More than 1300 live music venues and stages are estimated to have closed over the past four years as operators face financial and personal strain.
A study by the University of South Australia has found that regional live music venue operators are experiencing stress and burnout.
“It’s estimated that in the four years since the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, Australia has lost more than 1300 live music venues and stages due to a steep increase in public liability costs and rising rent and energy prices,” the study report said.
“This is coupled with the current cost-of-living crisis that has severely impacted venues’ bottom line and altered the spending habits of audiences, slowing both ticket and bar sales.”
The researchers said there had been a lot of attention on closures in metropolitan areas but the closures were also happening in small live music venues in country towns.
Researchers Rosie Roberts (University of South Australia) and Sam Whiting (RMIT University) interviewed regional venue operators as part of a broader study of live music.
Dr Roberts said live music venues in regional areas often relieved heavily on volunteers and a lot of time was invested for little financial gain.
“Many venue operators are undertaking a significant amount of the labour that’s involved for free, because they’re driven by a desire to develop and sustain a music culture in their region,” she said.
“The people we interviewed often described feelings of burnout and exhaustion and said they were the last to get paid, if paid at all, once they had ensured that the musicians were appropriately compensated.”
Regional venues were challenged due to the smaller resident populations which limited the type of bands they could attract and the frequency of shows.
“Regional live music venues perform a critical function for their communities because they provide spaces of sociality, belonging, education and skill development, so it’s important we provide a healthy and sustainable live music scene for our regional centres and towns.” Dr Roberts says.
“Small live music venues are where emerging musicians first engage in music making, yet they also continue their connection with the regions throughout their lives.”
