'It's About Survival': Sooki Lounge Becomes The First Australian Venue To Charge Customers A $1 Levy
"We’re the first venue in Australia to put a $1 levy on tickets for public liability, because that’s where it’s at," said Sooki Lounge co-owner Stephen Crombie.
Sooki Lounge's Stephen Crombie (Credit: SBS)
Sooki Lounge co-owner Stephen Crombie has long been open about the plight of live music venues in the post-pandemic era.
Last year, the Belgrave-based venue highlighted the issue of public liability insurance and said that increases in premiums are “killing us all.” Crombie, who runs the venue with his partner Suzana Pozvek, claimed that in a single year, their insurance had leapt up from $15,000 to $60,000 over the past three years, with no claim history in their eleven years of operating.
“10 years ago, there were eight insurers internationally willing to insure a venue such as ours,” they wrote on social media last January. “Over the years, that has dwindled quickly down to 1. Last year, we did not have insurance for a month as we could not get it, meaning it was our house, essentially, up for grabs if something went wrong.”
In May, Crombie once again highlighted the crisis of rising insurance premiums on the SBS program Insight.
“Our public liability has gone up from $15,000 pre-COVID to $60,000 as it stands now,” he explained. “Yes, they price-gouge, but they’re just really handballing a number, and we don't have a choice. We have to have public liability.”
To keep the venue afloat, Crombie explains to The Music that Sookie Lounge will soon charge punters a $1 levy per ticket to cover public liability insurance costs.
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“Basically, it’s pretty simple: we’re the first venue in Australia to put a $1 levy on tickets for public liability, because that’s where it’s at. It’s about survival,” Crombie says.
“Myself and my partner, Suzana, we were inspired by survival if we don’t do this. Because obviously, as you know, over the last couple of years, all your costs and the cost of living in general, security, local licenses, have doubled.”
Crombie adds that over the last three to four years, he and Pozvek have “spoken to everyone,” from the federal government to the Victorian state government and organisations such as APRA and Music Victoria for additional support, “to no avail.”
And it’s not just a crisis affecting Sooki Lounge or other Victorian venues. “Venues are going down every second week,” Crombie says, noting a global trend affecting Australia, too, impacting venues operating in Fremantle and the Gold Coast, while Brisbane’s The Bearded Lady recently closed its doors.
Without government support, “You’re not gonna get any venues for all your young bands that’s essentially a capacity of 500 and under,” Crombie adds, which is why they’ve moved to install the $1 levy on tickets.
“First of all, we’re gonna report that [the $1 levy takings] transparently every month,” he says. “Basic maths – I think it’s going to cover about $20,000, but that $20,000 brings it back to about $40,000. That $40,000 is not great, but it’s manageable, and it’s a medium-term solution. The long-term solution here is that the government comes in and underwrites the industry from an insurance perspective, just like WorkCover, and does it out of profit.”
When asked what advice Crombie would offer anyone looking to open their own music venue or what they should know about public liability insurance, he says, “This is why I’m doing it.
“What I would say is, ‘Here’s how we’re going to fund it. Here’s a levy. You need to find a revenue source.’ So, that’s what I would say. What I would say to anyone who wants to start a live music venue is, yeah, if you want to put your head in the washing machine and put it on all 12 cycles, then go for it [laughs]. That’s what it’s like being in this industry.”
When he discussed the issue on Insight, Crombie concluded, “I don't blame the insurance companies as much as they're mega businesses. It’s pretty simple, if the government does not get involved here and come in and govern and underwrite the industry on some level at a profit, it’s not rocket science, we're not gonna be around.
“The town will go back to what it was, which was a lack of spark, a lack of energy. It will be dark days. The town needs this venue.”
In partnership with the Victorian Music Development Office
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