Media release – Department of the House of Representatives, 7 March 2025
Inquiry into the challenges and opportunities within the Australian live music industry
The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Communications and the Arts has today released a report, Am I Ever Gonna See You Live Again?, following its inquiry into the challenges and opportunities within the Australian live music industry.
Over the course of the inquiry, the Committee held 18 public hearings in Canberra, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, and received many submissions from a wide range of stakeholders, including all levels of government, artists, broadcasters, promoters, venues, festivals, service providers and peak industry bodies.
Committee Chair Brian Mitchell, the Federal MHR for Lyons in Tasmania, said the inquiry’s recommendations, if taken up by Government, would help ensure a strong and sustainable future for live music in Australia.
“It was clear to us that many people across the country are doing a lot of work on live music,” Mr Mitchell said.
“There was broad agreement about the myriad challenges and a lot of good ideas about how to grasp the opportunities of a fast-changing technological landscape.
“Our Committee hasn’t sought to reinvent the wheel, but rather bring all that work and evidence together in a report and a set of recommendations that are practical and achievable.”
The report is being tabled in the parliament out of session and can be found on the Committee’s webpage on the Commonwealth Parliament’s website.
List of recommendations
Recommendation 1
4.22 The Committee recommends the Australian Government investigate the potential benefits of a tax offset for the live music industry. The Treasury, the Office of the Arts and Creative Australia should be tasked with developing a policy proposal for the Australian Government to consider.
4.23 Such a tax offset might be considered in conjunction with proposals for a live performance offset that would benefit other artforms such as theatre.
Recommendation 2
4.24 The Committee recommends Australian consumer law be amended to better regulate the selling of tickets to live music, by:
improving the transparency of fees and charges within the price of tickets
limiting extreme variability in ticket prices caused by ‘dynamic pricing’.
Recommendation 3
4.25 The Committee recommends the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission monitor the Australian music industry for anti-competitive conduct and take enforcement action as required.
Recommendation 4
4.26 The Committee recommends the Australian Government add a small levy to the price of tickets to large music events and direct the funds raised to support for small venues and grassroots live music (see Recommendation 5).
Recommendation 5
4.27 The Committee recommends an extension and expansion of the Revive Live program. This expansion might be funded through a ticket levy (Recommendation 4) and funds could be disbursed by Music Australia. The funding could be offered in three streams:
Live and local: a series of performances at a live music venue or non-traditional venue with mandated minimum performance fees.
Live ready: funding for capital improvements to live music venues to improve the functionality and accessibility of venues. This could include costs like sound-proofing, equipment upgrades, disability access.
Live for all: funding for music festivals with an emphasis on improving the accessibility, viability and diversity of live music, including regional festivals, all-ages events, First Nations festivals, community focussed events and not-for-profit based operations.
Recommendation 6
4.28 The Committee recommends state, territory and local governments consider designating ‘special entertainment precincts’ in recognition of the economic and cultural value of these places.
4.29 Special Entertainment Precincts should benefit from a regulatory regime more supportive to their ongoing viability. This may include exemptions to trading hour restrictions, concessional liquor excise rates and differentiated noise complaint processes.
4.30 Further, the Committee recommends the Australian Government gather information on best practice in this area, provide advice to jurisdictions on how to establish and support special entertainment precincts, and monitor the effectiveness of reforms across the jurisdictions that implement them.
Recommendation 7
4.31 The Committee recommends the Australian Government assess the viability of a rebate or voucher scheme to incentivise younger audiences to attend live music.
4.32 This may include offering event presenters a rebate to compensate them for income foregone by offering discounted tickets to young audiences and ‘two for one’ tickets for audience members required to attend with an adult or support person/carer.
4.33 An alternative approach may be to offer vouchers directly to prospective audience members.
4.34 The scheme should prioritise:
young audiences, from under 18s to early 30s – the demographic in most significant decline amongst live music audiences
events, venues or festivals with Australian artists and original music in their programs
4.35 The Committee recommends the Australian Government partner with state and territory jurisdictions in funding a trial of any future rebate or voucher scheme.
Recommendation 8
4.36 The Committee recommends the Australian Government consider ways in which it could partner with state and territory governments to improve the standard of music education in primary schools.
4.37 This may include support for pilot projects to deliver quality music education in communities of socio-economic disadvantage and an evaluation of the impacts of this on student outcomes.
4.38 The Committee recommends the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority work closely with state and territory governments to ensure better incorporation of music education into school curricula, with the aim of significantly increasing the number of children studying music at primary and high school.
Recommendation 9
4.39 The Committee recommends a minimum fee reflective of Award rates and conditions be established for the hiring of musicians and performers at public events that are run, sponsored or otherwise supported by the Australian Government, and that this fee be indexed yearly by CPI or average wages.
Recommendation 10
4.40 The Committee recommends the Australian Government partner with relevant stakeholders to undertake research into the viability of a self-insurance or mutual insurance model for the music industry and investigate other reforms and initiatives for insuring live music activities that could result in lower premiums for presenters.
4.41 Further, the Committee recommends the Australian Government provide information on best practice management of live music venues and events with a view to reducing both risk to insurers and premiums for presenters.
4.42 The Committee recommends Music Australia partner with the Live Music Business Council and the Insurance Council of Australia to develop a self-assessment app to provide a more accurate prediction of risk and a more customised insurance premium to reflect the main drivers of risk (outdoor events, multi-day events, late events, etc).
Recommendation 11
4.43 The Committee recommends the introduction of a new obligation for major international tours to include Australian support acts as a condition of approval – a proposal commonly referred to as ‘Michael’s Rule’.
Recommendation 12
4.44 The Committee recommends the Australian Government conduct comprehensive research into changes in audience behaviour and generational attitudes and behaviours that have affected demand for live music.
Recommendation 13
4.45 The Committee recommends the Australian Government develop a centralised source of information on compliance, age-based access, regulation and training requirements across national, state, territory and municipal jurisdictions that can inform the planning and management of festivals and live music venues.
Recommendation 14
4.46 The Committee recommends state and territory governments consider a reduction or abolition of user-pays policing charges at music festivals.
Recommendation 15
4.47 The Committee recommends state and territory governments re-evaluate the need for large police presences at live music events and the use of sniffer dogs and strip-searches.
Recommendation 16
4.48 The Committee recommends Austrade expand its support for Australian music exports to support the global reach of Australian music.
Recommendation 17
4.49 The Committee recommends the Australian Government undertake research on business models for live music that do not require dependence on the sale of alcohol.
Recommendation 18
4.50 The Committee recommends state, territory and local governments support the development of dedicated and permanent outdoor live music spaces (such as sound shells and associated equipment and infrastructure) to reduce the marginal cost of staging events for presenters.
4.51 The Committee recommends state, territory and local governments support private sector efforts to establish permanent and dedicated festival sites in regional settings that are resilient against extreme weather events and ensure these sites are served with appropriate amenities.
4.52 The Committee recommends state, territory and local governments re-evaluate their pricing regimes for government-operated venues and provide concessional fees to presenters fulfilling cultural imperatives.
Recommendation 19
4.53 The Committee recommends the Australian Government consider supporting live music event-related training programs for young people.
Recommendation 20
4.54 The Committee recommends the Australian Government work with music streaming services to increase the proportion of Australian content that algorithms or automated playlists generate for Australian users, and that if co-operation is not forthcoming that legislation be strongly considered to mandate and enforce higher proportions of Australian music on these services.
Media release – Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance, 7 March 2025
Musicians welcome Live Music Inquiry Report, call for urgent action
The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance, the union that represents Australia’s musicians, welcomes the report of the federal government’s Live Music Inquiry released today. MEAA members who appeared before the inquiry delivered damning evidence condemning the corporate dominance in the sector and exposed the industry’s widespread failure to fairly support musicians.
While the number of gigs has plummeted and musicians struggle to earn a living, global giants like Live Nation have tightened their grip — controlling venues, festivals and ticketing — while receiving more than $16 million in government grants since 2020. MEAA welcomes the inquiry’s recommendation that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) monitor the industry for anti-competitive conduct and take enforcement action where necessary.
“We’ve seen multi-national corporations like Live Nation drive up prices for fans while musicians see little to no benefit, all while receiving millions in taxpayer funding.” said MEAA Campaigns Director, Paul Davies.
“The government must ensure the ACCC has the resources and mandate to take real enforcement action against anti-competitive practices. Musicians cannot afford another decade of inaction.”
MEAA and Musicians Australia members have successfully campaigned for a $250 minimum fee for taxpayer-subsidised gigs, but too many musicians are still unpaid or underpaid. Indexing this minimum fee will help ensure fair compensation keeps pace with the cost of living.
MEAA and Musicians Australia will continue to push for an industry-wide minimum, including for commercial gigs, to ensure all musicians are fairly paid for their work.
