The Great Superannuation Scare
How Fear-Mongering is Trying to Turn Artists into Pub Drones
Every few months, our industry gets a new urban legend. Last season it was that “live music is dead.”
This season?
“Every venue has to pay superannuation for every sole trader performer. No exceptions. No nuance. No debate.”
Cue dramatic gasp.
Where’s this coming from? Oh, the usual suspects:
Out-of-context ATO call centre conversations.
Forum threads where half the detail is missing.
Payroll experts from other industries making blanket assumptions.
And my personal favourite—an out of touch UK company trying to grow its market share with misinformation thanks to their ignorance of how this market actually works.
The Two States of Performing Artists
There are two very different engagement types in our world:
Employee performers — Orchestra members, cast in a theatre show, session musicians on payroll. Paid wages, work to your schedule, follow your operational framework. Yes, you pay their super.
Results-based performers — Independent artists who run their own business, invoice under their own ABN, and are contracted to deliver a show. Not to stand there as labour hire, but to deliver an agreed creative result. No, you don’t pay their super.
And here’s why…
The ATO’s Position
Straight from the ATO:
Sole traders (including performers) are not entitled to Superannuation Guarantee (SG) from a client. They’re responsible for their own super contributions. ATO Reference – Sole Traders & Partnerships
Independent contractors are only entitled to SG if the contract is mainly for their labour. If the contract is for a result—like delivering a show—SG does not apply. ATO Reference – Independent Contractors
If you want to check for yourself, use the ATO Super Guarantee Eligibility Decision Tool.
You Can’t Have It Both Ways
If buyers were responsible for paying super to result-based performers, they’d also be on the hook—by employment law—for every other cost an employer must cover:
Instruments
Costumes
Production & lighting gear
$10M Public Liability insurance
Marketing campaigns
Transport
Rehearsal time
And all the other thousands of work that is done for your show contract that no one other than the Artist sees…..
You can’t cherry-pick the “super” part without taking the full employee package. You can’t have it both ways.
Why This Misinformation is Dangerous
This “everyone gets super” idea sounds nice on the surface—but it’s part of a bigger, uglier shift. One that nudges our music industry into a neat little box where every musician is a compliant, clock-punching pub drone:
Show up
Play the set list someone else chose
Wear the uniform
Cash the wage
Go home
That’s not artistry. That’s industrialised entertainment.
Independent artists are small businesses. They innovate. They take risks. They own their brand, choose their repertoire, and bear their costs. They aren’t employees—they are entrepreneurs.
The Bottom Line
Context matters. And the real bottom line here is that the legislation is clear. In a results based contract, an Artist, who runs their own business, under their own ABN, is responsible for their own tax and their own super and everything else in their own business.
They are treated in the same manner as the sole trader Electrician who you hire to install a ceiling fan. A sole trader plumber to fix a leaking tap. A sole trader Carpenter to repair your back stairs. A sole trader Painter to do two coats in your new garden shed. A sole trader Tiler for that bathroom reno you finally completed. The sole trader Tree Lopper that removes the tree from under the power lines. The sole trader Landscaper who mows your lawn once a month. The sole trader mobile Mechanic who does an on site service in your driveway once every five years. The sole trader Personal Trainer that you meet in the park every Tuesday. Your sole trader wedding planner who was so kind and patient with your over bearing but well meaning mother in law. The sole trader Photographer at your wedding who tried his darndest to photograph said mother in law on her best side. And the sole trader Artist who performs a show at a wedding, a party, a local pub or club. Each of these businesses are contracted for a specific result. And each of these businesses are responsible for the payment of their own Superanuation.
Do your research. Understand the difference between labour contracts and results-based contracts. If you’re not sure, use the ATO tool. Call your accountant. Call your lawyer.
And most importantly—after all the losses thanks to the COVID lockdowns, don’t let this latest urban legend kill the very thing that keeps live music alive.
Written by Nichola Burton. I work in partnership with Agents, Artist Managers and Event Producers, who juggle a diverse range of relationships in the Musoverse, to curate, manage and measure data in systems, experience, creative and content to support the entire Musoverse operation in my enterprise A Little Pitchy Copyright 2025
This is still the wrong advice. Australian superannuation laws, like tax laws, are blanket laws across Australia, doesn't matter what industry it is. Your interpretation of what is results based is incorrect. All jobs lead to a result, employee and contractor alike. A true contractor can sub contract their work to someone else and can choose when they do the work. You say its like a contractor who is a tradesman but it's not. You hire an electrician for a job, that electrician can change the time and day he does the job, he can also decide to subcontract that job to another sparky. A venue hiring a muso who is a sole trader - the muso can't on the date of the performance say, actually Ill do that job on Wednesday, or my band can't do it, I'll get another band. You need to read the table on the ATO website that outlines the differences. Likewise an employee and an "employee for superannuation purposes" are not the same thing.
The penalties for non compliance is up to 200% of what you were due to pay, interest and $20 for the form you need to complete for each person. You can apply for written advice or ruling from the ATO to back up your claims, until you've done that its not a good idea to be writing this advice