“As is standard, the procurement process will be tendered under strict probity guidelines and be assessed against predetermined criteria without external influence.”

After the 2020 sale of Festival Hall to the Hillsong Church, the live music sector has voiced the need for a medium-sized venue in Melbourne to host local and international acts.

“We believe that the industry would benefit from a venue with a capacity between 3000-5000,” Simone Schinkel, the CEO of Music Victoria, told The Age. “There is currently a big jump from the Forum (with 2000 pax) to Kia Arena (with 5000 pax).”

Another reason why local promoters and arts organisations have been pushing for a new venue is to inject diversity into the live performance space, as current venues are increasingly being bought up or controlled by multinationals.

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Live Nation currently operates the Palais Theatre in St Kilda and the newly announced Palace Foreshore, a 5000-capacity outdoor venue, and owns ticketing companies Ticketmaster and Moshtix. A new venue of the size being proposed, if operated by Live Nation, would further cement the company’s powerful position in the Australian music landscape, potentially squeezing out local competitors.

Paul Sloan, a booking agent whose clients include Nick Cave and Amyl and the Sniffers, said that while the government had identified the importance of live music, handing over a new venue to Live Nation would be a mistake.

“It makes absolutely no sense that they would fund a Saudi-backed multinational that is being called out globally for inflating event prices and reducing competition,” he said. “[It] will simply supercharge Live Nation to run its own volume through a space where they can keep all the revenue from tickets, ticketing charges, venue charges and concessions.

“It would make more sense to give the money to an Australian arts/music focussed business or organisation who can operate the venue in a way that encourages diversity and equal opportunity in the sector.”

Live Nation recently announced a record income of $US6.2 billion ($9.2 billion) for the past quarter of this financial year, largely due to its ticketing business, but is facing sustained criticism for the way it wields its power to extract revenue from audiences.

This week, lawmakers in the US called for Live Nation to be broken up following accusations of price gouging around Taylor Swift’s upcoming tour. The New York Times has reported that the company is now being investigated by the US government, following claims it has abused its market power.

Live Nation did not answer questions about its role in lobbying for public funding to construct the venue but said it “looks forward to more details about the pop-up live performance venue”.

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