Working musicians have come together under the umbrella of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance to form Musicians Australia, a new union representing their interests in the industry.
Music is a multi-billion-dollar industry and plays a major role in people's lives, yet the majority of musicians do not make a living from music.
More than a third of musicians earn less than the minimum wage from their music. After travel and other expenses are accounted for, musicians are left with just a fraction of their hourly gig rate meaning most need to work two or more jobs to make ends meet and support their art.
Breaking it down, for every hour of performance time, musicians invest upwards of three hours rehearsing, marketing and promoting their music. In many cases gigs are often not paid at all, with one in four gigs being unpaid.
“I have never really thought about what the hourly rate would be but definitely know that all the set-up, preparation et cetera that goes into one gig is not usually reflected in the amount earned,” commented an anonymous female musician from Victoria.
Gigs have also become increasingly difficult to find and can be cancelled with little notice, with performance contracts regularly broken without consequences.
Over the past six months, Musicians Australia has been speaking with musicians from all over the country and have learnt that the problems within the industry are too complex and entrenched for simple ‘one-size-fits-all’ solutions. Fixing musicians’ income means fixing the way contracts work and making sure performance agreements are reliable and can be enforced.
“Having some kind of award rate/ industry standard payment that venues could agree upon could create a network of venues around the country, which would be sought after by working musicians, and the venues would be able to choose from a large amount of high-quality musicians,” says an anonymous male musician from Victoria.
Fair standards for live performance encourages more musicians to keep up with their craft. It promotes diversity and music that truly reflects the richness of modern Australia. Fair standards for live performance can bring people together, marginalise anti-social behaviour and boost our entertainment and night-time economies.
Musicians Australia's 'Love Live Music' campaign focuses on making the voice of musicians heard where decisions are made as well as promoting the well-being of musicians and the economic value they create.
An industry code of conduct will set fair fees for performances and ensure that musicians will not undercut one another. Fair fees will allow venues to prosper and provide a reliable base for musicians, with exceptions for open-mic nights, first-timers and charity fundraising.
Under the code, performance fees will account for load-in and load-out, set-up, and sound checks and fair payments extends to local support acts and festival performances. It will establish a standard, enforceable, performance fee agreement in plain English that doesn’t require legal expertise to understand.
Importantly, disputes will be dealt with in a no-cost jurisdiction, where lawyers are not required, such as an industrial or consumer tribunal. The code will also contain principles and guidelines for preventing and dealing with harassment, discrimination, bullying and anti-social behaviour.
