LPA to political parties: Commit $128m to live performance

Return funding to the Australia Council, provide tax incentives on pre-production costs for live productions, develop a Creative Industries Strategic Plan, increase investment in international touring and create a cross-cutting 21st century government agency for the creative industries.

These are just five demands that Live Performance Australia (LPA) has put to whichever political party wins power on July 2. Its 2016 Federal Election Policy Priorities has a strong focus on supporting sustainability and promoting growth for the industry.

LPA represents all sectors of the $2.5 billion live performance industry, which employs 34,000 Australians. This includes the contemporary music industry, which contributes between $4 billion to $6 billion to the national economy a year as 40 million Australians attend gigs a year.

LPA President Andrew Kay said: ‘Australia’s live performance industry supports jobs, contributes to economic growth and drives innovation.

‘Governments need to put in place policies that will support the long term growth and sustainability of the industry so that creative and talented Australians can share their work with audiences in capital cities and country towns, as well as build our international reputation through overseas touring.’

According to the LPA, whoever wins power must:

* Sustain the industry by returning the funding cuts of $72.8 million over four years to the Australia Council to provide long term stability for small to medium companies; and maintain and improve the transparency of the new “second funding Catalyst program which is run through the Ministry of Arts.

* Stimulate investment by providing tax incentives on pre-production costs for live productions; and establishing a major seed fund for original Australian works of scale.

A 40% tax offset for live performances could create of up to 555 new productions and 4650 jobs, and increase industry turnover by $1.2 billion, according to an Ernst & Young study commissioned by the LPA. This would be for all performances except for those in contemporary music. The LPA reckons an incentive above 25% would be “cost neutral” because the tax revenue generated would be greater than the rebate.

A recent analysis commissioned by APRA AMCOS, the Australia Council, PPCA, Australia Hotels Association and the Restaurant & Catering Association said that a tax rebate for venues would see a 87% jump in gigs with 2,017 new venues hosting live music and up to 31.1 million more punters going to gigs, and with a $40.2 million injection into the economy.

* Show leadership for the creative industries by developing a Creative Industries Strategic Plan, create a cross-cutting 21st century government agency for the creative industries, incorporate arts in the government’s innovation and STEM agenda and renew funding of the Live Music Office to foster audience development and drive regulatory reform.

* Aid the sector in regional and rural Australia by increasing the level of funding and expand the eligibility criteria of Playing Australia, double the number of organisations with National Touring Status, introduce a funding mechanism to assist commercial producers undertake tours in these areas, and provide support for trialling digital incentives for presenting live productions.

* Raise the industry’s global profile by increasing investment in international touring of Australian productions, and ensure funding for Sounds Australia to advance live music exports.

* Build a database about the creative industries by enabling the Australian Bureau of Statistics to regularly collect data about the creative industries and establish and collect economic and social metrics for the creative industries.

LPA has costed these policy commitments at $128 million over four years. LPA Chief Executive Evelyn Richardson said: ‘Given the economic and social contribution made by the live performance industry, this represents a relatively modest investment that would provide greater strategic direction and certainty for our industry.’

See full statement at www.liveperformance.com.au.

The LPA’s election statement is similar to that of Music Australia’s, which recently asked for a strengthening of the recognition for and investment in contemporary music as an art form, introduce tax incentives to grow sector jobs and audience growth, for the arts portfolio to champion value of music industry across government and expand current investments including to National Live Music Office and Sounds Australia.

In the meantime, the arts sector had begun a series of forums on how to find a unified voice in the run up to the Federal election. The first, held in Sydney earlier this week to a packed out crowd, had speakers from performance and visual arts. It was decided that the sector should find ways to quick reach the political parties, but to also tap the voting clout of the audience especially to spread the message of the economic and cultural value of the arts.