Canberra’s live music scene is in trouble, the ACT Greens claim, but they have a plan to support musicians.

“Covid hit performers and venues hard and conditions have worsened since,” Greens MLA Jo Clay claims. “Half of our musicians earned less than $6,000 last year. Streaming services don’t pay good money. Local musicians can’t afford to live here, let alone play here. Our venues are struggling too – it’s hard to sell tickets and drinks, let alone meet rising insurance costs. We saw this on a large scale with Groovin’ the Moo cancelled this year, but the smaller businesses are struggling every day.”

The Greens say they would with the entertainment sector and the community to get the settings right for the Civic and Gungahlin entertainment precincts established last year. They would establish entertainment precincts in Belconnen, Molonglo, Woden, Tuggeranong, and at EPIC.

“These precincts will be subject to specific building quality standards and sound proofing measures to ensure residents or businesses aren’t exposed to unreasonable or unexpected levels of noise and artists have lots of great locations to perform,” Ms Clay said. 

“We also need to ensure these precincts are set up to be vibrant, attractive places for people to go to – that means good public transport, late-night food and hospitality options, good lighting, and an atmosphere that brings the area to life.”

Public liability overheads have skyrocketed, the Greens say; they would address this, and appoint an Industry Development Officer to help local musicians upskill and professionalise (paid $100,000 each year).

“We all want Canberra to be a fun, dynamic city to live in and having a diverse range of entertainment for everyone to enjoy is a key part of that,” Ms Clay said. “The ACT Greens are committed to supporting artists and businesses to ensure our live music scene not only lives on, but thrives into the future.”