News

Yesterday we wrote an article on the changes in Visa fees for large touring groups. The news really sucks, as big artists/bands who plan to tour in Australia will cost a whole lot more to cover for promoters, resulting in higher ticket prices for the punters.

As stale as this is – and it’s bloody stale – things aren’t all bad.

For promoters who tour DJs, producers and smaller scale groups, these changes are actually beneficial, as the visa fee per-head will be dropping dramatically.

Relating to the electronic music world, the usual visa fee for a single DJ is around $550, which will be changed to a flat fee of $275. So the fees will literally be sliced in half.

This is definitely some silver lining on an otherwise fairly grey storm cloud, but for fans of electronic and alternative music this could actually mean more tours, not less. The downside, obviously, is that the next time KISS decide to tour, you can probably expect to pay upwards of $400 for a ticket. Which sucks.

But in a post-lockout law world where the future of Australian live music is uncertain, we’ll take any silver lining we can get.

Read the original article for more info on the visa changes right here.

(Via The Australian)