By Sebastian Langdon
What once was a thriving hub for live music may now be considered a ghost town. The importance of communal fun is slowly fading everywhere we look in Sydney, with not much hope for revival.
Or is there?
When looking at the why, we may see some sad but true contributing factors. We often hear about the “glory days” from friends and family of what Sydney once was.
So why is there so little live music culture now? One factor may be the introduction of Sydney’s lockout laws in 2014, where Sydney’s nightlife almost died overnight and, sadly, we are yet to see its resurgence.
Lockout laws close entry past 1.30am. This has given the live music scene even fewer opportunities for exposure. And seems to be a major contributing factor to why it can’t continue to grow.
Another is the widespread introduction of poker machines and “VIP” rooms. This has stunted the opportunity for live music to blossom, making it extremely difficult for musicians to get their foot in the door.
Another contributing factor is the cost-of-living crisis in Australia. Sydney was recently named as the most expensive English-speaking city in the world. This not only affects businesses and musicians but also patrons, as fewer people have the money for a fun night out and what once was an affordable outing is now considered an occasional extravagance.
As we know the whole world shut down during COVID-19 and live music and the entertainment industry were greatly affected. The ABC’s pop culture reporter Paul Donoughue reported that “more than $100 million in wages just across the live music industry evaporated”.
Since COVID-19, some would argue, Sydney has never returned to its lively self as an unfortunate number of venues had to close. The Guardian’s Kelly Burke reported in 2023 that more than 1300 live music venues across Australia have been lost permanently since COVID.
When we compare Sydney to other big cities, we can see the lack of live music culture. For example Melbourne is now where a lot of youth travel to get their live music fix instead of just staying in their own city.
But what will happen? Although there are all these issues, we may be slowly starting the beginning of an upward track from more music venues reopening such as Chinese Laundry and funding from the Australian Government’s 2024-25 budget committing to $8.6 million for the live music industry.
However, the growth and survival of live music depends on us all, the music lovers.
We as a collective need to support local venues and musicians by attending live shows and advocating for policies that foster a vibrant Sydney nightlife.
Featured image: The 3 Wise Monkeys pub, the first venue the author went to in Sydney, has live music again. Photo: Sebastian Langdon
