Jon Collins believes the pandemic crippled London’s live music scene, but concedes it was never as moribund as Sydney’s to begin with.
Efforts to wind back a decade of NSW lockout laws under a restrictive government were truncated by the global health crisis, leaving behind a dysfunctional music performance ecosystem, the chief executive of the UK’s Live Music Industry Venues and Entertainment said.
Collins is in Sydney to speak at a government nightlife conference about how he turned back the clock in London.
When he and a coalition of 13 live music organisations looked at how to revive gig culture at a point of crisis in the UK, they realised their ecosystem was out of balance. Large stadium tours were performing well, but artists, promoters and venues at the middle and grassroots levels were struggling.
The result: 43 festivals cancelled and 30 venues permanently closing in 2025 alone.
Fans no longer had disposable income to bet on their local gigs. Venues started relying on the predictability of cover shows. “The ability of people to experiment with that £10 ticket (about $20), go to the small local venue – they don’t have as much leeway to take those risks on that band that they don’t know,” Collins said.
“If you’ve only got limited disposable income, do you want a guaranteed seven out of 10 night out going to see an Oasis cover band … or would you rather go and see that band that you’ve not really heard of that could be a real two out of 10 stinker? Or it could be a nine out of 10, and they’re going to be playing arenas in three years.”
The answer to London’s woes is gaining attention in the NSW parliament, after the report from the NSW State of Live Music inquiry was tabled this week.
In the UK, following a parliamentary inquiry, a plan was devised to introduce a £1 levy on tickets for concerts with capacity for more than 5000 patrons, to be placed in a trust to fund the grassroots music scene. Since it began in 2025, it has raised millions of pounds.
Artists can choose to add the levy to their concert tickets. When it began, American artists, including Diana Ross, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Bowling for Soup, were the first to participate in the scheme, Collins said.
Now, artists such as Olivia Dean, Florence and The Machine, Harry Styles, Lily Allen and Take That have added “the pound,” as Collins calls it. Sam Fender has also committed to the initiative for next year.
“We’ve got over 130 tours now carrying the pound,” Collins said.
So far this year, the fund has raised £2.5 million, has another £6 million “guaranteed” with partnered artists and expects to distribute £7 to £8 million in 2027.
A board of industry experts distributes the trust’s money in funding rounds. The first round, Collins said, went to seven programs covering artists, venues, promoters and festivals. One helped ease touring costs, another helped venues convert high utility bills into green energy, and there was a boost for small and micro festivals.
The trust also helps communities in Northern Ireland and Scotland learn how to stage, market, promote and run an event, while also putting young artists on stages for younger audiences.
Of the 37 recommendations from the NSW State of Live Music inquiry, a ticket levy is the frontrunner. After three hearings and 105 submissions, the committee found rising operating costs, insurance premiums, user-pays policing charges, changing audience behaviours and limited artist development pathways were stifling the sector.
Committee chair Sarah Kaine said a ticket levy would create sustainable funding to support the next generation of artists and venues.
The Australian Music Venue Foundation, a lobby group representing grassroots music venues in Australia, initially proposed a $1 levy on every ticket for shows with a capacity above 5000 patrons.
The organisation estimates that five major Sydney venues alone could generate $3 million to $3.15 million each year. Touring artists or punters would pay the levy through an opt-in scheme. Earlier this year, pop star Olivia Dean donated $1 for each ticket sold on her Australian tour to the organisation.
Meanwhile, NSW Greens MP Cate Faehrmann believes consumers already bear various ticketing costs, and multinational corporations should fund the local scene through a tax increase.
For Collins, the industry’s sustainability, from kids in regional towns having access to music to venues being able to afford insurance, is core to the survival of live music. And he doesn’t see why Sydney can’t have the same.
“There’s the opportunity to build a similar coalition here,” he said. “It’s promoters, agents, and managers ... that gives you the momentum.”
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