Can Australian Music Survive in the Age of Spotify?
This submission responds to the Federal Governments’ release of draft legislation to improve consumer protection from unfair practices.
The ALMBC proposes three key updates to the draft proposed legislation:
1. Consideration of the ongoing impacts of dynamic / surge pricing on every day concert ticket buyers
2. Consideration of the ongoing impact of concert cancellations on every day concert ticket purchasers
3. Consideration of the impact on sole traders and small businesses of unfair practices of major / global companies
The ALMBC commends the Federal Government on the development of this draft legislation and recommends that the draft legislation is updated to include the following:
1. Include a general ban of dynamic / surge pricing for concert ticket selling
2. Include a ban on processes designed to increase purchasing pressure on concert tickets, such as count down timers, etc
3. Include a requirement of concert ticketing companies to place ticket income in trust to ensure that ticket purchasers are not unfairly impacted by concert cancelations
4. Include additional regulations to minimise the impact on sole traders and micro-businesses for unfair practices by major companies.
The ALMBC further recommends that the Federal Government:
- Partner with the ALMBC to develop best practice processes for major / global music companies to work with smaller and emerging local companies
- Further consider the impact of vertically integrated ownership of companies across live music and partner with the ALMBC to investigate these.
