More than 23,000 events cancelled during July in Australia

In I Lost My Gig’s (ILMG) second survey initiative released on July 28th, findings revealed that in a survey of almost 2,000 professionals (performers, artists, production, crew, managers, booking agents, etc.) “23,000 gigs and events were found to have been canceled” in Australia in the month of July. This large amount led to nearly $64 million (or $16 million a week) of lost income since the beginning of July. The survey also revealed that within this lost revenue, 99% of the income was not protected.

According to their website, ILMG Australia is an initiative of the Australian Festivals Association, and Australian Music Industry Network. It was established in 2020 to measure the immediate impact of the pandemic on live events along with the entertainment industries in Australia.

The survey “[paints] an alarming picture for the immediate future of Australian live performance and events due to the impacts of Covid-19.” Stating that only 7% of professionals working in the live performance and event industry were able to operate at pre-Covid levels. The survey also reveals that 60% of respondents have said they’ve recently looked for work in other industries. Stating that “border closures, capacity restrictions, and quarantine issues continue to devastate live performances and events across the country, wreaking havoc on touring schedules, and creating what respondents describe as a never-ending cycle of unpaid show rescheduling.”

“After 16 months of canceled gigs and reduced capacity-shows, this latest round of lockdown has truly hit the hardest. What the general public, and the government, don’t realize is that I don’t just lose work for the weeks we are in lockdown but the devastating ricochet effect it has on my career the following days, weeks and months. All but one of my shows have been canceled for the remainder of the year – it’s crushing both professionally and financially and hard for all musicians around me to see a path forward”. – Hannah Crofts, “All Our Exes Live in Texas/Baby Velvet”

Many that took the survey also felt that the government prioritized sporting events over the support of the creative industry.

“Cafes and restaurants can operate at 20-30% capacity through lockdowns by opening for takeaway. Our business can’t do takeaway. Lockdowns cause an unsustainable domino effect on bookings. We even pivoted to crewing reality TV shows, and now that’s also gone in NSW. We need continued support for the industry, or there will be nothing left to save”. – Phil English, Showcall Crewing

Fill Out the Survey from I Lost My Gig and view the data here.

Image Credit: Rukes.com