2 out of 3 venues said a tax offset would encourage them to stage more live music (6) according to a survey by APRA AMCOS, part of music licensing body OneMusic.
70 per cent of those that once hosted live music said they stopped because of the cost (3) but would consider recommencing live music sessions with a well-designed government incentive. In four turbulent years, there has been a 25.6 per cent reduction in live music performances nationwide.
OneMusic/APRA AMCOS constantly campaigns for importance of live music and the recent proposal sent to parliament for a tax offset is one in a long line of advocacy work to assist businesses they license.
Venues need to know legally they likely need a licence if they are playing music and can arrange this with a blanket-licence provided by OneMusic or by other means.
48 per cent more patrons attend and spend at a venue when a venue hosts live music (6)
Cutting out live music in the short term means a bar or restaurant may face longer term revenue loss as well as miss out on the community-building and atmosphere-creating benefits live music brings.
- (1) 57 per cent of customers say they want to invite friends to join them when live music is played in a restaurant.
- (2) There was a 9.1 per cent increase in overall sales when playing music that matched the brand, compared with playing randomly selected popular songs (traditional Greek music at a Greek restaurant.)
- (1) 68 per cent said the atmosphere created by music would influence their repeat business or recommendation.
OneMusic licensee Finlay’s Kalbarri found that hosting live music has helped them to bring in more cash on weekends:
“Our venue previously only opened for dinners, but with the introduction of live music on a Sunday, we brought back the iconic Sunday Session. This has resulted in Sundays being the biggest day of the week for us.”
Research from May showed for every $1 spent on live music, $3 is returned to the community (5).
References
- SOCAN/Leger. Play On: Music is the Food of Business (company catalogue).
- The impact of pitch, volume and tempo on the atmospheric effects of music Article in International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management 30(6):323-330 · June 2002 – Malcolm Sullivan.
- AMCOS Live Music Inquiry Submission, page 18
- AMCOS Live Music Inquiry Submission, page 13
- AMCOS Live Music Inquiry Submission, page 8
- AMCOS Live Music Inquiry Submission, page 11
