Music hike ‘unjustified’

A 1,500 percent hike in music licensing fees is expected to put further financial pressure on gay and lesbian nightclubs and dance parties and cause a jump in ticket prices and cover charges.

The Copyright Tribunal last week ruled to increase the cost of playing commercial music in nightclubs to $1.05 per person and $3.07 per person for dance parties.

The decision – aimed at increasing returns to record companies and artists – has dance party organisers crying foul, among them Fag Tag’s Tim Duggan, who labelled the increase “unjustified”.

“The people making these decisions literally haven’t been in a nightclub for 20 years,” Duggan said.

“At the end of the day it’s going to affect the punter. Door prices, drink prices, ticket prices – everything will go up.”

Duggan said it wasn’t just the percentage increase that would stretch event organisers to breaking point, but how the figure will be calculated.

“It’s based on capacity, not how many people turn up to a venue. We base our budgets on 60-80 percent capacity, so tickets could rise as much as $10.”

Fag Tag and other dance parties were likely to reconsider the affordability of current budgets, Duggan said, as margins were already tight.

“We’re really conscious of ticket prices, and we shop around to make sure that drink prices aren’t too expensive,” he said. “But unnecessary charges like this are going to turn the industry on its head.”

New Mardi Gras’ attempts to claim an exemption from the ruling were rejected because of its “significant commercial relationships” and the fact it did not cater exclusively to the gay and lesbian community.

NMG chair Marcus Bourget said the organisation would have to find an extra $50,000 for the Mardi Gras Party alone and more again for the Harbour Party and Sleaze.

“We’re looking at ticket prices as a way of absorbing that cost,” Bourget said. “We don’t have the same revenue raising opportunities – like takings from the bar – that other more commercial events have.”

Many gay dance parties allow HIV and community charities to operate cloakrooms as a fundraising opportunity. The Tribunal’s blanket decision failed to take this into account, instead basing their figures on a $5 per patron cloakroom profit.

The Phonographic Performance Company of Australia, which made the review application on behalf of recording artists, defended the decision. Chief executive Stephen Peach called it a “modest increase” that was long overdue.