House Of Representatives To Host Inquiry Into Australian Live Music Industry

The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Communications and the Arts is preparing to host an inquiry into the Sydney and Brisbane live music scenes. This week, it will hold its first round of public hearings.

Set to implore the challenges and opportunities within the Australian live music industry, the Committee will listen to industry stakeholders—peak bodies, broadcasters, and event organisers.

For the inquiry, the Committee isn’t only talking to peak industry bodies; it will also have roundtable discussions with musicians, venues, academic researchers, and Commonwealth and State government agencies.

The Committee has also mentioned its enthusiasm for opportunities fostering live music that tells and maintains Australian stories, referring to music made by First Nations artists.

The first hearing occurred today in the Bristol Room, Royal On The Park, Brisbane. The next two hearings will take place in Sydney on Thursday, 25, and Friday, 26 July, from 9 am to 4:30 and 4:20 pm, respectively, from The Map Rooms in The Michael Crouch Room, State Library of NSW, Sydney.

This week, all the hearings have been and will continue to be broadcast live on the Parliament of Australia website.

In a statement, Brian Mitchell MP, the Chair of the Committee, said, “The Committee looks forward to continuing its deep dive into the operational and regulatory challenges facing the live music event industry.”

Stating that the Committee looks forward to the roundtable discussions with music-related Commonwealth Arts agencies, Mitchell highlighted the following areas to be considered in the inquiry:

“The rapidly changing face of the Australian live music industry; changing audience preferences post-pandemic—including new demographic behaviour, and how digitisation is impacting career pathways and business longevity.”

Mitchell continued, “Members particularly hope to gain insights into how musicians are honing their craft, finding performance opportunities and engaging with audiences given discoverability challenges and how the royalties regime is impacting artists’ remuneration.”