Photo Credit: Keith Zhu
Live Performance Australia has an AUD $345 million recovery plan for the live entertainment industry.
The organization represents promoters, festival organizers, and other companies in the live entertainment space. The proposal is worth $241 million USD and will help bring Australia’s concert industry back. Estimates from 2018 suggest the Australian live sector was worth $1.4 billion USD in ticket sales alone.
With more than twelve weeks of lockdown under its belt, Australia’s live industry needs a recovery plan.
LPA CEO Evelyn Richardson says it’s time for Australia’s federal government to tackle the recovery effort. “Unlike some parts of the economy, a gradual re-opening process is not commercially viable for most of our industry,” Richardson says. “We can’t re-open venues that only have dozens in the audience. That’s why we will need a sustained and strategic investment by the government to get our industry up and running again.”
The organization pitched a $453 million USD bailout for the industry back in March. That plan was never approved, so the LPA is looking at a new Australia recovery plan. The “Rebuild & Recovery Package” includes a $38 million USD household e-voucher scheme to attract international visitors. The recovery plan also features a $62 million USD “Business Reactivation Fund,” including capital investments to restart tours.
The two-year Australia recovery plan also explores some long-term initiatives to support the live sector.
Those initiatives include tax incentives for pre-production costs and live music venues, waiving visa fees for international performers, and a contingency fund for another pandemic event. Australia is just now beginning to come out of lockdown and lifting social-distancing requirements. Full-scale concerts and tours will not be returning in 2020, though.
Many industry professionals say they don’t see a full-scale return until 2021 at the earliest. The Australian music sector has lost $340 million AUD due to cancellations this year alone. That’s roughly the same amount LPA is requesting in its concert industry recover plan for Australia.