Save Our Stages NSW - Immediate funding to save NSW's live music industry
Petitioner:
Mr Sam Nardo
| Member:
Greenwich, Alex
| No. of Signatories:
27,734
| Date closed:
12/10/2020
To the Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly,
Live music in NSW is under threat. Unless there is immediate government intervention, we risk losing 85% of the state’s live music venues within the next 12 months.
NSW is home to some of Australia’s greatest artists and performers, largest crowds and world-class stages. Our music creates a sense of pride, gives us a voice, introduces us to new ideas, new friends, new hope. Live music is our lifeblood and our lifeline in times of crisis.
From a survey of just 47 NSW venues, over $70M in earnings have been lost since March, with hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt accumulating as restrictions continue to limit business viability. After six years of lockout laws, devastating bushfires and now the unprecedented impacts of COVID-19, the venues that have survived through hard work and ingenuity can no longer do it alone.
Venues build community, boost the economy, improve wellbeing, and drive tourism. Without stages to play on, artistic careers in NSW will become almost impossible to maintain, and an industry which employs 23,000 people and contributes $3.6B to NSW’s economy will collapse.
The Queensland and Victorian Governments have committed millions of dollars in support to their venues, but the NSW government has yet to act.
We call on the NSW Government to work with MusicNSW and industry representatives to devise a stimulus package that will ensure the ongoing survival of our live music industry. We call on you to Save Our Stages.
