Features
Australasia News: Venue Tax Offset Aids Musicians; More Suncorp Concerts; NZ: Auckland Named Global Music City
AUSTRALIA
Tax Offset For Venues Could Boost Musician Incomes By $205M Annually
A 5% tax offset for live music venues could boost incomes of musicians by up to A$205 million (US$139.3 million) per year and create 203,200 extra gigs.
It would additionally create 7,400 direct and indirect jobs across entertainment, hospitality and tourism, and contribute A$636 million ($432.3 million) per annum to Gross Value Added (GVA)
So says a study by BIS Oxford Economics, commissioned by music rights association APRA AMCOS to investigate how tax offsets would help the biz recover from COVID-19.
Some 64% of venues which don’t host gigs agreed that a A$12,000 ($8,157) offset would see them stage 16 gigs a year with a total of 150,000 new gigs.
Depending on the options of tax offsets worth A$12,000, $24,000 ($16,314) and A$48,000 ($32,628), the scheme would cost the government between A$110 million ($74.7 million) to A$440 million ($299 million), with a return of between A$90 million ($61.1 million) to A$140 million ($95.1 million) in tax revenue.
APRA AMCOS chief executive Dean Ormston said that as venues faced changes in the urban environment and tightened regulations slowed development of new business models, “a tax offset would not only be a catalyst for the social and cultural development of live music it would also provide an injection of confidence across the tourism and hospitality economy.”
More Concerts For Suncorp Stadium
The Queensland government doubled the concert cap at Brisbane’s 52,500-capacity Suncorp Stadium to 12 in 2023 and 2024.
Minister for Tourism Stirling Hinchliffe said the move was essential as more international acts were due, generating tourism and jobs growth.
Operated by ASM Global, the first two months of 2023 for the stadium have Elton John, Red Hot Chili Peppers/ Post Malone and Ed Sheeran.
In the meantime, there’s growing criticism in Sydney over the cap of six concerts a year at the newly-opened $800 million ($543. 8 million) Allianz Stadium, with one report estimating it cost the New South Wales economy as much as $50 million ($33.9 million).
NEW ZEALAND
Auckland Lives Up To Global Music City Win
Auckland City of Music checked off a number of music initiatives for summer, weeks after winning the best global music city award.
Promoter Rising Sounds will showcase five emerging acts in the city center.
Its four parks will host free shows by 60 performers, including those by blues, reggae, opera and pop, January to March.
There are also a series of album launches and grants for the shooting of three music videos.
It won best global music city award at the Music Cities Awards Nov. 5 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, out of 150 applications from 20 countries.
The win was for its integration of music into improving equity and inclusion, economic development, health, tourism, urban planning, night-time economy and community building.“
There is still much to do, but in winning this award, I am confident we are on course to realize Auckland’s potential as a global creative capital”, Mark Roach, director of Auckland City of Music, said.