Relocate or bust. Musos are considering deserting Australia (Op-Ed)

Technology made the world smaller, COVID-19 made the world a mess.

Australia, impossibly locked away from the rest of the planet, has drifted further into isolation and, for those creators who can, leaving is urgent.

With tens of millions of Australians stuck in a cycle of snap-lockdowns followed by fresh air, and international movement still very much a dream for most, the grass is looking very much greener on the other side of the world.

Those aerial snaps from Chicago’s Lollapalooza festival and the massive, gathered crowds were proof of that, and confirmation of just how far off the pace Australia currently is.

Masked Wolf, the Sydney hip-hopper who enjoyed a global hit with ‘Astronaut In the Ocean,’ has tour dates locked in abroad from September through November.

He’ll be back, a rep from his management team tells TIO.

Getting out of here is a real option. But for the Wolf Man and his compatriots, getting back in again is a problem.

It’s far from ideal.

Masked Wolf by Harpreet Singh

Adulting is hard, and adults go to where the work is. Ever since humans were dragging their knuckles on the ground, we’ve migrated to spots where we can eke out a living.

Right now, Australia’s music landscape looks like scorched earth. The northern summer touring circuit, however, appears to be back in the swing of things.

The relocation conundrum is the same for sportspeople. The Olympics flame is now extinguished, though not all Australian competitors are heading home. During an interview with Channel 7 on Sunday (Aug. 8), basketball star Joe Ingles admitted his family had stayed on in Salt Lake City, where he plies his trade with the Utah Jazz franchise. Pre-COVID, Ingles and his squad would have headed home to Australia in the off-season.

Facing a two-week mandatory stint in hotel quarantine, Australia has become off-limits for many ex-pats.

Looking overseas makes sense. There’s simply no work right now for performing artists in Australia. Those who are making some cash, are underemployed.

A new report published by I Lost My Gig, found that, since March 2020, just 7% of live industry professionals have been able to operate at pre-COVID levels.

Even in the glory days, building a career here was a huge challenge for all but the golden elite.

The ILMG report also found that 60% of respondents have recently looked for careers outside of music.

Some are looking to stay in music, just outside of Australia.

Last week, during the Indie-Con summit, Sounds Australia announced the launch of its Export Stimulus Program, a dedicated export funding assistance which is meant to help cover the costs of putting the industry back into the international conversation, by offsetting visa fees, quarantine costs and more.

The federal government has kicked in new funding that brings the combined total of the SAES package to $1.2 million, to be distributed over the next 18 months, to “assist Australian artists, crew and music professionals to realise significant career milestone opportunities, earn much needed income after 18 months of cancelled work, and support Australia’s quest to become a net exporting music nation,” a statement reads.

The live industry is on a knife’s edge.

Travel bubbles and shortened, flexible quarantine periods for artists and crew who are fully vaccinated will help.

But without immediate, smart, targeted assistance, a brain-drain is looming. That’s a better-case scenario.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.