As Live Music Inquiry Reaches Final Round, Advocates Propose a Levy on Major Tours

A fund that would help Australian talent, paid-for by a levy on major tours, is one of the solutions put forward at a federal government inquiry, established to explore the country’s struggling live space.

Last week, as news spread on the collapse of Spilt Milk festival, the Standing Committee on Communications and the Arts heard evidence from music industry stakeholders, including state and local organisations, peak bodies, and event organisers, plus several roundtables with musicians and venues.

QMusic CEO Kris Stewart, Brisbane venue operator Shane Chidgzey and Woodfordia managing director Amanda Jackes were among those who presented evidence – and potential fixes.

“When we go out and reach out to and speak to our venues in Queensland, [we’re] hearing almost the same challenges being repeated time and time again,” QMusic’s Stewart told the inquiry, the ABC reports.

“If we want an Australian industry in 10 years,” he continued, “we need to acknowledge that our small music venues, they are the soil from which our artists grow. If that soil dies, no seeds can come from that.”

Though the top end of touring, from Pink to Taylor Swift and Fred Again, is in a rude state of health, the same can’t be said for the nation’s grassroots venues network and music festivals.

Spilt Milk last week joined the growing list of festivals to fall over in 2024, following Splendour In The Grass, Caloundra Music Festival and others, while Brisbane’s The Zoo announced earlier in the year that it would close its doors for good, despite welcoming more punters through 2023 than in another other year.

Participants in the meetings also pitched new funding for regional touring to support regional venues, and greater research into career pathways for artists.

The Zoo

QMusic’s Stewart proposed a small levy on major tours, which could be pumped into the ailing artist community. “If you’re the Taylor Swifts of the world, up to 50 thousand seats, one pound per ticket goes back into a charitable trust to be re-invested at the foundations of live music,” Stewart reportedly said.

By plugging millions of “dollars back into the foundations of live music,” he continued, “that is transformational.”

Australia’s music community has been searching for answers to the “discovery” problem for domestic artists, which was brought into focus when ARIA published its year-end charts for 2024.

Australian acts accounted for less than 5% of the best-selling singles or albums in 2024. And, to-date, no Australian act has led the weekly singles or albums charts in 2024.

During the AAM Awards in May, the Association of Artist Managers presented Michael’s Rule, a policy that would ensure at least one local artist would be among the support acts on every international tour.

The “Rule,” which bears the name of Michael McMartin, the late, great artist manager who guided the Hoodoo Gurus for more than 40 years, and had tirelessly advocated for the policy, has three main pillars: every international artist must include an Australian artist among their opening acts; the Australian artist must appear on the same stage at the international artist using reasonable sound and lighting; and the Australian artist must be announced at the same time as the tour so that they benefit from all the marketing and promotion.

The Committee was initiated when, on March 25, the Minister for the Arts, the Hon Tony Burke MP asked for an inquiry into and report on “the challenges and opportunities” within the Australian live music industry.

Following sessions in Sydney and Brisbane, the Committee is holding its final round of interstate public hearings next week in Melbourne (Aug. 5 and Aug. 6), Adelaide (Aug. 7) and Perth (Aug. 8).

Audio from the hearings will be broadcast live via the Parliament’s YouTube channel.