When I first started playing gigs as a teen in Brisbane in the mid-2000s, venues charged $10 entry for a show with three or four local bands on the bill. Not all venues were the same, but many took up to 20 per cent of the ticket price, with the rest divvied up between the bands, and all bar takings usually kept by the venue too.
A current push by the musicians’ union, Musicians Australia, a branch of the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance, seeks to address this by setting a minimum rate of pay at $250 per musician, per performance.The proposal is currently aimed at gigs supported with public funding, but the long-term goal is to mandate a minimum rate of pay for musicians sector-wide., saying it would bankrupt small live music venues. However, this isn’t the full story.
Serious intervention is needed to raise the bar for everyone in the live music industry. A move to a minimum rate of pay for musicians is the catalyst we need to value their cultural labour accordingly. Putting a minimum floor on revenue available to artists is an obvious and productive policy – as is a minimum rate of pay for musicians.Of course, some venues might fail , but those that survive will be able to attract better talent.
WhitingSam Yes, but what do cafe owners think about this? I must know.
WhitingSam If your interest doesn't provide enough income to survive, you have a hobby. Many people have hobbies. Why should I pay for your hobby?
WhitingSam What are you complaining about Sam? We've got Billy Joel at the MCG mate! And 25 people are going to get to see Dua Lipa at the Palais in October and Dan Andrews is having a bunch of Blue Light Discos right across the state this summer. Rock and Roll is back dude!!
WhitingSam Subsidising the arts just leads to low quality art. If a band is so bad that they only earn $50 between them, then perhaps they should consider alternative employment.
WhitingSam Why 'government support' (i.e., taxpayer money)? Let the free market prevail.