AN INDUSTRY IN CRISIS: Reported income losses spike 200% overnight to over $100M
Since late Saturday afternoon $100 million in lost income has been reported by small to medium businesses and independent contractors working in the creative industries. The ilostmygig Australia site estimates that 65,000 job opportunities have been lost and over 380,000 people have been impacted, numbers that will only rise as isolation measures continue. The music industry is in crisis and as uncertainty rips through it and its ancillary industries, urgent help is needed to stave off devastating job losses and irreparable damage to the sector.
As the numbers continue to stack up, so do the stories.
“I am a freelance stylist, set/prop designer, art director and event stylist. I work across these jobs on a freelance and contract basis. Due to COVID-19, events have been cancelled and shoots have been postponed therefore I am left with no income for the foreseeable future until these industries pick up, if they can come back from this” Jacqueline, NSW
“We run a small business supplying technical equipment and production management services. We have 7 full-time staff and a huge pool of freelance staff that we work with week-to-week. We’ve lost basically all of our upcoming gigs with more to come this week. We’re desperately trying to find a way to stay afloat and keep our staff employed. We’ve been hit with some really big challenges in the past few months, but nothing like this could have ever been expected.” Andy, NSW
Casuals, contractors and sole traders make up a huge proportion of the creative industries and these workers need immediate relief. The industry calls on the government to fast-track access to Centrelink payments and make available no-interest loans to small-to-medium businesses, along with other measures to assist in the immediate-term retention of staff. Creative workers are urged to continue to register their lost income with ilostmygig.net.au so that the true magnitude of the crisis can be quantified and appropriate action can be undertaken.
Today, the Federal Minister for the Arts Paul Fletcher MP met with representatives from the creative industries to discuss what emergency industry support is needed. The Minister released a statement about this which you can read here.
While industry groups support Government measures to reduce the rate of infection and protect the health and well-being of the general population, it’s important to acknowledge the catastrophic impact these control measures are having on an industry that brings joy, music, art and celebration to Australians on a daily basis. Many of these small-to-medium businesses operate on slim profit margins, to the extent that they simply won’t exist in 8 weeks time if there isn’t targeted and immediate intervention.
ilostmygig.net.au continues to tally these losses and encourages any sole traders, small – medium business impacted by event cancellations to record the impact by logging jobs lost on the site.
The public can show their support for the creative and live music industries in a number of ways. They can donate to Support Act – a charity delivering crisis relief to music industry workers. They can stream, share and buy music by Australian artists, buy their merch, or just reach out to people in the industry to make sure they are okay.
If you or someone you know needs support, there is help available:
Support Act Helpline: 1800 959 500
Lifeline Hotline: 13 11 14 or text their helpline on 0477 13 11 14
ILMG Supporters:
Australian Music Industry Network (AMIN)
Australian Festivals Association (AFA)
APRA AMCOS (APRA)
ARIA
Phonographic Performance Company of Australia (PPCA)
Live Performance Australia (LPA)
Electronic Music Conference (EMC)
Live Music Office (LMO)
Support Act
Sounds Australia
Australian Independent Record Label Association (AIR)
Association of Artist Managers (AAM)
Music NSW
Music SA
Music Tasmania
QMusic
Music Victoria
Music NT
Music ACT
West Australian Music (WAM)
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