Peak music body Live Performance Australia has called on the Federal Government to work on a plan to support the local live music industry in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
With festivals and events around the country being postponed or cancelled in recent days, including Download Festival, Miley Cyrus' one-off Melbourne show and Pixies remaining tour dates, the LPA says the Government's economic stimulus package announced yesterday needs to be expanded to the $2.5 billion live industry.
“We’re already seeing cancellation of events and touring programs across the country. We expect this to get worse with industry losing hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of jobs,” LPA Chief Executive, Evelyn Richardson, said.
‘’In the event that governments upgrade their public health response to COVID-19 which forces the cancellation of live performance events, they need to in the short term urgently develop a targeted relief package to keep businesses operating.
‘’As a sector with high casual employment we would also urge the Federal Government to consider a program similar to Farm relief to make access to social security payments available in the event of a sector shut-down or significant loss of trade. Waiting periods should be waived."
Richardson continued, “The impact of any forced closures will be huge and it’s critical the government acts now to ensure companies survive and people stay employed. In the short term, business continuity is a priority while the recovery phase will require a stimulus package into the sector to help companies get back up and running and get consumers back out to shows and events.
“Many of our companies are vulnerable and within both the commercial and subsidised sectors, there are companies that will not have the balance sheet strength to withstand the combined impacts of box office failure and contract obligations, and some larger event cancellations may cause irreparable damage.
‘’Given the significant economic and social contribution of the live performance industry, including in regional areas, it is vital that government acts now to minimise business failure, loss of jobs and investment."
Shadow Minister for the Arts, Tony Burke, echoed Richardson's comments, saying the Government's economic stimulus package is "not good enough".
"The Government has announced specific measures to support the tourism industry. Live performance is similarly vulnerable to this crisis and needs help," Burke said.
"The Government needs a plan for the arts sector and we need to hear what it is - urgently."
For more information about how COVID-19 is impacting the music industry, follow the link here.
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