LIFELINE FOR MUSICIANS
STIMULUS PROGRAM HELPING AUSSIE ARTISTS HEAD OVERSEAS TO REIGNITE CAREERS
With no gigs at home, an exodus of fully vaccinated Australian artists with international touring and festival opportunities will leave the country to finally start playing again after losing 90 per cent of their income because of lockdowns.
Tame Impala, Courtney Barnett, Tim Minchin and Middle Kids are among the first artists who won’t have to cancel their American and European gig bookings, thanks to a new export stimulus program.
Sounds Australia executive producer Millie Milgate proposed the $1.2m initiative as the American, UK and European summer touring season opened up while our stages remain empty.
The latest ilostmygig survey found more than 28,000 gigs worth $84m have been cancelled since July 1 and more than 35 per cent of arts workers were looking for work overseas.
Milgate calculated about 17 Australian acts seeking to go overseas within the next few months would generate $90m worth of festival performance fees and concert ticket sales.
She presented the export earnings potential to Arts Minister Paul Fletcher and Border Force, who have backed the program.
“So I took those numbers to Canberra and said ‘We’ve got to work out how to get these artists out there’,” she said.
“Like Olympians, they’ve trained hard for years and we’re not going for medals. We already got the medals.
“We need to just get on those stages.” Milgate said DJs and dance acts Crooked Colours, Hayden James and What So Not had bookings and overnight global rap sensation Masked Wolf is finally heading overseas to build on the success of his billionstreaming smash Astronaut In The Ocean.
The program helps offset visa, freight and quarantine costs as well as encouraging musicians back into the rehearsal studio to get matchfit before playing again.
Tame Impala left last week for their huge American tour which kicks off next month at the prestigious Bonnaroo festival.
Former Voice star Alfie Arcuri hopes to offset 18 months of lost income when he competes in Russia this month at the Eurovision-style New Wave contest.
“It’s the first time an Australian has competed at New Wave and if I place in the top three that’s between $40,000 and $100,00 in prizes which would help cover all the work lost,” he said.
Tones and I manager Regan Lethbridge said getting the Dance Monkey star to Europe and the US early next year for her tour would have its hurdles.
“But after being grounded for 16 months now, we made the call that if our artists can go safely then we will back them 100 per cent. It would be two full years next March since we were on ground last playing sold out shows with Tones,” Lethbridge said.
Milgate said the next challenge for the Aussie musician exodus was getting home.
She is negotiating with state governments for returning artists to be given the same above-cap allocations as to non-residents coming to Australia for film and television productions