The Australian Live Music Business Council has announced its formation today, representing the interests of small to medium Australian music enterprises and the thousands of live music jobs they underpin – from booking agents and managers, venues and promoters, through to ticketing companies, poster companies, media, publicists, food vendors, security, music technicians, roadies and many more.

The council was created to advocate on behalf of the ‘backstage’ voices in the Live Music supply chain who play a vital role providing the infrastructure to nurture and expose talent for the entire music economy.

With an interim board headed by Select Music’s Stephen Wade and a membership including Architects of Entertainment, ALH Group, EMC, Oztix and Untitled Group, the organisation has identified a strong need for the voices of Australian small to medium businesses across the live music industry to be heard as the road to COVID-19 recovery is mapped.

“COVID has shown just how important a collective approach is in times of crisis and the Australian Live Music Business Council fills that gap, providing for the first time, a platform to help galvanise our passion to work in this amazing industry” said ALMBC interim chair Stephen Wade. “The formation of the ALMBC now gives a coordinated voice to the thousands of small and medium businesses working at the coalface of Australia’s essential night economy, representing the long-tail of shows, venues and events that underpin Australian commerce and culture.“

The ALMBC will feed into and support the initiatives of other organisations by creating a collective voice for the specific needs of operators in the micro-sector of the economy – like the extension of JobKeeper beyond September. “These businesses are the real engine room of the live music economy, and with revenue dropping to zero for many, they face significant commercial challenges for the foreseeable future” Wade said.