A decline in young people engaging with live music is among a plethora of challenges facing an industry that has also been hit with rising costs and ballooning insurance premiums.
Live Performance Australia (LPA) says the operating costs of the industry had risen 30 to 40 percent in recent years, including a 10-fold increase in insurance premiums compared to pre-pandemic levels.
These higher costs, combined with poor international exchange rates and global demand, are making it difficult to attract international “headline” acts to Australia.
In a submission to the Federal Parliamentary inquiry into the challenges and opportunities in the live music industry, LPA says there has been significant recovery in attendances since the pandemic setbacks.
“However, the industry continues to experience ‘long COVID’ impacts while adjusting to other shifts in audience preference and pressures on the industry,” the submission says.
“(These include) an observed decline in live music engagement among younger audiences and a shift to later ticket buying.”
The submission also highlights challenges around:
- Skills shortages across key operational, production and technical roles, and increased costs of wages and employment.
- Higher incidence of extreme weather events, causing disruptions or cancellation for outdoor events and festivals.
- Cost of living pressures for audiences, impacting consumer confidence and discretionary spending power.
Despite the challenges, some parts of the music industry were going well and there was strong support for major international touring acts and some music festivals.
“However business models in the live music industry are under challenge across the board,” LPA says.
“The focus on blockbuster concert tours for some artists conceals the number of concert tours that are not selling out or only breaking even.”
The submission calls for the Federal Government to help cut red tape imposed on live music venues and festivals to help control costs.
The industry is also seeking government help to find more affordable ways to insure these types of events.
The full submission is on the Inquiry website.
