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A new report from CrewCare in Australia has claimed that the country’s live music industry is in crisis.
The study found that almost 30% of Australia’s live music workers are considering leaving the industry and nearly half rely on other jobs to make ends meet.
The report, called The Issues Facing Crew Workers in Australia, also stated that 5% of respondents don’t have access to enough food.
“Many respondents nominated the industry’s excessive hours, poor work-life balance, lack of training and career progression, poor management, and poor workplace culture as significant issues they wished to see change,” said Ben Eltham, who prepared the report.
“Low pay in the context of a cost-of-living crisis was another recurring concern raised in the survey.
“Workforce diversity and the discrimination faced by workers was another recurring theme of qualitative feedback.”
CrewCare is a non-profit organisation that advocates for live music production workers and surveyed nearly 300 people for the report.
It found that women, who make up just 26% of key roles in live music, and non-binary people face even greater challenges including discrimination.
“Crew are the backbone of live entertainment, yet they continue to face excessive hours, job insecurity and income ceilings that limit their earning potential,” said CrewCare director Matthew Jens, as reported by 7News.
“These findings highlight the urgent need for industry-wide change. CrewCare is using these insights to sharpen our strategy and push for real, lasting improvements. The time for action is now.”
Another key finding from the report was that 45% of respondents said they were working excessive hours, which contributes to 57% saying they faced obstacles in securing more work.
“Crew are the lifeblood of the arts and entertainment sector — without them, the show would literally not go on,” said Eltham.
“But conditions for cultural workers in Australia aren’t great. The work is often insecure, precarious and can be dangerous.”
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