- Committee views and recommendations
Committee views
4.1The inquiry has demonstrated the value live music in Australia and highlighted how urgent action is necessary to ensure its survival into the future.
4.2While the Committee heard a range of views during the inquiry, the evidence about live music’s challenges were often similar. In summary, after disruptions and cancellations during the COVID-19 pandemic, live music venues, festivals and events have struggled to recover.
4.3At the same time, recent global tours coming to Australia have attracted large audiences. In addition, the rise of streaming services and social media has given audiences access to music on demand. While likely having many positive benefits, especially for enduring fans, the Committee heard that this has changed the way audiences consume music. This, in turn, has changed the way music generates revenue and who shares in that revenue.
4.4Artists usually begin with small shows and aim to progress to bigger events as their popularity increases. Without these opportunities, getting discovered becomes harder. Factors including narrow margins, declining revenue and unpredictable ticket sales have made the future of some festivals and small venues doubtful or unviable. If these trends continue, the Committee heard that it could be devastating for the Australian music industry.
4.5Getting audiences to live music events and keeping venues and spaces open for live music are core challenges. However, keeping spaces open can mean ticket prices are too high to attract a crowd. Changing audience behaviour and rising costs for venues are limiting the market’s ability to create solutions.
4.6Disruption from streaming services – which the Committee heard may both help and hinder artists – adds to the mix of challenges. Insurance prices were another prominent concern.
4.7The Committee heard that, potentially, these changing market dynamics could result in Australian artists making less money (or not making money in music at all), audiences paying more for live music and global tech companies expanding their influence over the music available to Australians.
4.8In this regard, the Committee notes the evidence received on the adoption of a minimum $250 fee when governments hire musicians or performers for publicly funded events. The Committee believes that the minimum fee could be higher.
4.9The Committee notes that there are proposals to amend Australian Consumer Law being considered. This includes:
- conduct that distorts, manipulates or undermines consumer choice, without necessarily being misleading or deceptive, such as practices that create an undue sense of urgency or scarcity
- subscription related practices, including practices which make it difficult for consumers to cancel a subscription
- pricing-related practices, including drip pricing, dynamic pricing and hidden fees
- post-sale practices, including imposing unreasonable barriers to accessing customer support.
- The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s website advises that hiding fees and charges is misleading:
‘Drip pricing’ is when a price is advertised at the beginning of an online purchase, but then extra fees and charges (such as booking and service fees) are gradually added during the purchase process. This can result in consumers paying more than they initially intended to.
Businesses must be upfront and clearly disclose to consumers at the start of a purchasing process the types of fees that will apply and when.
4.11Dynamic pricing and surge pricing can be misleading, if prices are not properly disclosed, but the practice is not currently illegal:
Surge or dynamic pricing is when businesses increase their prices during periods of high demand. For example, ride-share companies may increase their prices when there are many people wanting rides and not enough available drivers.
Surge or dynamic pricing is not illegal, but businesses must be clear about the price consumers will pay. They must also not make false or misleading claims about their prices.
4.12In relation to these reforms, the Committee believes that preventing ticket scalping or dubious reselling should be considered. This conduct takes revenue away from artists and events and, potentially, directs income to profiteers who are indifferent to the future of Australian live music.
4.13Many potential actions or recommendations are already found in Revive: Australia’s Cultural Policy and are being progressed.
4.14The Committee does not intend to restate the same recommendations, except to note that some of them align with proposals discussed during the inquiry. Forexample:
- supporting First Nations arts and culture
- minimum remuneration for musicians
- safety in entertainment workplaces
- music in the Australian education curriculum
- research and surveys
- reforms to media laws, including Australian content on streaming services.
- In NSW, for example, the Contemporary Music Strategy has identified priorities that include:
- prioritise and protect First Nations music
- strengthen the live and recorded music ecosystem
- future-proof the industry
- improve industry capacity, diversity, safety and standards
- expand international markets
- support music communities including regional NSW.
- The Committee notes that some proposals discussed during the inquiry are primarily state, territory or local government responsibilities. However, governments should work together on ways to make live music sustainable.
- A ticket levy could help provide stability for small venues, regional festivals and live music with a community or cultural focus. Other options include a voucher scheme or tax offsets. There would be some technical policy detail to be determined, such as how a large music events would be defined, what threshold would trigger the levy to be applied and which smaller events or festivals should benefit from these schemes.
- While these ideas may work in principle, successful implementation could depend on the detail:
- witnesses had varying definitions of grassroots music or what scale makes an event large enough to be regarded as successful and sustainable
- who decides how the revenue is used, who should receive financial benefits and whether revenue generated locally should be retained within the community
- whether any form of subsidisation has unintended consequences, such as impacts on other businesses or events
- whether conditions should be placed on recipients of these funds, such as workplace standards, adherence to safety and measures to prevent discrimination.
- The way Australians listen to music has changed. Songs used to be played on radio or television, albums were sold at retail stores and magazines published stories about artists and bands. While this still occurs to some extent, music is now kept in your pocket on mobile devices. Global entities such as YouTube, Apple and Spotify offer music on demand. Many Australians follow or like artists and bands on social media. The Committee believes that Australian content should be given a fixed proportion of time and space in the digital world.
- The Committee believes that music education, skills and knowledge should be recognised in curriculums and available courses. In a 2019 report, this Committee observed that ‘if Australia wishes to remain competitive as a music export nation, we must not neglect to invest in the crucial first stage of the talent pipeline’.
- The impacts of artificial intelligence on music are potentially broader than the purpose of this inquiry. There could be both costs and opportunities for creative industries and music, as discussed in a November 2024 Senate committee report on artificial intelligence. Nevertheless, setting up a framework to protect the integrity of original music could be a starting point for policy makers.
List of recommendations
4.22The Committee recommends the Australian Government investigate the potential benefits of a tax offset for the live music industry. The Treasury, the Office of the Arts and Creative Australia should be tasked with developing a policy proposal for the Australian Government to consider.
4.23Such a tax offset might be considered in conjunction with proposals for a live performance offset that would benefit other artforms such as theatre.
4.24The Committee recommends Australian consumer law be amended to better regulate the selling of tickets to live music, by:
- improving the transparency of fees and charges within the price of tickets
- limiting extreme variability in ticket prices caused by ‘dynamic pricing’.
4.25The Committee recommends the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission monitor the Australian music industry for anti-competitive conduct and take enforcement action as required.
4.26The Committee recommends the Australian Government add a small levy to the price of tickets to large music events and direct the funds raised to support for small venues and grassroots live music (see Recommendation 5).
4.27The Committee recommends an extension and expansion of the Revive Live program. This expansion might be funded through a ticket levy (Recommendation 4) and funds could be disbursed by Music Australia. The funding could be offered in three streams:
- Live and local: a series of performances at a live music venue or non-traditional venue with mandated minimum performance fees.
- Live ready: funding for capital improvements to live music venues to improve the functionality and accessibility of venues. This could include costs like sound-proofing, equipment upgrades, disability access.
- Live for all: funding for music festivals with an emphasis on improving the accessibility, viability and diversity of live music, including regional festivals, all-ages events, First Nations festivals, community focussed events and not-for-profit based operations.
4.28The Committee recommends state, territory and local governments consider designating ‘special entertainment precincts’ in recognition of the economic and cultural value of these places.
4.29Special Entertainment Precincts should benefit from a regulatory regime more supportive to their ongoing viability. This may include exemptions to trading hour restrictions, concessional liquor excise rates and differentiated noise complaint processes.
4.30Further, the Committee recommends the Australian Government gather information on best practice in this area, provide advice to jurisdictions on how to establish and support special entertainment precincts, and monitor the effectiveness of reforms across the jurisdictions that implement them.
4.31The Committee recommends the Australian Government assess the viability of a rebate or voucher scheme to incentivise younger audiences to attend live music.
4.32This may include offering event presenters a rebate to compensate them for income foregone by offering discounted tickets to young audiences and ‘two for one’ tickets for audience members required to attend with an adult or support person/carer.
4.33An alternative approach may be to offer vouchers directly to prospective audience members.
4.34The scheme should prioritise:
- young audiences, from under 18s to early 30s – the demographic in most significant decline amongst live music audiences
- events, venues or festivals with Australian artists and original music in their programs
- The Committee recommends the Australian Government partner with state and territory jurisdictions in funding a trial of any future rebate or voucher scheme.
4.36The Committee recommends the Australian Government consider ways in which it could partner with state and territory governments to improve the standard of music education in primary schools.
4.37This may include support for pilot projects to deliver quality music education in communities of socio-economic disadvantage and an evaluation of the impacts of this on student outcomes.
4.38The Committee recommends the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority work closely with state and territory governments to ensure better incorporation of music education into school curricula, with the aim of significantly increasing the number of children studying music at primary and high school.
4.39The Committee recommends a minimum fee reflective of Award rates and conditions be established for the hiring of musicians and performers at public events that are run, sponsored or otherwise supported by the Australian Government, and that this fee be indexed yearly by CPI or average wages.
4.40The Committee recommends the Australian Government partner with relevant stakeholders to undertake research into the viability of a self-insurance or mutual insurance model for the music industry and investigate other reforms and initiatives for insuring live music activities that could result in lower premiums for presenters.
4.41Further, the Committee recommends the Australian Government provide information on best practice management of live music venues and events with a view to reducing both risk to insurers and premiums for presenters.
4.42The Committee recommends Music Australia partner with the Live Music Business Council and the Insurance Council of Australia to develop a self-assessment app to provide a more accurate prediction of risk and a more customised insurance premium to reflect the main drivers of risk (outdoor events, multi-day events, late events, etc).
4.43The Committee recommends the introduction of a new obligation for major international tours to include Australian support acts as a condition of approval – a proposal commonly referred to as ‘Michael’s Rule’.
4.44The Committee recommends the Australian Government conduct comprehensive research into changes in audience behaviour and generational attitudes and behaviours that have affected demand for live music.
4.45The Committee recommends the Australian Government develop a centralised source of information on compliance, age-based access, regulation, and training requirements across national, state, territory and municipal jurisdictions that can inform the planning and management of festivals and live music venues.
4.46The Committee recommends state and territory governments consider a reduction or abolition of user-pays policing charges at music festivals.
4.47The Committee recommends state and territory governments re-evaluate the need for large police presences at live music events and the use of sniffer dogs and strip-searches.
4.48The Committee recommends Austrade expand its support for Australian music exports to support the global reach of Australian music.
4.49The Committee recommends the Australian Government undertake research on business models for live music that do not require dependence on the sale of alcohol.
4.50The Committee recommends state, territory and local governments support the development of dedicated and permanent outdoor live music spaces (such as sound shells and associated equipment and infrastructure) to reduce the marginal cost of staging events for presenters.
4.51The Committee recommends state, territory and local governments support private sector efforts to establish permanent and dedicated festival sites in regional settings that are resilient against extreme weather events and ensure these sites are served with appropriate amenities.
4.52The Committee recommends state, territory and local governments re-evaluate their pricing regimes for government-operated venues and provide concessional fees to presenters fulfilling cultural imperatives.
4.53The Committee recommends the Australian Government consider supporting live music event-related training programs for young people.
4.54The Committee recommends the Australian Government work with music streaming services to increase the proportion of Australian content that algorithms or automated playlists generate for Australian users, and that if co-operation is not forthcoming that legislation be strongly considered to mandate and enforce higher proportions of Australian music on these services.
Brian Mitchell MP
Chair
5 March 2025