We need to talk about live sound in Australia. Not the glossy industry magazine version. The real version.

I’ve spent 30+ years in this industry, and right now we’re facing a skills crisis that nobody wants to acknowledge publicly. Everyone’s too busy trying to keep shows running to admit how precarious things have gotten.

So here it is, straight.

The Crew Shortage Is Real

There aren’t enough qualified sound engineers in Australia. Not even close.

After COVID, a lot of experienced engineers left the industry. Can’t blame them. Two years of no work, no certainty, minimal government support for freelancers. Some went into AV for corporate events. Some retrained completely. Some moved overseas.

The ones who stayed are now working every show going. I know engineers doing 6-7 days a week because there’s nobody else available. That’s not sustainable. It’s also not safe.

When you’re running sound for a festival at hour 14 of your shift, exhausted, making split-second decisions that affect both audio quality and safety - that’s when mistakes happen.

According to Live Performance Australia’s 2025 industry report, 68% of venues and promoters reported difficulty finding qualified technical crew. That number was 41% in 2019.

We’re not talking about a temporary shortage. We’re talking about a structural problem.

The Training Gap

Here’s the core issue. You can’t learn live sound from a textbook.

I’ve met graduates from audio engineering courses who can tell you everything about signal flow and compression ratios. Put them in front of a 32-channel desk at a live show with a difficult band and they freeze.

That’s not their fault. It’s a training problem.

The old model was apprenticeship. You started as a cable runner, worked your way up to stage tech, assisted experienced engineers, gradually took on more responsibility. You learned by doing, under supervision, for years.

That pathway still exists, but it’s less common. Venues and production companies don’t have the time or budget to train people properly. They need bodies who can work independently right now.

So you get engineers with two years’ experience doing jobs that should require five or six. And the audience can tell. The band can definitely tell.

The Gear Situation

Let’s talk about equipment. Australian venues and production companies are generally well-equipped. We’ve got good gear.

But there’s a catch. The expectation of what “good” means has changed faster than budgets have.

Ten years ago, a standard touring package might’ve been an analog desk and a decent PA. Now artists expect digital consoles, in-ear monitoring systems, network audio, sometimes immersive sound setups.

That gear is expensive. Really expensive. And the skills to operate it properly are even harder to find than basic sound engineering skills.

I worked a show last month where the headline act brought their own engineer (smart) but the venue’s monitoring system was three years old and incompatible with their preferred workflow. Took 90 minutes of soundcheck just to get a workable compromise. That’s time the support acts didn’t get.

The Australian Venue Association’s 2025 tech survey found that 54% of venues said their biggest infrastructure challenge was keeping up with rider requirements for monitoring and digital audio networking. Not surprising.

What’s Working

Not everything’s broken. Some things are actually getting better.

Digital consoles have made certain aspects of live sound more accessible. You can save scenes, recall settings, and make precise adjustments that would’ve been impossible on analog gear. For less experienced engineers, that’s helpful.

Remote recording and virtual soundchecks have improved too. Bands can dial in their monitor mixes before they even arrive at the venue. When it works, it saves time.

And there are some good training initiatives happening. Melbourne and Sydney both have programs specifically for live sound that include actual venue placements. That’s the right direction.

What Needs to Change

First, we need to pay people properly. Entry-level sound techs shouldn’t be making $25/hour for work that requires years of training and comes with irregular hours. You can’t build a career on that. You can barely pay rent.

Second, venues and production companies need to invest in proper training programs. Not just hiring people and hoping they figure it out. Structured mentorship. Supervised progression. Time to actually learn.

Third, we need to normalize saying no to shows when we don’t have adequate crew. I know that’s commercially difficult. But running shows with overtired, under-qualified engineers isn’t just bad for audio quality. It’s a safety risk.

Fourth, the industry needs to have honest conversations about scope creep. Every year, artist riders get more complex. Every year, budgets get tighter. Something has to give. Either fees increase, or expectations need to be reset.

The Reality Check

Here’s what nobody wants to hear. The live music industry in Australia is not financially healthy enough to solve this problem quickly.

Margins are thin. Venue owners are struggling. Promoters are taking huge risks on every show. There’s not a lot of spare cash lying around for training programs or equipment upgrades.

But if we don’t invest in crew development now, the problem gets worse. Experienced engineers retire or leave. The knowledge gap widens. Show quality suffers. Eventually audiences notice.

I’ve seen this pattern before in other areas of the industry. You can ignore a structural problem for a while. Then suddenly it’s a crisis and your options are limited.

What You Can Do

If you’re a venue or promoter, hire engineers early. Don’t wait until two weeks before the show. Book them when you book the artist. Give them time to prepare.

Pay fairly. I know budgets are tight. But underpaying your sound engineer is the fastest way to get inexperienced crew or burned-out veterans.

If you’re an artist, understand that your rider might not be achievable at every venue. Have a conversation with the engineer before load-in. Be flexible where you can.

If you’re someone thinking about getting into live sound, do it. We need you. But find a mentor. Don’t try to learn this job on your own from YouTube videos.

And if you’re an experienced engineer, take time to train the next generation. I know you’re busy. But if we don’t pass this knowledge on, the industry we’ve spent our careers building won’t survive in any form we’d recognize.

That’s the state of things. Not pretty, but it’s real.

We’ve got work to do.