NSW Labor party to pay musicians $250 for live shows at publicly funded events

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NSW Labor party to pay musicians $250 for live shows at publicly funded events

21 December 2022

Should they form government at the state election in March 2023, the NSW state Labor party will mandate a minimum payment of A$250 for musicians performing at any event or show in NSW that has received public, or government, funding.

The $250 flat fee will be a condition of a contract by a business or other entity that accepts a government grant for a show or event. While there is currently no guarantee that artists will receive a minimum fee for performing at events funded by public money in New South Wales, a Chris Minns-led government aims to change things.

This is a step in the right direction. A$250 may not be much, once musicians have deducted their various overheads, but it’s something. And worth far more than the trite line that artists doubtless hear often: “but performing (gratis) at our event will give you some great exposure.”

Heck, it’s even a line that’s been spun on me sometimes here at disassociated. Do I need/want exposure? Sure. But I also need income, to, you know, make a living.

Ireland to offer a weekly basic income to artists and creatives

17 September 2022

The Irish government will pay two thousand artists and creative arts workers a basic income of three hundred and twenty-five Euros (about four hundred and eighty Australian dollars) per week, as part of a trial being conducted over the next three years.

The Basic Income for the Arts pilot scheme will examine, over a 3 year period, the impact of a basic income on artists and creative arts workers. Payments of €325 per week will be made to 2,000 eligible artists and creative arts workers who will be selected at random and invited to take part.

This is the sort of initiative that’s needed in Australia, where artists and writers seldom earn more than fifty-thousand dollars a year — likely well below that for many — compared to the average annual salary of about ninety-thousand dollars for other workers.