On 26/10/2021 the government announced a $7 million arts and entertainment funding package. As part of this package the music industry was given $3 million of specific funding.

Having looked at the program announcement in detail yesterday (which can be viewed HERE), we believe that Lion Arts Factory and Five Four Entertainment will both be eligible for a maximum of $300k of funding. The funding program has been structured in a way that allows businesses like ours to secure significant funding that will make a tangible difference to our survival. The funding is going to be delivered through a competitive grant process and we are hopeful of being able to secure these amounts some time in December after the grants are assessed.

Thus far we have not been offered a lease at Lion Arts Factory beyond December 2022. We do not expect this situation to change in the short term and are therefore going to accept a promised one year extension that we are still waiting to receive. We were always aware of the possibility that all of our requests would not be granted and we will leave this petition active but dormant for now. We will continue to discuss trading at this venue beyond December 2022 with the government and will update you all during next year when we hopefully have a clear picture on what is going to happen.

On the whole we are taking yesterdays funding announcement as being a big win for the industry and our businesses. We have broadly had 2/3 of our main issues being targeted in this campaign fixed (presuming we receive the funding through the grant round). We are thankful to the government for listening to our message and reacting accordingly.

We are eternally grateful for the support on this petition, we had been campaigning for similar outcomes on our own behind the scenes for months with no progress. It was a daunting thought to raise these concerns publicly as we had no idea if anyone would care enough to rally around the cause or if it would even make a difference. Thankfully the power of your support has exceeded all of our expectations and we know it has been the difference maker that changed the outcome and ultimately ensured our survival.

In what has been a harrowing 2 years (so far) for our industry this campaign has restored our hope that we can make a positive change and that there is a community of people who appreciate and love what we do. There are still challenging times ahead but we at least have meaningful support available now to survive. Thank you all so much, we couldn’t have done it without you!