As Australia’s live music crisis continues, live music venues are facing skyrocketing insurance premiums, threatening their survival and the viability of the industry at large.

Dylan Bird is joined by Stephen Crombie, owner of Sooki Lounge in Melbourne’s outer suburbs, to discuss the financial challenges behind running a live music venue, the importance of live music to local arts, culture and community, and solutions to support the live sector in Australia, ahead of Stephen’s appearance on Insight on SBS on May 6.

'Our premiums – we were paying, if we go back 5 years ago, about $15,000 and we’ve just watched them go up to $60,000 now, with no claim history over 12 years … they just [increase premiums] because they can.'

Photo credit: Roger Ruever - Flickr