ALMBC Announce Board and Executive General Manager
The Australian Live Music Business Council, has affirmed its commitment to long-term advocacy for the music industry by today announcing its full Board and the appointment of the first ALMBC Executive General Manager Craig Spann.
Formed in mid-2020 with an interim committee, the ALMBC has become a critical voice for Australia’s music industry with more than 500 businesses joining the organisation, representing over 30,000 employees with a combined revenue in excess of $300 million.
Advocating on behalf of the ‘backstage’ voices in our industry, the ALMBC membership includes agents, venues and small promoters through to ticketing companies, poster companies, media, publicists, food vendors, security, music technicians, crew and many more.
Executive General Manager Craig Spann brings with him a wealth of experience and knowledge to drive the organisation through COVID-19 and beyond. Over the past twenty years he has taken on roles across the industry from government and business relations, to media and communications, music policy development and strategic planning – working with Virgin Australia, AMIN, QMusic and News Corp, among others.
“The live music industry has always been innovative and resilient, but 2020 has challenged our industry like never before,” Mr Spann says. “Now is the time to unite and use the collective strength of our voices to ensure the survival of our industry and be ready for a strong recovery. I am both humbled and excited to work with the ALMBC and all our members to not only recover from this crisis, but build a stronger live music industry able to weather future storms.”
The organisation also unveils its newly-appointed board today, welcoming the contributions of Stephen Wade (Select Music), Sharlene Harris (ALH), Brian Chaldil (OzTix/Media Rare), Sophie Kirov (Lost Motel/Badlands), Christina Allen (Seamlaas), Nicholas Greco (Untitled), Phaedra Watts (Nannup Music Festival), Emily York (Penny Drop), Ross Macpherson (Macro Music), Jess Mizrahi (Deloitte Access Economics) and Haydn Johnston (Architects of Entertainment).
ALMC Chair Stephen Wade pointed to the diversity and growing scope of the live music businesses represented both on and by the board – businesses that until now had a limited voice in its future.
“Our recent member survey clearly showed the crisis our industry now faces as a result of COVID-19 restrictions, meaning it is now more important than ever that the live music industry speaks with a united voice,” Mr Wade says.
He added that the ALMBC is currently working with a range of First Nations organisations and community leaders to nominate a representative to the ALMBC Board, which will be announced soon.
“We want to get this right and will continue to listen to First Nations people within our industry to make sure representation at a Board level, along with ALMBCs broader activities, is led by First Nations voices and meet the needs of the community,” he explains. “Finalising the make up of this Board has been a detailed process to ensure it reflects the real-world experience of our industry and acknowledges the diversity of people and business across the country.”
Since its launch the ALMBC has been actively representing the live music industry to all levels of Government to better articulate the size and impact of the sector while lobbying for specific support to aid the industry survive the current unprecedented crisis. Its alarming recent member survey presented a worrying picture with over 70% of businesses facing closure within six months without further immediate action from Australian governments and 73% of members reporting a revenue downturn of over 75%.
The organisation is also developing a range of resources and services aimed specifically at supporting live music get back on its feet including the National Gig-Ready Dashboard, available now for the entire industry to use, free of charge at the ALMBC website.
This Dashboard provides the industry with up-to-date information on current COVID restrictions impacting live music in all States and Territories. An interactive version is currently under development and will launch soon along with a number of other practical member-driven initiatives.
Visit our member page to join and register your business’ support.
For more information & media opportunities, contact:
Stephen Green | SGC Media | 0412 321 368 | stephen@sgcmedia.com
Phil Brown | Morph Consulting | 0404 556 727 | phil@morph-consulting.com