As the crippling effects of COVID-19 continue to derail the music industry, a group of 61 live music venues in New South Wales have come together to launch an online petition asking the NSW Government for immediate financial support.
With the Queensland and Victorian Governments having already committed millions of dollars to their respective music industries, the Save Our Stages NSW petition is backed by the 61 NSW live music venues (listed below) who fear without assistance, thousands of jobs will be lost.Despite being home to the biggest music industry in Australia, a recent survey by MusicNSW of 47 Sydney entertainment venues found a staggering 85 per cent predicted their own shutdown within six to nine months if current trading conditions persist. That same survey revealed a whopping $70 million in earnings has been lost in the past six months.
Save Our Stages is calling on the NSW Government to work with MusicNSW and industry representatives to devise a stimulus package that will ensure the ongoing survival of live music venues, and support the artists and communities who depend on live music for their existence.
"The Queensland and Victorian Governments have committed millions of dollars in support to their venues, we now look to the NSW Government to show their support," CEO and Founder of the Oxford Art Factory, Mark Gerber says.
"Without NSW Government intervention," Gerber adds, "many of our favourite venues will soon be forced to close and with them, tens of thousands of jobs will be lost."
While all levels of society having felt the massive financial hit COVID-19 has brought, the live music industry faces a very slow rebuild given the lingering travel restrictions (with international visitors not expected for quite some time). Given the importance and framework these venues offer the broader community, action must happen promptly.
"Live music venues help to bring people together and provide an essential space for music, culture and community to flourish," Tyla Dombroski, Co-Owner of Crowbar Sydney says.
"We must do everything we can to protect and save our local venues before they disappear forever."
The venues who have joined the Save Our Stages campaign:
107 Projects, Redfern
Anita's Theatre, Thirroul
Bargo Sports Club, Bargo
Batlow Hotel, Batlow
Beach Hotel, Byron Bay
Botany View Hotel, Newtown
Brunswick Picture House, Brunswick
Butcher's Brew, Dulwich Hill
Candelo Hotel, Candelo
Crowbar, Leichhardt
Doodle Cooma Arms Hotel, Henty
Foundry616, Ultimo
Frank's Wild Years, Thirroul
Frankie's Pizza, Sydney
Gasoline Pony, Marrickville
Howl & Moon Records, Byron Bay
Hustle and Flow Bar, Redfern
Knox St Bar, Chippendale
Lazybones, Marrickville
Lord Gladstone, Chippendale
Low 302, Surry Hills
Manning Bar, Camperdown
Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville
Mary's Underground, Circular Quay
Max Watts, Moore Park
Milton Theatre, Milton
MoshPit, Erskineville
Navigate Arts, Tanja
New England Hotel, Armidale
North Wollongong Hotel, North Wollongong
Old 505 Theatre, Newtown
Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst
Roundhouse, Kensington
Smokey Horse, Braidwood
Spring Street Social, Bondi
Star Court Theatre, Lismore
Tathra Hotel, Tathra
The Bearded Tit, Redfern
The Commercial Hotel, Junee
The Concourse, Chatswood
The Enmore Theatre, Enmore
The Factory Theatre, Marrickville
The Imperial, Erskineville
The Junkyard, Maitland
The Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale
The Marlborough Hotel, Newtown
The Metro Theatre, Sydney
The Newsagency, Camperdown
The Northern, Byron Bay
The Red Rattler, Marrickville
The Snow Goose Hotel, Adaminaby
The Studio, Armidale
The Town Hall Hotel, Newtown
The Vanguard, Newtown
Tumut River Brewing Co., Tumut
Two Fingers Gentlemen’s Bar, Albury
UOW Unibar, Wollongong
Valve Bar and Venue, Sydney
Wagga Wagga Boat Club, Wagga Wagga
Wayward's at The Bank, Newtown
Yulli's Brews, Alexandria
