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Live Music: The State ofthe Union

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In Sydney, Mark Gerber has been running the Oxford Art Factory in the black since day one, and saw the most profitable year yet for the venue in 2011. “The scene in Sydney is I think quite healthy, by Sydney standards,” he says. “But that doesn’t necessarily reflect the whole country. I think Melbourne’s healthier than us because they’re so built on live music.

“Disco and pokies destroyed the live music scene in Sydney in the late eighties and early nineties. That said though, in Sydney I think we’re going through a really beautiful renaissance with some of the best bands I’ve ever seen coming though here. I don’t think the live music scene here is in any trouble at all. If anything I think it’s going to explode this year.”

Pokies haven’t been much of monetary value to the beleaguered Annandale Hotel, with co-owner Matt Rule telling Mess+Noise, “I don’t even take $500 out of my machines a week,” and so they are being sold off to pay the venue’s debts, alongside their campaign to auction off bricks to try and raise funds enough to keep the venue open, a proposal met with mixed reactions.

Gerber says that the enactment of Sydney’s small bars licensing laws has had a direct flow-on effect on the numbers of people heading out and going to shows, a trend he sees as steadily increasing in momentum. While Sydney’s celebrated Hopetoun Hotel still sits boarded up awaiting its next incarnation, FBi Radio’s small bar live venue, FBi Social, stepped into the breach and books upcoming and established artists three nights a week. GoodGod Small Club runs a successful operation in Chinatown, as well. Some doors close and other doors open.

“The explosion of small bars is definitely aiding live music,
Gerber says. “I’m seeing a resurgence of people coming out and enjoying their leisure more and actually, you know, going out.”

Now for the numbers.

But while opinions are all good and well, where is the data to back it up? Well, there are two recent reports which shed some light on the financial solvency of the live music industry.

The Economic contribution of the venue-based live music industry in Australia report released in September last year, co-authored by APRA, The Australia Council, Arts Victoria, Arts NSW, Live Performance Australia and the accounting firm Ernst & Young found that in 2009/10 the industry was worth $1.2 billion annually across the country. This was an extremely significant figure. The report found that Australia is home to 3,904 live music venues in which roughly 328,000 gigs were played to more than 40 million punters.

That’s a lot of music being seen. But it wasn’t just original live music taken into account, it was anywhere you can see a live performance of any kind – cover bands playing wallpaper musak counted too. Of that $1.2 billion a whopping 83.3% of revenue comes from food and drink (see: booze) sales, and just 16.7% is from ticket sales. APRA crowned NSW the top gig pig, followed by Queensland and Victoria.

With that in mind, another report, The economic, social and cultural contribution of venue-based live music in Victoria authored by Deloitte and Arts Victoria didn’t take food and beverage profits into account, but rather the overall expenditures in the performance and promotion of live music – “payments to headline performers providing live music in venues, and their direct support payments including to managers, booking agents, sound technicians, advertising, supporting performers and merchandise and record Manufacturers,” – specifications which amounted to a $500 million injection into the state economy. Further:

Melbourne has more live music venues than any other Australian city, including around 370 hotels, bars, nightclubs and restaurants featuring live music. Some 600 venues throughout Victoria collectively provide an average of 3,000 live performances per week, equating to about five performances per venue per week.

Meanwhile, the APRA report found the national average to be 1.6 shows per week. Victoria is host to more than three times the live performance national average, making it the true live music capital of the country. Melbourne is host to more music venues per capita than Austin, Texas. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it, South by Southwest!

The compiling of the kind of data that made up the APRA and Music Victoria reports hasn’t been done much before. Their authors feel that if legislators are able to tangibly see the economic and cultural value of live music in their cities and regional centres, it could pave the way for more policy incentives along the lines of NSW’s Respecting the Neighbourhood, and the abolition of financially restrictive security laws in Victoria—initiatives that ease some of the impediments to operating venues for sustainable profit.

The Save Live Australian Music rally goes national this year on February 23rd off the back of its 20,000 strong turn out in support of the now resurrected Tote Hotel last year in Melbourne, and will be an opportunity for live music fans all over the country to show their support en masse for the live music they love. Or you could do that right now, tonight, and go out and pay to see some live music at a venue near you.


There’s a whole country outside the Sydney/Melbourne axis when it comes to the state of live music in the country. We want to hear from you about the state of your local live scene, and what you think could be done to make things better. What are popular venues doing right? Let us know in the comments. There’s a $350 gig voucher up for grabs for the most insightful commenter.

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Spicy McHaggis

Spicy McHaggis said on the 27th Jan, 2012

The venues that are working have a clear musical direction; a booker who knows what they're doing, aware of local music and is good at their job. That's more than half the battle right there.
It's also handy not to charge ridiculous prices for drinks, and having a layout that has an outdoor area, or quiet area outside the bandroom

AndyLedHead

AndyLedHead said on the 27th Jan, 2012

So many things are about Marketing nowadays, it's hard not to get a mention. The Corner is probably one of the more successful local venues in Melbourne, and it's because they boast a wide range of decent bands at a price that is very payable. Most gigs are hardly priced higher than $50, and when you're selling out shows by groups as novel as the Vengaboys, you know you're in a pretty good place. That said, so many gigs ARE $50 nowadays it's hard for students like myself to make a choice on the group they want to see with that money.

Nat xxxx

Nat xxxx said on the 27th Jan, 2012

In Brisbane, places like The Zoo, The Arena, The Tivoli and The Hifi are some of my favourites. They are small-ish venues, allowing you to get up close with the band or stand back and watch if that's your thing. They don't charge an arm and a leg for drinks although they aren't the cheapest in the world by any stretch of the imagination. The layout and the atmosphere work in their favour and make the concert-going experience a pleasant one.

It will be interesting to see in the future how the resurgence of the pub scene such as Eatons Hill and Fitzy's goes in terms of comparison to these venues

Asher_DeGrey

Asher_DeGrey said on the 27th Jan, 2012

we just need more support for the live music scene. even though i am young, i think it is a bad thing that the younger generation would rather be dancing to a dj in a club rather than seeing a live band performing. how do we fix that? i'm not quite sure. but it is a cause worth fighting for. yes perhaps cheaper pricing of tickets could help the situation.

Braveheart81

Braveheart81 said on the 27th Jan, 2012

I think the hardest area of the market is for the really small venues/bands.

Venues like OAF are very successful because it's a good size for small international acts and bigger local bands. Venues like The Hopetoun struggled to stay open because they mostly featured small local acts.

It would seem to me that it is very difficult to make money out of gigs where you can only charge $10 to get people through the door. In that instance you really need to do plenty of business over the bar which just doesn't happen at midweek gigs full of impoverished hipsters/students/hipster students.

NoniDoll

NoniDoll said on the 27th Jan, 2012

i'm a bit disappointed that the only real mention regional areas (ie. not listed on fl gig guides) got was as a potential stop off for major artists. what about those bands and solo artists who start off in country towns? most of the time, unless they're willing to sell their souls to play covers for 80% of their set, they simply won't get a gig. if they *do* get a chance to build a following in their home town based on originals, they're snatched away by the big cities, often leaving country live music scenes without the main force that was driving them.

and there needs to be a big shout-out to organisations like indent, who are supporting all-ages events in towns off the beaten track and giving local artists support spots on their national tour bills. if we want to get the next generation on board with live music (over morons with a pa and itunes playlist), we've got to get 'em early! but all-ages gigs need the support of older generations as well. yes, that means going to a gig where you can't have a beer. (trust me, it's not necessarily as bad as it sounds. excitable teenagers are no more irritating than that drunken douchebag who spills his rum and cola all over you.)

HayleyRose

HayleyRose said on the 27th Jan, 2012

i think venues that say hosting a gig is too expencive are just using it as a pathetic excuse. with or without a gig, the venue is always making a profit with cover charges and overpriced drinks that are about 70% ice and 30% drink in the glass. my friend and i were talking about this very issue last night, which also brought attention to the number of festivals that are now bowing out due to last minute acts pulling out and supposedly bad organisation. i understand that the world is in some sort of doomed global recession now, but that doesn't excuse the price of festival tickets to go from profitable to 'how much can we squeeze out of them'. every year tickets go up and then there's always the added cost of booking fees, credit card transactions online, and transport ect, and yet the lineup of artists (if they haven't already pulled out) in the end doesn't add up to what you pay for. my friend and i never really drew a conclusion on the subject, so i'll open it up to you now - why are music festivals losing their popularity? why are 40% of the bands bailing out? there is an outcry for more live entertainment and touring artists to perform around the country, yet when we are given the oportunity to participate we pass it up?

Mahali

Mahali said on the 28th Jan, 2012

i too believe that some of the best music venues in brisbane are venues such as the hifi, the tivoli and the zoo. these venues all seem to bring an assortment of fantastic bands. like nat xxxx said they are small venues which is more intimate as obviously they aren't as many people as there would be in a large arena allowing the band or artist to connect with the audience on a more personal level. however, these events are crowded and since they are small venues they normally sell out quick (the tivoli in particular)

i think the hifi (which is based in brisbane, sydney and melbourne) has a good marketing campaign in terms of bringing people who never have been to their establishment and introducing people to new bands. this all can result in new business. what they do is they run competitions on their website for free double passes to an event. i am not 100% sure how often they are run (maybe every 3 weeks) but, when the competitions begin there is at least 3 double passes for shows up for grabs and occasionally albums, festival and movie tickets. like i said previously this is a fantastic strategy that is used to keep flow of business. maybe new/struggling business should implement a strategy similar to that of the hifis but, what works for one business may not work for another.

i read in the comments about the cost of the performance and how high they are. i have noticed that too but, it mainly for international artist. i don't believe the cost of tickets are ever going to decrease too much as there is so much more that need to be covered by a international touring artist than a local one. i am no expert but, i believe somewhere in the cost of booking the artist there is payment for their flights, their visas, accommodation etc.

however, one show in brisbane that seems to contradict my theory of cost for international acts is the sidewave for a day to remember, the used and you and me at six. they are each doing a headline show together at eaton hills and it only cost around $60 (i think). this is probably only due to them touring with soundwave and it being sold out, so possibly the promoters may have already reached the cost of booking the bands and a good profit thus, they don't need to charge as much. i am not really sure how it works out but, it is definitely a show that is going against the trend (at least i think so).

as for the cost of drinks at venues, i don't think that venues will be lowering their price on that either. like it was said in this article food and drinks are where they are making most of their income. if they decrease the cost, it is possible more people may buy alcohol increasing their overall profit but, it also people wont buy enough of the cheaper drinks to equal or increase their previous profits for the more expensive drinks. i guess this is also quite an uncertain factor but, most venues are resistant to change as they can make a big enough profit now for charging extra for drinks and don't want to risk it. simply they know what works for them now and think it will keep on working for them in the long run.

sorry if this posted more than once, i just could seem to get it to post :s

ashryn

ashryn said on the 30th Jan, 2012

In Perth, there are plenty of people wanting to open small bars supporting live music but they can't get a liquor licence. Due to the relatively small number of the population who can even be bothered leaving the house, it makes sense for this city to do mainly small venues, and there are a few that are doing really well supporting local bands, touring acts, and giving the DJs a run every now and then as well.

The other issue we have here is the 12am curfew - If you leave after 12, you can't go back into any bars whose licence goes past 12, so you get a mob of people who have tanked up early hitting the streets at midnight and causing authority figures to shake their heads and mutter 'kids these days'

Since we only have a couple of decent sized venues, the few international acts who come here sans festival train have a decent chance of drawing a crowd; but these days its mostly reformed 70s and 80s acts.

The tiny live music venues dotted around don't seem to be having too much trouble (except when they get bought out by a Dam Murphys and refurbished in institutional beige with the soul removed, or shut down by neighbours who have just moved in and complain about noise to the council) staying open, probably because local bands are clamouring for a place to play, and don't mind not getting paid at the end of the night - or they do, but they want an audience more.

URBAN

URBAN said on the 2nd Feb, 2012

successful venues have two key goals in their business plan. they share the love of a healthy bottom line and book bands that match their venue and the broadest demographics possible. the step inn [bne] learned that it couldn't survive on a diet made up only of metal and the best example of sticky carpet in the sunshine capital.