Australian live music industry launches new advocating council representing 65,000 jobs

2 July 2020 | 7:00 am | Emma Jones

Industry figures across Australian live music have joined forces today to launch the Australian Live Music Business Council, a new body aimed at representing approximately 65,000 jobs in small to medium Australian music enterprises. From booking agents and managers, venues and promoters, through to ticketing companies, poster companies, media, publicists, food vendors, security, music technicians, roadies and many more, the ALMBC is set to advocate on behalf of these "backstage" voices in the wake of COVID-19 and its ongoing economic impacts.

Members from the likes of Select Music, Untitled Group, Oztix, Electronic Music Conference, ALH Group, Architects of Entertainment and more have developed an interim board, with Select Music's Stephen Wade heading it up. Speaking on the formation of the council, Wade said, “COVID has shown just how important a collective approach is in times of crisis and the Australian Live Music Business Council fills that gap, providing for the first time, a platform to help galvanise our passion to work in this amazing industry."

“The formation of the ALMBC now gives a coordinated voice to the thousands of small and medium businesses working at the coalface of Australia’s essential night economy, representing the long-tail of shows, venues and events that underpin Australian commerce and culture.”

With a focus on creating a collective voice for the specific needs of Australian live music businesses, one of the measures the council is calling for is the extension of JobKeeper beyond September. Voicing concerns held for many businesses which have had their income reduced to zero in recent months, the ALMBC is set to not just advocate until COVID-19 and its aftermath is over, but wants to harness this moment to form the foundations needed to improve the vitality of the sector for the long term.

Plug into the latest music with our FREE weekly newsletter

Steering Committee Member, Jane Slingo (Electronic Music Conference) said, "Australia's Live music scene is abundant in amazing artists, bands and DJs and behind every one of them is an incredible amount of people power that promotes and supports their careers. ALMBC provides advocacy for the small to medium enterprises that have lacked representation during a time when our collective voice needs to be heard the most. This part of the music sector is made up of thousands of passionate people and it's our hope that they can direct some of this energy to an organisation designed to safeguard their commercial future."

For more information and to join the ALMBC, head HERE. ALMBC has also announced they will be waiving registration fees for six months.

Foundation Members | Interim Board | Steering Committee

Alex Paioff & Fraser Johnson, Co-Founders, MITP Agency – Digital Marketing Agency / Live Music Venue Owners (WA)

Brian ‘Smash’ Chladil & Stuart Field, Co-Founders, Oztix – Ticketing (QLD)

Craig Lock, Director, 5/4 Entertainment – Live Venues/Promoter/Manager (SA)

Fred Leone, Artist and Producer, Project Manager Wunungu Awara (QLD)

Haydn Johnston, Co-Founder, Architects of Entertainment – Production (NSW)

Jane Slingo, Director, Electronic Music Conference – DJs/Electronic Music/Manager (NSW)

Nick Greco, Director/Co-Founder, Untitled Group – Promoter/Manager/Agent (VIC)

Ross Macpherson, Director/Co-Founder, Macro Music – Promoter/Manager/Live Venues (WA)

Sharlene Harris, Group National Entertainment Manager, ALH – Live Venues (National)

Stephen Wade, CEO Select Music – Booking Agent (NSW)

Words by Emma Jones

Image by Alter Ego Visuals for Purple Sneakers

SEE ALSO