Study Predicts That 79,000 Jobs Will Be Lost In The Australian Entertainment Sector This Year

It's been revealed today that 79,000 Australian entertainment sector jobs are expected to be lost this year due to the effects of COVID-19. 

In preliminary findings from EY's The Economic Cost of COVID-19 on Australia’s Live Entertainment Industry study, the report has found that "the sector supported 122,000 full-time equivalent jobs in 2019, and forecast that in 2020 this will fall two-thirds – or 79,000 – to just 43,000 full-time equivalent jobs if current restrictions on gatherings remain in place until the end of December this year".

Additionally, the study has estimated that that "COVID-19 has led to a fall of 65% in the economic output of the industry to $12.8bn in 2020 if restrictions remain in place until the end of year" equating to "$23.6bn in lost economic output".

It's also expected that "the total value added by live entertainment is predicted to fall by 65% from $16.6 billion in 2019 to $5.9 billion in 2020, a fall of $10.7 billion".

The report is being discussed this morning at Sydney's Event Summit, with LEIF (Live Entertainment Industry Forum) Chair James Sutherland, TEG CEO Geoff Jones and Live Nation Asia-Pacific President Roger Field joining 7NEWS Finance Expert Gemma Acton from 9.30am. 

LEIF has called for greater support from the Federal Government to support the entertainment sector through this period. They are calling for: 

• Continuation of a JobKeeper-style support program for employees in our industry until such time as the live entertainment industry returns to normal operation and without the constraints of major restrictions
• A moratorium on GST on live event tickets, following the precedent set in the UK
• An industry-led Live Entertainment Business Interruption Fund underwritten by Government; and
• A significant expansion of the RISE grant funding program, with a particular focus on assisting commercial, non-subsidised live entertainment operators to deliver popular live events in COVID-safe formats.

“The Federal Government is understandably focused on jobs. This vitally important report shows that our sector, which normally supports 122,000 full-time equivalent jobs, has lost nearly two-thirds of those jobs this year," said Sutherland in a statement about the study today. 

"JobKeeper has provided a lifeline for our sector, but the prospect of it disappearing in March 2021 – when the industry is likely to remain massively inhibited by key pandemic-related restrictions – is of grave concern to all industry operators. For our sector to operate profitably we require venues operating at full capacity, unrestricted interstate movement, and open international borders without extensive quarantine. Without those necessary conditions, the outlook is truly bleak.

READ MORE: Industry Body LEIF Shares Guidelines For COVID-Safe Events

“Given the long route to recovery, and the nature of lasting restrictions, we believe that an industry extension to JobKeeper is a fair and important next step.”

“Live entertainment is a huge part of the Australian culture. Through our work with the Live Entertainment Industry Forum, we know that the industry has been severely impacted in 2020 as a result of COVID-19," said Matt Colston, Associate Partner at EY and Asia Pacific Leader of EY’s Sports, Events and Venues Advisory. 

"We have also been able to demonstrate just how important a vibrant Live Entertainment Industry is to our economy, contributing over $36 billion in 2019 and employing an estimated 122,000 people.”

“EY’s report demonstrates that when the live entertainment industry does badly, Australia loses," added Jones. Almost all of our revenue disappeared overnight when COVID-19 restrictions closed down the industry in March and while the return of sport with limited capacities has offset some of that impact in EY’s figures, for commercial live entertainment operators both large and small, revenue in September/October remains at no more than 10% of 2019 levels."

“A simple, targeted action that will do a great deal to help our industry is a moratorium on GST on sales of tickets to live entertainment until 30 June next year. This will help us to offset the increased costs we are incurring to make our events COVID-Safe.”

"More than 80% of people have held onto tickets for postponed shows during COVID. Australians have cabin fever - they want to entertain themselves, get the kids out of the house, and have a concert, exhibition or live experience to put on the kitchen calendar - for this year or next - and look forward to after such an awful 2020. Access to live entertainment is part of what makes the Australian lifestyle so special, which is why our industry needs and deserves temporary assistance to ensure its survival.”

“Another simple action - which also has a precedent - is the introduction of an industry-led Live Entertainment Business Interruption Fund underwritten by Government to overcome the fact that we cannot get any insurance to cover us for shows being stalled due to COVID," said Field. 

"We are a very self-sufficient industry; however, we need the support of Government in respect of losses incurred due to interruptions caused by the imposition of COVID related restrictions. This small safety net would allow us to get back to investing in our events and communities as we return safely and responsibly.

“The Government has set up a $50 million Screen Australia fund to overcome this problem for the screen production sector, and it has allowed that industry to get back to work, shooting movies and TV shows. As proven by this report, event fans contribute significantly more spending in the local economy, so there’s even more value in figuring out this solution to get our shows back on the road.”

The full The Economic Cost of COVID-19 on Australia’s Live Entertainment Industry study is set to be released later this month. 

Find out more about LEIF here and the Event Summit here.