A tax offset was one of a raft of recommendations handed down by a Government inquiry into Australia’s live music industry.
The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Communications and the Arts has released its report, Am I Ever Gonna See You Live Again?, following an almost year-long inquiry into the challenges and opportunities within the industry.
Committee Chair Brian Mitchell said over the course of the inquiry, 18 public hearings were held in Canberra, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, and submissions were received from a wide range of stakeholders, including all levels of government, artists, broadcasters, promoters, venues, festivals, service providers and peak industry bodies.
“It was clear to us that many people across the country are doing a lot of work on live music,” Mr Mitchell said.
“There was broad agreement about the myriad challenges and a lot of good ideas about how to grasp the opportunities of a fast-changing technological landscape.”
He said the committee made 20 recommendations including:
- A tax offset for the live music industry, which could be extended to a live performance offset that would benefit other artforms such as theatre.
- 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 and limiting extreme variability in ticket prices caused by “dynamic pricing”.
- The Federal 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.
- State, territory and local governments consider designating “special entertainment precincts” in recognition of the economic and cultural value of these places.
