‘We have no choice': Bar owners drive a levy to make sure the music won't die

In a move that its owners claim is an Australian first, Sooki Lounge in Belgrave will begin charging customers a $1 levy to help cover the costs of public liability insurance the bar has identified as a threat to its ongoing operation as a live music venue.
'We have no choice,' says Stephen Crombie, who runs the venue in the foothills of Melbourne's Dandenong Ranges with his partner, Suzana Pozvek. 'But I don't want to just whack up the booking fee because it needs to be educational.
'I need the customer to understand that's where it's going, and that Oztix [the venue's online ticketing partner] is not gouging and Sooki Lounge is not gouging here.'
To that end, he plans to share a video explaining the move on social media in the next two weeks, including his latest premium, a copy of which is already on public display at the bar.
'Insurance' is probably not the first word that springs to mind when you think live music (the words 'sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll', on the other hand …) But for many venue operators who have been struggling to stay afloat since the disruptions wrought by COVID and ongoing cost-of-living pressures, the issue is an absolute chart topper.
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Multiple inquiries into the state of live music and the festival scene have heard that the soaring cost of public liability insurance is a key factor in a crisis that has plagued the sector for more than four years.
The increase for cover on Sooki's 330-capacity venue – which is open four nights a week and is only occasionally sold out – has been massive. Pre-COVID, it cost about $15,000 annually. The latest bill, issued less than a fortnight ago, came in at $61,035. To pay it, Crombie and Pozvek need finance, and that increases the total to about $65,000.
It's little wonder then that so many venues have simply given up. According to an industry survey released in late 2023, more than 1300 had closed doors or stopped hosting live music since the pandemic, which is about one-quarter of all the sector's venues in Australia. More recent figures are not available, but anecdotal evidence suggests the situation has not improved, as higher living costs and the trend to lower alcohol consumption on premises continue to blow holes in the business model.

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