The federal government announced in its 2024 budget that $8.6 million will be dedicated to enhancing accessibility and inclusion at live music performances.
The cancellation of the Australian Music festival Groovin the Moo and other festivals due to poor ticket sales has left music fans disappointed and home-grown acts with fewer opportunities to showcase their talent.
Australian Indie musician Otis Wishart has been trying to move up in the industry and says the contracting music festival scene is a setback.
“The cancellations kind of say that Australia is not a profitable place to perform,” he said.
“Festivals are formative for musicians on so many levels, young and aspiring musicians get inspired, pick up their interest.”
Mr Wishart said that there is a sense of pride in Australians when they hear music from a local. For him, the shift to local came from 2008-2009.
“Bands like Gotye, Chet Faker and Flume really made the first real impact worldwide on Australian music since the days of AC/DC and Cold Chisel,” Mr Wishart said.
Music festivals and shows have always driven audiences toward music and helped artists establish themselves. In the 1980s and 1990s, the Sydney-born band INXS thrived in the pub rock scene. Around the same time, the American band Nirvana was headlining shows. Both bands remain popular: Nirvana has a following of over 19 million on Spotify while INXS has nearly three million.
These tables show the Spotify streams of the respective artist within the last 28 days.
Nirvana is primarily listened to in North America and northern parts of Asia, while INXS has a more global audience including many Australians.
“We’re losing so many international tours due to festival closures,” Mr Wishart said.
“Events of all sizes are a great way for musicians to rise through the ranks.”
