discovered it in a shed while cataloguing his past work.

He cleaned it up and posted it online. A Zeppelin film archivist in the U.S. contacted him to say he had tracked down the soundtrack from the Auckland show, and synced visuals and audio.