29/07/2026
There’s been a lot of discussion about superannuation in the Australian music industry over the past week, and understandably so.
The cancellation of two long-running jazz festivals is incredibly disappointing. It also shows just how difficult some of these requirements can be for the people working hard to keep live music happening.
At Williams Creative Co, we support superannuation but believe improvements as to how it supports our industry need to be addressed. We pay super to our eligible performers every week, and have done for years - and we understand why the industry is asking questions.
Musicians and performers don’t always fit neatly into a traditional employer/employee model. Many operate genuine small businesses as sole traders, and their performance fee can cover other musicians, equipment, travel, production, parking, marketing and a raft of other costs before they actually make a dollar themselves.
Then there are bands, bandleaders, booking agents, event organisers, private companies, venues and promoters - all with different contracting arrangements and plenty of grey areas around who is responsible for what.
We see that complexity firsthand and on a busy payday, WCC can process dozens and dozens of individual super contributions alongside our performer payments. It’s admin and compliance heavy, but we’ve built systems around it and continue to work with the guidance available to us.
This week, like many of our colleagues around Australia, we’ll also be making a submission to the ATO as part of the consultation process. We hope the current discussion leads to greater clarity and a system that better reflects how the Australian entertainment industry actually works.
Because ultimately, we all want the same thing: performers looked after, all businesses engaging entertainment to meet their obligations, and ultimately, more live music - not less.
Like many in our industry, we’ll keep asking questions, seeking advice and doing our best to get it right.
Williams Creative Co
