We only just made it into June, but here is your monthly Advocacy update.

 

Last night the Allan Labor Government announced that they will trial pill testing. While Music Victoria has always deferred to the health experts’ advice on the topic, the evidence is clear that it does save lives and we look forwarding to hearing more from the ten music festivals and events that will be part of the mobile service trial this summer.

 

In other advocacy news, we have welcomed further clarification from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding alternative assessment locations, where they have provided some practical case studies to aid in the sector’s understanding and implementation of the regulations.

 

We are also pleased to share our high-level insights gained from the recent industry-wide consultations undertaken over the last three months (in preparation for the Victorian Government’s next creative industries strategy). While the challenges remain quite similar to those articulated by our members in December 2022, there is no doubt that progress has already been made, and together we have now formulated some strong recommendations.

OUR VISION FOR VICTORIA:
A thriving and resilient Victorian contemporary music sector; globally renowned for its pioneering and diverse content, while maintaining its local significance in shaping our culture, community and sense of place; enabled through equitable practices, strong partnerships and innovative people and businesses.

 

THE CHALLENGES:

• Economic and Market Shifts: rising living costs affecting both audiences and artists, reduced profitability, competition from new media, disrupted consumption patterns, and escalating dominance of international and major businesses.
   
• Regulatory and Operational Pressures: costly, complex, and inconsistent regulatory and compliance requirements, exacerbated by a deficit of operational and financial capacity.

   

• Deficit of Strategic Investment in Long-term Industry Development: to respond to rapid disruption and change arising from new technologies, globalisation, changing consumer demands, decreased risk appetite, and increasing unaffordability and unviability of industry methods and models.

OUR PRIORITIES:

Enhance Our Competitiveness and Extend Our Reach

Objective: Encourage diverse, innovative business models and events, and introduce policies that will safeguard and strengthen our market competitiveness.

 

Empower Our Industry

Objective: Enhance business and technical skills, streamline event delivery, tax incentives for small and community-focused businesses, targeted support for most disadvantaged artists.

 

Invest in Long-term Whole-of-Industry Development and Resilience

Objective: Transition to holistic, long-term industry development-focussed strategies and policies that build on strengths of local talent and extends music’s impact to other sectors.

 

The full paper with further details on our recommended actions will be released next month.

 

We are so deeply grateful for the time, passion, and trust that each of you as industry stakeholders have extended to us in developing this position. Together we unpacked our motivations, addressed pain points and root causes, examined our value to the community and economy, and identified opportunities and areas of focus to pave the way for a brighter future. Your insights have uncovered exactly what our industry needs to thrive.

 

We look forward to realising them with you.

 

Warmly,

Simone and the team at Music Victoria

Announced yesterday, the Victorian State Budget 2024/25 acknowledged that times are tough for many, with our economy continuing to be challenged by local and international forces, including inflation and cost of living.

 

In the current climate, we are pleased to see that the Music Works program will continue to be supported – with the Allan Labor Government making a $1 million investment in 2024-25 to back Victoria’s musicians in the face of unprecedented industry challenges.

 

In addition, we acknowledge the allocation of $6.5 million over four years to support creative festivals and homegrown events. We eagerly anticipate receiving further details regarding this allocation and what it will mean for the music industry.

 

We’re also pleased to see support for small businesses including those in the music industry:

• $2.3 million for small business advisory and support services
• Lifting the payroll tax-free threshold from $700,000 to $900,000 (from 1 July 2024), and then to $1 million (from 1 July 2025)
• Gradual elimination of stamp duty on commercial and industrial properties

 

Despite the unresolved challenges faced by live music venues regarding insurance and the discontinuation of the sick leave guarantee, so important for the music industry gig workers (noting the State Govt is calling on the Federal Government to take this over), we remain committed to advocating for these issues and others to the government.

 

At Music Victoria’s core, it is our mission to advocate for a valued, progressive, and equitable Victorian music scene. Music Victoria’s 2024/25 advocacy priorities are:

• Addressing restrictive regulations and the cost of compliance
• Audience development for contemporary music

 

“While this budget doesn’t solve the monumental challenges currently faced by the industry, it is as we expected given the wider economic context. We look forward to informing future Victorian State budgets as part of the next Victorian Creative State strategy, to which so many from all sectors across our industry have already contributed their insights as part of our recent extensive industry stakeholder consultations.” – Fiona Duncan, Deputy Chair, Music Victoria

 

We encourage further industry contributions to help inform our policy positions. Have your say by filling out this short survey.

 

Right now, applications are open for the Victorian Gig Fund ($1.27 million available in year 1) and the Live Music Festivals Fund ($900,000 available in year 1) both which are four year programs.  Round 1 applications close 17 May 2024. Head to our website for further details.

 

A live music venue audit is also currently underway, as are consultations with the Department of Planning to enhance land use planning protection of live music venues in Victoria.

 

Music Victoria is only as strong as its community, and we will continue to serve our diverse and broad-reaching community as meaningfully as possible. Show your strength and solidarity for the live music community and enhance our influence, reach and advocacy by becoming a Music Victoria Member today.

 

If you have any questions or want to have a deeper conversation, our door is always open.

 

Warmly,

Simone and the team at Music Victoria

As promised, we write today with further updates on the advocacy work we have been doing in response to the issues that were raised by you, our members, at the end of 2023.

 

With the exponential increase in public liability insurance costs faced by our live music venues still topping the list in terms of urgency, we invite you to our Navigating Insurance session. Taking place next week on Thursday 16 March at 6:00pm, the session will take an in-depth look at the work that has been done and our approaches for the future including what ‘market failure’ really means and when government intervention is warranted.

 

As we approach International Women’s Day it also feels fitting to share some updates on the work that has been done since the Raising Their Voices report was released. It is vital that those who generously and courageously shared their experiences are heard and that the work to bring about change continues to be done.

 

Please note that the issues that the report was examining may cause distress and can be unsettling. Support Act offer a dedicated Safety At Work helpline for artists, managers, crew and music workers which is a free, confidential phone counselling service available to anyone who works in music or the arts. It has trained clinicians for callers to speak with and is accessible by calling 1800 959 500 – option 5 within Australia. Remember: if you or someone you care about is in crisis or at immediate risk, dial 000.

 

While the report made 17 very clear recommendations, a lot of the immediate work has been for each business to get its own house in order, and we at Music Victoria are no exception.

 

ACTIONS WE’VE TAKEN SINCE THE REPORT WAS RELEASED:

• We immediately signed the statement of acknowledgement alongside our colleagues – Recommendation 9.
  
• We reviewed all our policies and procedures to ensure that they are explicit on behaviour standards and consequences and have made our Code of Conduct public on the Music Victoria website here – Recommendation 10 and 11.
  
• We joined with (at least 150) our colleagues in signing up to Support Act’s Minimum Standards for a Mentally Healthy Workplace. You can sign here.
• We undertook Phase One of the Music Money Matters survey to begin benchmarking salaries and drive gender equity in the industry–earnings data is common in other industries and yet very limited for the music industry. You can take the survey here – Recommendation 13.
• We gifted our pilot Access All Areas bystander intervention training to Support Act who have refined it further to now allow it to be rolled out nationally to the industry for free. Find out when the training is next available here – Recommendation 10.
• We supported the distribution of remaining review funds to be directed towards a First Peoples-led consultation to review systemic racism in the music industry – Recommendation 12.
• I personally undertook “Responding with Compassion” training by Full Stop Australia to ensure that disclosures in the workplace are met with a trauma informed approach. This workshop is currently being evaluated by Support Act to see if it would be fit for purpose for the music industry – Recommendation 15.
• We have also continued with the work that we were already doing in adhering to our policies including our cultural equity mission and gender quotas for all programs that we deliver, and advocating for such criteria to be included in all government funding arrangements – Recommendation 13, 14 and 16.

 

ACTIONS WE’VE WITNESSED SINCE THE REORT WAS RELEASE:

• The establishment of Creative Workplaces as part of Creative Australia. Under the leadership of Creative Workplaces Council chaired by former Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins AO, Kate Schaffner, Creative Workplaces’ remit is to promote fair, safe, and respectful workplaces for all Australian artists and arts workers. I had the pleasure of meeting with Kate Schaffner last month, and was pleased to find that Creative Workplaces is already across the Raising Their Voices report findings and has been briefed directly by the lead reviewer of the report. Sign yourself up to receive updates on the work of Creative Workplaces here – Recommendation 1 (with a remit to deliver on recommendations 2-8).
• There has also been some fundamental changes in how Australia protects people from workplace sexual harassment as part of The Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Bill 2022. The seven recommendations covered under the new law are:

1. 1. 1. Prohibit hostile environments (Recommendation 16c)
      2. Place a positive duty on employers (Recommendation 17)
      3. Enforce compliance (Recommendation 18)
      4. Share legal costs (Recommendation 25)
      5. Enable systems inquiries (Recommendation 19)
      6. Allow representative applications (Recommendation 23)
      7. Mandate public sector reporting (Recommendation 43)

• The removal of pay secrecy terms in employee contracts. This allows employees to discuss their pay with their colleagues (within and outside their employment) if they choose too and makes non-disclosure agreements around wages illegal. You can find out more here.
• And finally, the public reporting of the gender pay gap at private companies–you can personally access the data here and read the media coverage here.

“This changes our settings from being reactive to also being proactive, so that employers are required to take meaningful action to prevent harassment from occurring. It shifts the emphasis from a complaints-based model to one where employers must take action, and continuously assess and evaluate whether they are meeting the requirements of the duty.”

 

While some of these actions may still feel a bit far removed from your everyday and the grassroots music scene, they are all essential in addressing the power imbalance that creates environments in which such awful behaviour can happen.

 

With such systemic issues, we need everyone to keep doing the work in making change, but to quote one of those brave voices who shared their experiences and participated in the independent review into sexual harm, sexual harassment and systemic discrimination in the Australian contemporary music industry “I feel optimistic that we are moving in the right direction”.

 

If you have any questions or want to have a deeper conversation, our door is always open.

 

Warmly,

Simone and the team at Music Victoria