Powderfinger bassist John Collins has said the live music industry is ‘still a long way’ from being back in full force. 

“When you look at a music venue like The Triffid, Fortitude, the Tivoli, or The Zoo, they’re designed for standing capacities mainly,” Mr Collins told Scott Emerson on 4BC Breakfast.

“When you look at the square metreage, it only still gives us roughly about 30 per cent of our standing capacity.”

Mr Collins said this is a tough margin to work with.

“Imagine having a business where you can only (operate at) 30 per cent,” he said.

While stadiums have returned to full capacity, smaller live music venues are suffering.

“Everyone thinks we’re back and unfortunately that’s far from the truth,” he said.

“We still need to be putting pressure on the government to see if we can get some sort of action for next year.”

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