'Facing Financial Ruin': Industry Figures Sign Open Letter To Vic Govt Calling For Support

Over 200 Victorian music industry figures have signed an open letter calling for changes to incoming live venue restrictions. 

The open letter is addressed to Victorian Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton, as well as Acting Premier James Merlino, and Ministers Martin Foley, Martin Pakula and Danny Pearson, calling for changes to "reimposition of blanket restrictions" which are due to roll-out from 11.59pm tonight.  

"Please let us work together to bring Melbourne back to life!" reads the letter. "We represent Melbourne’s major small, medium, and large event, live entertainment, arts, culture and hospitality organisations.

"Melbourne has long prided itself on being the food, cultural and entertainment capital of Australia but the repeated lockdowns, coupled with a very slow return to viable venue operational capacities, are having a crippling long-term effect and have brought our industries to the brink of collapse.

"Our city is recognised as the live music capital of the world with more live music venues (538) per capita than any other city in the world, and countless renowned restaurant and hospitality venues. Yet our sectors are facing financial ruin due to a lack of trust, understanding and meaningful dialogue. For social, creative and economic reasons we must be trusted to literally stand on our own two feet. Trust us, we won’t let you down.

"During the last several months we have worked in collaboration with Health and Government officials with regards to our ability to operate our businesses in strict COVID-safe Compliance. Prior to this current lockdown, many venues have been able operate at 100% capacity, without incident, to the required standards of Victorian Health.

"We appreciate the need to respect epidemiological science and the need for the occasional imposition of restrictions. However, we urge you to consider the application of the science in sanctioning a return to the levels of business operations that applied immediately prior to the reimposition of blanket restrictions on Thursday 29 May.

"Each business sector had already lodged and been approved for a COVID-safe mode of operation and compliance. We, therefore, see no reason for the imposition of blanket reduced capacities and other restrictions across all environments as we emerge from this extended lockdown.

"Our businesses already meet the highest level of compliance in our day-to-day operations with respect to ticketed attendances, reservation systems, enforced QR Code check-in, and patron flow management. Without JobKeeper support and ongoing rental relief, a delayed reactivation will erode the already tenuous financial viability of our businesses, whilst destroying the spirit of the people on whom we depend to service our clients and to maintain Melbourne’s quality of life.

"Please permit us to work with Victorian Health to assist in managing the COVID-19 Pandemic, whilst still keeping the true spirit of Melbourne alive!"

Signatories include venue owners and managers for Northcote Social Club, The Tote, Max Watt's, Cherry Bar, Brunswick Ballroom, 170 Russell, Howler, Yah Yah's, The Marriner Group (The Forum, Princess Theatre and more), Live Nation's Roger Field, Mushroom Group CEO Matt Gudinski, Live Performance Australia CEO Evelyn Richardson, Music Victoria, Secret Sounds' Jessica Ducrou and Paul Pittico, artist managers, label owners, artists, ticketing companies, booking agents and more. 

Speaking with The Music today, Music Victoria CEO Simone Schinkel has said that the letter is "calling for all the work that we’ve done over the past 18 months - to be COVID compliant, to have discussions with Health, to get them to understand how our businesses work - are taken into consideration as we emerge out of this lockdown".

"Previous lockdowns we’ve emerged very, very slowly, but we’ve been able to do that with the financial support of JobKeeper and some rent relief packages and all those sorts of things, where coming out of this one, we don’t have that underlying support and we just need to pick up the pace," said Schinkel. 

Under the incoming restrictions, live music venues in the state must adhere to the following: 

Metropolitan Melbourne entertainment venues are limited to the following restrictions: 

• Indoor non-seated entertainment venues: Closed
• Indoor fixed seated entertainment: Open up to 25% of seated capacity up to a maximum of 50 people per venue. Group limit of 10 people. Density quotient of 1 person per 4sqm applies
• Outdoor fixed seated entertainment: Open up to 50% of seated capacity up to a maximum of 100 people per venue. Density quotient of 1 person per 4sqm applies
  
  

Regional Victorian entertainment venues are limited to the following restrictions:

• Indoor non-seated entertainment venues: Open to a maximum of 75 people per venue. Density quotient of 1 person per 4sqm applies
• Indoor fixed seated entertainment: Open up to 50% of seated capacity up to a maximum of 75 people per venue. Group limit of 10 people. Density quotient of 1 person per 4 sqm applies in non-seated areas
• Outdoor fixed seated entertainment: Open up to 50% of seated capacity up to a maximum of 150 people per venue. Density quotient of 1 person per 4sqm applies

It remains unclear whether venues that traditionally operate as standing room only will be allowed to open for seated shows. 

"We’re clarifying the restrictions at the moment with Health to understand what ‘fixed seating’ officially means," said Schinkel. 

"Some venues that are also more of your bar areas can open as hospitality venues and have seated table service... we’ve done that before, so we’re open to pivoting and figuring out what options are available. It’s just that those options are a lot less now without a JobKeeper to fall back on. The letter is asking for less blanket restrictions and more nuance..."

"We’ve worked out ways that we can operate and we just want those nuances to be reflected to allow us to trade. We’re not saying above and beyond what we think is reasonable, but the way we work is different. Our job is to keep people safe, day-in, day-out. We’re highly regulated industries. We can do this and we can do it safely, and people have been doing it safely. We feel like we’ve proven ourselves already; to have to go back to zero is just devastating.

At a press conference today, Acting Premier James Merlino addressed the open letter saying, "We try to engage and public health doesn't engage with an industry no matter what sector, the economy organisations, health settings, community settings, sporting clubs, community and at the elite level, there is a high level of engagement, we understand a period of lockdown".

"We have restrictions, these are difficult, that's why we announced the business support package, we will engage with live music industry, hospitality industry, the settings we can move to from 11:59pm, means we can have hospitality, live music venues open at certain density limits and caps.

"We want to get through this period as quickly as we can but we have to do it safely."

On 30 May, a $20 million for the Victorian Events Support Package was announced which is to be "dedicated to supporting operators in the events industry who have incurred losses due to the circuit-breaker restrictions". Details of this package are yet to be revealed.

While additional packages have been detailed - including the Circuit Breaker Business Support Package and Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund - many music workers are not eligible and face the reality of further weeks without work. 

"Obviously we’re grateful for anything, but the sort of losses we’re looking at are nowhere near being covered, and the flow-on effects of a lockdown last a very long time in our industry. It’s not just about produce that you threw out because you couldn’t sell it, but people are losing faith in touring prospects and ability to sell tickets and what the capacities will be in the future," explained Schinkel. 

"And there’s also a lot of people left out because of the requirement to be registered for GST. That’s not how our industry works and it’s not that they’re not registered and they’re getting out of anything, it’s that they don’t make that much money to justify registering for GST, so it’s just another oversight that is devastating to our industry. And so many people can’t pay rent right now." 

Music Victoria are calling for those in the music industry affected by the recent lockdown to share their experience via the Impacts of the Victorian Lockdown 4.0 survey to determine the "real cost of lockdown on our industry". You can view and complete the survey here.