Australia’s peak body for performing musicians, Live Performance Australia, has detailed a $345 million government proposal to assist the local industry recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The plan sees LPA pushing for the provision of capital investment into performing arts companies and productions to allow them to restart effectively, as well as extending income support to businesses and workers in the arts sector and encouraging Australians to begin attending live events again.
LPA are pushing for a huge $90 million Business Reactivation Fund to provide capital investments, lending a helping hand to live music service providers such as sound technicians, stage and light rigging companies, production services and touring conglomerates.
Elsewhere, the Live Performance Industry Rebuild & Recovery Package includes a $55 million e-voucher scheme called ‘See It Live’, which aims to get punters back into venues and create a loyalty system of sorts. Other funding from the $345 million plan is aimed towards marketing, sector development, innovation and community engagement. You can view the entire breakdown here.
“As we enter the 12th week of shutdowns due to the public health response, it’s well and truly time for the Federal Government to get behind Australia’s arts and entertainment industry and deliver a comprehensive and properly funded plan so our world-class industry can get back to work,” LPA’s chief executive Evelyn Richardson said in a statement released today.
“Unlike some other parts of the economy, a gradual re-opening process is not commercially viable for most of our industry. We can’t re-open venues that only have dozens in the audience. That’s why we will need a sustained and strategic investment by government to get our industry up and running again.”
Find out more via the Live Performance Australia website today.
Written by Will Brewster via Mixdown Magazine
