Aus Govt finally comes through with arts funding amid COVID-19

Finally our music industry can exhale… The Morrison Government has allocated $27 million for Australia’s live performance sector.

Targeted at indigenous and regional arts, and music industry charity Support Act (who, let’s face it, has been our pillar of strength in all this), the funding was announced this morning by Paul Fletcher, Federal Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts.

Fletcher said the Govt has come up with three specific relief measures for the live music sector, which as we know received the biggest crippling in Australian history when it was shut down by the ban on mass gatherings to stop the spread of COVID-19 on March 16.

Where will the funding go exactly?

$10 million has been used to fund regional arts, which had already been struggling following this year’s bushfire crisis.

$7 million has been allocated to indigenous arts after all indigenous arts centres were forced to close.

$10 million will go straight to Support Act, which helps the most vulnerable music industry workers. The funding will allow Support Act to recruit new counsellors and expand counselling services, and provide critical resources to music and performing arts artists and workers.

Support Act has never been in more demand. According to coronavirus crisis-inspired website ilostmygig.net.au, Australian artists have lost over $330 million due to the cancellation and postponement of hundreds of concerts, conferences, events and festivals across Australia.

The funding comes more than three weeks since representatives from the live music industry met with government (March 17) to spell out the dire situation thousands of artists, staff and companies find themselves in, and to send out the urgent message for help.

At the time, LPA warned half a billion dollars or more could be ripped from the live sector, and thousands of livelihoods were at stake. Evelyn Richardson, CEO of Live Performance Australia told TIO the live sector was working on a basis of a three-to-six months closure period.

“We are a very large industry sector and of course this is having flow-on effects right across the economy,” she told TIO last month. “If you look at culture and cultural industries, entertainment along with tourism and hospitality, we’re a very large component. When it comes time to move into that recovery phase, let’s say it’s September, our ability to reactivate, that’s going to be challenging.”

LPA had requested an $850 million rescue package noting our live sector generated $2.2 billion in ticket sales in 2019 and employs 35,000 people directly and thousands more casually.

Richard’s had this today of today’s announcement:

“We know a lot of industries have been impacted but we were the first in to this crisis, and given our sector’s reliance on global networks, we’ll be the last out.”

We’re not out of the woods yet. The LPA is hoping for $180 million in additional Australia Council funding to stop companies entering administration.

Dean Ormston, CEO APRA AMCOS, added:

“The music sector was one of the first to be hit by restrictions and will be one of the last to be able to recommence trade.

“We’re working to assist the government in understanding the diversity of businesses impacted in our sector – from the immediacy of artists, sole-traders, contractors, event producers and allied service providers – to music publishers, labels and production companies that will be impacted in the months to come by the lag effect. Proper government support will be critical to the breadth of the industry remaining viable.”

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.