The Australian Music Industry is Sending Out an SOS

The hard-working people who provide the soundtrack to Australian life need your help, right now.

Australian artist crew and music workers are among some of the most vulnerable with regards to job stability and mental wellbeing. Almost overnight, COVID19 has devastated the industry, leading to the cancellation of thousands of events and threatening the livelihood of an entire sector.

These people have lost income that cannot be replaced.

The music world has historically banded together to donate time and money to those in need, as seen recently with bushfire relief. Now they need the Australian music-loving public to do the same. 

This is a real and present crisis, and this is a very real SOS.

If we don’t act now – and soon – the only sound we’ll hear in future? Silence.

How You Can Help

Donate To

If you are in a position to do so, please donate to Support Act. This vital music charity provides crisis relief services to artists, roadies and music workers directly affected during this difficult time.

Donate Now

Or donate via Facebook

Purchase Our Tee

In the absence of touring, merchandise is the most instant investment you can make into any artists career, you can support by visiting any number of the artists stores directly through the store links here, or create an equally lasting connection by purchasing one of our two Sound Of Silence special, custom tees, with all proceeds going to Support Act;

  • SOS Tee designed by Jack Irvine (Billie Eilish, Skegss). We thank Jack for dedicating his time to this campaign.
  • Endangered Species Tee, concept by Martha Marlowe image by Reg Mombassa (Chris O’Doherty). We thank Reg and Martha for donating this design for the campaign.
  • Crew Care 2020 Roady4Roadies T-shirt with all profit going to the Support Act ‘Roadies’ fund.
2020 Roady4Roadies T-shirt

Click Here To Purchase

You Can Also Help By

Consider donating your refunds for cancelled shows or a portion of your refund to the venue or Support Act.

Hang onto your tickets for rescheduled dates. By keeping your ticket, you keep funds in the industry when it is most needed.

Keep streaming and buying Australian music and merchandise – directly from artist websites, through local record stores (online), Bandcamp, Patreon or via your favourite streaming services – Spotify and Apple.

Spread the word – contact your preferred radio station and ask them to play your favourite Aussie artists or write a letter to your local MP.

Message your favourite musician or venue and offer moral support. Or, ‘Pay It Forward’ and buy a gift voucher for your favourite artist at their favourite rehearsal, recording or production studio.

If you know any workers affected by the recent event cancellations and postponements, check that they are aware of I Lost My Gig.

We need your help to get through this so that when the venue doors and festival gates open again, when the stage lights come on and the fans return, the artists and the legions of workers who support them, are there for you. Howard Freeman, CrewCare
This is a rally cry, a call to arms – the support that the music industry receives now will be repaid with art, community, and passion for what makes our scene so special. We will be back, and we need to ensure the artists and industry are ready for when the shows go on again. Maggie Collins, artist manager DZ Deathrays/Morning Belle
Artist crew and music workers are facing a bleak and uncertain future and are also some of the most vulnerable with regards to mental wellbeing. Please help us to support our music workers through this difficult period and help them be in a position to bounce back louder and prouder than ever once the pandemic has passed. Clive Miller, CEO, Support Act
I think we are all feeling a lot of the same feelings right now. Upset, worried, stressed, uncertain and unsure. And we’re all just trying to understand what’s happening and adjust as new information rolls in. The devastation COVID-19 is causing and the cracks in our system it’s exposing is a lot to take in. And I’m not sure things will “return to normal” – but it feels like a good time to reassess what matters and I think ultimately we could come out of this stronger as a community. Alice Skye, musician

Sound Of Silence (SOS) is a national initiative from a Music Industry Taskforce that represent our diverse music industry to bring immediate relief for an industry at the existential brink.

By working with Support Act and CrewCare and through a raft of targeted activity, we hope to alleviate the severe haemorrhaging of income that has come with widespread cancellations of festivals, concerts, shows and local gigs.

The music industry and those at its peripheries cannot survive without an alternative source of revenue that has disappeared along with live shows, a figure that has literally gone from 100 to 0 in under a week. 

The workers in our industry live from gig to gig. Shows are their lifeblood and it will take more than the containment of COVID19 to return them to economic stability. The ramifications are far-reaching and seriously long-term.

The music industry has historically banded together to donate time and money to those in need, as seen recently with bushfire relief efforts – they are always there to lend a helping hand. Now they need the Australian music-loving public to do the same.