Should Usher and Lady Gaga have Australian support acts? New live music rule explained

• The NSW Government has introduced Michael’s Rule, stipulating significant venue hire cost reductions for promoters who book an Australian act to support an international one.
• It’s all part of an attempt for further push for more local live music at all ends of the scale.
• The rule will only apply to concerts that haven’t already been announced.
• READ MORE: This is your ultimate guide to Vivid Sydney

Are we going to start seeing more live Australian music at big-name international concerts when they arrive in Sydney? That’s certainly the hopes of the NSW Government as they introduce a new live music rule set to shape what our biggest concerts look like moving forward.

“Australia has a rich history of music, but today’s artists are getting swamped by American acts,” wrote John Graham in Rolling Stones Australia.

“If we don’t take action, we’ll lose our homegrown sound.”

And so a new rule has been introduced—”Michael’s Rule”—which stipulates significant cost cuts for promoters who book Australian acts to support international ones. For example, promoters would get $20,000 off their venue hire fees at government venues, like Accor Stadium, if they were to book at least one Australian artist as as support act on an international headline artist’s tour.

It’s a move towards preserving local live music, something which Graham describes as too “culturally and economically important to lose.”

The specifics of the new live music regulation rule out already announced concerts, as the Australian artist must be announced the same time as the tour. They also must share the same stage as the international artist; there’s no wriggle room for promoters here. That rules out seeing Missy Higgins open for Usher.

While it would have be nice to see an Australian artist open for Usher (The Kid LAROI, perhaps) and Lady Gaga, these tours were announced to early to take advantage of the new cost-saving music rule.

The rule was named after Hoodoo Gurus’ late manager Michael McMartin who used one of his last ever speeches to make a bid for promoters to bill Australian acts on every international tour down under.

Importantly, the rule will only apply for shows taking place at a Venues NSW-listed venue. So that limits it to the really big venues like Accor Stadium and Sydney Cricket Ground. Although a smaller $5000 reduction fee will apply for the Sydney Opera House as well. There’s every possibility that more venues could get involved in the initiative, but for now, Michael’s Rule only applies to really big tours.

Any attempt to protect, promote and encourage Australian music will be welcome for an industry that’s still struggling to find its feet after Covid. Last year, just three of ARIA’s top 100 albums were from Australian artists and recent studies have found that more people are saving their money for “one in a lifetime” concerts from the likes of Taylor Swift and Billie Ellish.

The concern isn’t out of touch or without reason, either. It’s based on strong evidence that these big international shows are great ways for Aussies to further their shine. Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers, for example, went from opening to Pearl Jam here to supporting them on their US stadium tour. The Peatures saw similar success after being picked to support Harry Styles, going on to book a 40-date regional tour as a result.

23-year-old Fingal Bay-based singer Budjerah famously opened for Ed Sheeren at his Sydney shows in a 2022, a decision that Budjerah says changed his life.

And it’s been that way for decades. Hoodoo Gurus saw their career take off after supporting Lou Reed in the 1980s and You Am I went from opening for Soundgarden to touring the US with them. A more recent example would be The Presets. After opening for Daft Punk in 2007, the Sydney electro duo really started to take off with their Apocalyso album,

The incentive will be available for an initial two-year period starting from May 5.

What big concerts are coming to Sydney this year?

Sydney has already seen a packed few months of live music in Sydney. Hans Zimmer, Drake and Dua Lipa have all toured so far this year, but none of them have played at Accor Stadium, which is one of only venues where this new Aussie music rule will apply. $20,000 is a substantial savings though, so we imagine more big-ticket acts will be seriously considering this move if they’re booked into Accor Stadium.

The only recent acts that have been big enough to play Accor Stadium have been The Weeknd and Coldplay. The next big one coming up is Lady Gaga, who will be playing Accor Stadium on Friday, December 12 and Saturday, December 13. But, again, the venue hire reductions are only going to be applicable to concerts that haven’t already been announced.