Restrictions forced by the deadly COVID-19 pandemic have seen a multitude of events like music festivals and tours cancelled with the flow-on effects reaching far and wide. But there are some silver linings.

It's time for Australian artists big and small to shine, getting opportunities to play at gigs that might have otherwise gone to overseas acts.

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All levels of government have realised just how much society relies on music, arts and entertainment and are offering significant hand-outs accordingly.

It's also been a time of reflection and evolution for many, prompting businesses and artists to innovate.

In 2019, Destination Wollongong (DW) sponsored 33 major events. Music accounted for eight of those - such as Yours and Owls, Illawarra Folk Festival and the Spiegeltent - and collectively brought in about $12 million to the Illawarra economy.

This year won't see the same economic boost, but tourism bosses anticipate the cash injection to shift into 2021 with the rescheduled events, while more small boutique events will start popping up.

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DW major events manager Jeremy Wilshire said it would be a long road back to normality but the current climate was "forcing all of us to be innovative and imaginative".

"We're obviously dealing with a challenging environment in the events space, some operators are showing they can still engage their audience in a responsible manner," he told the Mercury.

WIN Entertainment Centre (WEC) is the largest indoor venue for the region, comfortable holding 5500 people for a general admission concert.

Currently is sits cold, dark and empty, with Delta Goodrem the next major act scheduled to perform in April next year.

"Despite the challenges of the pandemic, there is a sense of optimism," said Joe Achmar, acting CEO of Venues NSW, which owns the centre.

"Venues NSW is collaborating with the Live Entertainment Industry Forum to develop pathways for the safe return of artists and fans to live entertainment and sporting events."

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The Mercury understands the WEC is in the running to host music heavyweights like Jimmy Barnes or Birds of Tokyo later this year, subsidised by the NSW government and ARIA through the Great Southern Nights scheme.

The new program will bring 1000 COVID-safe performances to venues of all sizes in Greater Sydney and regional NSW in November.

It's just one of many new initiatives that have popped up from government bodies to help the industry get back on track.

Music industry mogul Michael Chugg - responsible for bringing stars like Elton John and Bob Dylan to Wollongong - said it was about time policymakers realised the weight of the music industry.

"It's been good the government has realised it's a billion dollar industry and it needs their attention - not just now, but going forward," he said.

"It's made the Australian government very much aware of just how big [it] is and how it affects so many other industries like hotels, the trucking industry, venues and staff and our road crews and technicians - they have really struggled."

He doesn't foresee international artists getting the green light to tour Down Under until at least July next year, which he believes will put the spotlight back on home-grown artists.

Mr Chugg also manages a number of Australian acts and has found live streaming concerts another way to get music out to the masses.

He is also partly behind the new music program on ABC TV, The Sound, which is reminiscent of the days Recovery and Video Hits were popular.

Pre-COVID, Bulli's Heritage Hotel was putting on a minimum of two gigs a week in their band room, with hundreds attending.

After using the downtime to renovate, they've reopened with a mix of free and ticketed gigs each week though musicians can only play to 20 per cent capacity.

Publican Andy Bell's said it was an expensive exercise as they barely broke even, but they wanted to help struggling musicians while putting some life back into the venue.

For larger artists on their schedule, like Nathan Cavaleri or the Choirboys, playing to a small crowd isn't very economical either despite many now playing matinee shows.

"I think a lot of the artists are doing it for the love of it," Mr Bell said.

"For them it sucks because they have to work twice as hard for half as much money, but you know it's going to put food on the table at the end of the day, which is what counts."

Mr Bell is working with booking agent Geoff Trio to try to secure government help to "bankroll" some future shows, which otherwise would not be viable.

Meantime, Mr Trio said booking acts had its challenges as some bands were willing to "change their art" to cater for smaller audiences while others would not - either because it's not profitable or they want fans to sing and dance.

"The good old rock'n'roll days will be a long time coming back," Mr Trio said.

"A lot of the bands are trying to adapt and tailor their show to to be able to have a sit-down audience ... the only choice is to run with the restrictions or not play."

He said everybody in the industry was hurting but the appetite for live entertainment was there and musicians were showing a "greater community spirit" by helping each other out rather than competing against each other.

Festival promoter for the Red Hot Summer Tour, Duane McDonald, attested to the hunger people had to return to events, as a large percentage of ticket-holders to the rescheduled Kiama event elected to keep their passes rather than get a refund.

This year's tour with the reformed Hunters and Collectors was postponed twice for Kiama, once due to wild weather and next due to pandemic restrictions.

Stages and infrastructure were already built and ready to go for 11 tour dates around the country this year, but only three were able to be rescheduled.

Mr McDonald believes when the pandemic has finally died down the public will be "itching to get out" to concerts, festivals and sporting events.

However, he does think recovery will be slow due to the downturn in economy.

Ben Tillman of Yours and Owls is also a booking agent for a number of venues around the Illawarra, and said they had been focusing on smaller emerging acts in this "strange" new world.

Thankfully the mainstay festival was all locked in and booked before the country went in to lockdown, so was easy to reschedule from October to next January.

They are also thinking outside the box with smaller concerts, such as organising a drive-in gig with local lads Hockey Dad for Bulli Showgrounds.

"The more bands who continue to write music and be ready for when it's open and be willing to play in more non-traditional set-ups, [the better]," Mr Tillman said.

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