Rock, Scissors, Paperwork

08 March 2010

by Lars Brandle

As frontman with Australian rock group Midnight Oil, Peter Garrett enjoyed worldwide fame in the late 1980s with Beds are Burning. Now, as Australia’s Minister for Environment Protection Heritage and the Arts, he’s raising temperatures among the live music business with plans for a controversial “Entertainment Visa”. Garrett’s department of environment, protection, heritage and the arts (DE HWA) has proposed new entertainment Visa regulations that would legally oblige local promoters to hire a least one Australian support act for international artists touring Down Under. Garrett’s transition from the stage to office hasn’t been an easy one. The former rock star has endured a torrid fight for his political career of late. And he won’t find an easy passage for his new Visa regulations. The proposals have split the live business, at home and abroad.

“I spoke to Garrett about it early last year, and I told him it’s irrelevant,” says veteran promoter Michael Chugg. “The industry has done a very good job regulating itself.” However, Michael McMartin, Sydney-based head of Melody Management and manager of the Hoodoo Gurus, says action from the top is imperative. “It didn’t work by agreement, it only partially worked. It needs legislation,” notes McMartin, who has key roles with the International Music Manager’s Forum and the Association of Artist Managers. “Yes, it will cost the promoter but it will help economically and culturally with the exchange of music.” Australian support acts are a common sight on the big tours.

Live Performance Australia (LPA) says its membership - which includes music promoters and festivals - currently engages Australian support acts on more than 90% of foreign tours Down Under. Garrett’s proposals are targeting the 10% minority. Marianne Faithfull, for one example, kept the spotlight all to herself when she toured earlier this year. Under Garrett’s scheme Faithfull’s tour wouldn’t have happened unless an Australian artist had warmed the house. LPA has shot-down the plans. The peak body’s CEO Evelyn Richardson wrote to Garrett’s department explaining that the administrative burden created by the scheme “would far outweigh the limited opportunities it will create for Australian musicians.” She adds, “The money and resources which will be required for the department to administer the scheme would be much better directed at more targeted, strategic initiatives to support and develop Australian music.” The new proposals carry more than a hint of familiarity.

Back in November 2007, the Foreign Music Acts Certification Scheme was first published as a pre-election pledge by the Labor Party. Its tones were conveyed in a discussion document, entitled “Bringing Aussie Musicians Centre Stage.” The proposal was revived and distributed to industry December 22, 2009 and interested parties had until February 12th to submit feedback. The LPA’s submission was one of 23 received by the DE HWA, according to a government spokesperson. If implemented, the government’s Foreign Music Acts Certification Scheme would change Australia’s Migration Regulations 1994. Until now, foreign performers looking to secure an entertainment Visa (subclass 420) have been assessed on their net employment benefit to the Australian industry, which they can pass by hiring front-of-house staff or venue technicians. One of the biggest drawbacks of the new scheme is time. Should the proposal come to pass, the DE WHA would require an extra two weeks to consider the artist’s Visa application. An act would need to obtain a supporting certificate from the Minister responsible for the Arts, before the Minister responsible for Immigration can issue a temporary Entertainment Visa.

LPA’s membership has “a number of concerns surrounding this,” wrote Richardson, who makes various suggestions on how the process could be simplified. ”Our members are already finding it extremely difficult to confirm all tour personnel and compile their Visa paperwork so far in advance of the tour.” The extra paperwork means a promoter would need to contract a support act a full threemonths ahead of the tour, far from an ideal situation in the run-and-gun promotion game, explains veteran promoter Paul Dainty. “Pressure on a promoter’s time is already so tight,” he explains. D ainty admits he is broadly in favour of the rule-change, but warns that a new Visa system must be flexible and practical. And he points out that the lengthier performances often don’t leave scope for a support act.

“This is not about (extra costs), it’s about the creative process,” Dainty notes. “We shouldn’t be the only country in the world where a (headline) artist has to create their show differently because of government rules.” Garrett knows well the rigours of touring, and his department’s proposals contain an assortment of exemptions. The Visa wouldn’t apply to acts playing a festival where locals already feature on the bill. And each artistic request under the scheme would be considered on its merits, a spokesperson for DEWHA says, while the test would apply only to concerts with a capacity of 400 or more. The end-game of all this is to provide more opportunities to local artists, and to give a boost to Australia’s live entertainment sector, which hit a speed-bump in recent years. According to the LPA’s most recent “Ticket Attendance and Revenue Survey”, the live entertainment sector generated $1.061 billion in revenue, a decline of more than 13% on the A$1.228 billion Australian market of 2007. In his discussion paper to the industry, Garrett wrote that the intention of the scheme was “to provide additional employment opportunities for Australian music industry performers and increase exposure of Australian music.” Garrett could not be reached for comment, but a spokesman said the arts minister was keen to “ensure that Australian music acts have opportunities to leverage exposure, gain valuable performing experience, and make new industry connections when international acts tour our country.”

Michael Gudinski, managing director of the Frontier Touring Company, is an advocate of the proposed new Visa so long as the support act gets the benefit of exposure. “I fully support anything that will help Australian music,” he says. “But the support’s name must be on all the advertising created around on the bill for (the scheme) to be effective.” Labels are unsure, however, how much value the proposals will add. “Australian music is in a healthy state and doesn’t necessarily need too much help to get on bills and get that performance,” says Ed St John, president and CEO of Warner Music Australasia. A DEHWA official says the department is studying the industry’s feedback, and will make a decision later in the year. Should the scheme be forged as a regulatory requirement, objectors could state their case when the scheme is reviewed after the first year of operation. “If Garrett wants to bring it in, we’ll live with it,” says Chugg.“I just think it’s unnecessary.”

Cec Condon, drummer and vocalist with Australian Music Prize-winning alternative rock group The Mess Hall, says the scheme is a “good idea” which would support local acts. “It’s good exposure, but opening for a massive international act isn’t always an enjoyable experience,” admits Condon, whose band has opened for the likes of The Strokes in 2004 and Kings of Leon in 2006. “Perhaps,” he says, “Peter Garrett should focus on things which have a bigger impact on the country.”