APRA AMCOS Calls For Live Venue Tax Offset

APRA AMCOS CEO Dean Ormston is calling on the Australian government to provide a tax offset to help boost the live music industry and revive venues lost following the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to recent studies, the Australian live music industry contributed over $5.7 billion to the economy pre-pandemic, with nearly ten million punters buying tickets to live music events.

Last year, APRA AMCOS commissioned a report to find whether their requested tax offsets for Australian live music venues could help a rebound take place. In a new Digital Music News article, Dean Ormston has reiterated the call for a tax offset.

“A tax offset to support the growth of live music would not only be a catalyst for the social and cultural development of live music but would also provide an injection of confidence across the tourism and hospitality economy,” Ormston said.

He added that “Live music, whether at the local pub, club, concert venue, or festival, is the beating heart of Australia’s cultural life. This is not a bottomless offset and would be quantifiable in a direct return to taxpayers due to the finite number of potential venues.”

Ormston’s statements follow the recent APRA AMCOS Year In Review report in which the statistics showcased the reality of losing 1,300 live music venues, with nightclub audiences halved following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Losing that many music venues and their stages means we have one-third fewer licensed spaces to host medium and smaller gigs.

The situation is bleak in nightclubs – crowds have halved since pre-pandemic times, with annual attendance dipping to 1.6 million from over 2.8 million in 2019.

In October, Ormson called for further help from the federal and state governments.

“We’re lobbying all levels of government to establish, at speed, special entertainment precincts to foster and protect new and existing venues,” he said. 

“We are also calling on the Australian Government to commit to a live music venue tax offset to act as a catalyst in jump-starting live music nationally.” 

Ormston continued, “For the current wave and the next generation of music creators to develop their skills and become export-ready, we need to provide them with the resources at home and build a sustainable live music ecosystem.”