Yo Four Corners audiences viewed the music on sale Monday with few expectations. The show was a long-overdue reckoning for Live Nation and Ticketmaster, the international entertainment giant that has long faced accusations of abusing its market power by buying up venues, booking agents, tour operators and merchandise manufacturers. .
The show ended with a soundtrack of Forgotten Years by Midnight Oil (singer Peter Garrett was a key interviewer) playing nostalgia on stage for some of this country's most famous musicians. They told us that many artists are too afraid to speak out for fear of retaliation. In response, Live Nation issued a detailed statement rejecting the show's claims, saying: “Our investments in artists, venues, event organizers and entrepreneurs have enriched Australia's cultural landscape and created thousands of jobs… Our business model is consistent with sustainable industrial practices.” “.
There is no doubt that live music in Australia is in crisis. More than 1,300 venues have been closed for years following Covid-19 lockdowns and the cancellation of many local festivals. But we must keep things in historical perspective.
The reality is that the bottom of Australia's live music scene has been on the endangered species list for at least two decades, with investigation after investigation (in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and now at the federal level) arrivals crushed by covid and long before Live Nation. He came to these shores, he shied away from the commercial cash that was left above, as he has demonstrated time and time again.
The list of problems is long and so well documented that they need no detailed explanation here: noise complaints, mostly from neighbors who just moved in; inappropriate liquor licensing laws wrongly associate live music with violence; And lockout laws are based on the same false premise.
Cultural centers called “safe night zones” are being redeveloped. Increased insurance premiums for smaller locations. There is global warming and they did the same with festivals. Changes in alcohol taxes and cost of living In general, gamblers rarely drink alcohol once they go out (unfortunately, alcohol is like publicity for the press). Slot machines.
A more depressing case study is Sydney, where live music is the only thing that has been plagued by its absence. Hoodoo Gurus singer Dave Faulkner told a New South Wales inquiry in 2018 that the industry was “regarded as something to be relegated to. “We employ so many people, we generate incredible amounts of money throughout the economy, and yet we are treated so poorly.”
Seismic cultural shifts are also at play. The brutal truth is that live Australian music isn't as appealing as it once was because there weren't enough people listening to it in the first place. Young listeners whose feeds and playlists are created by streaming giants that are not subject to Australian content laws are unlikely to listen to young, emerging Australian artists.
Streaming has also lost potential income for musicians. There's an old Hunter S. Thompson quote that describes the music business as “a cruel, shallow money pit, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free.” Although Thompson was actually talking about the television industry, the old model appears to be beneficial compared to Spotify CEO Daniel Ek's comments.
Older listeners who grew up in the 90s when Triple J dominated – Generation But Double J's digital-only strategy kills off a small portion of its audience.
It is extremely rare for Australian acts to appear on international tour bills. Why, for example, do the Pixies support Pearl Jam, the latter being ardent and vocal fans of Australian music? Before his death, Australian music director Michael McMartin campaigned for local representation on such tours. Mandatory.
None of this is a defense of Live Nation. A multinational corporation has no reason to worry that Australian music doesn't deserve a penny of taxpayers' money. When you buy a concert ticket, it's hard not to think that Ticketmaster (owned by Live Nation) is charging you for hidden and unexplained add-on packages.
Meanwhile, the fact that LiveNation's third-largest shareholder, the Saudi Public Investment Fund, is in control is not enough. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman; The country was outraged for laundering its human rights abuses through sports, a laundered calculation it appears to be.
Solving Australia's live music crisis will require a combination of creative imagination, targeted intervention, public investment and political will. Most of the changes affecting its existence predate Live Nation; it's better to see it as a parasite, sucking the marrow out of an industry that bled dry long ago.
