28th November 2024

The cost of living, transport and toilet queues are holding back live music, with 74% of respondents in the second annual Live Music Census saying they want ticket prices to be more affordable, while 50% want venues closer to home and 59% (mostly women) had concerns about toilet queues at events. The report found that the suitability and location of live music infrastructure was a concern, but also an opportunity to improve attendance at live music events.

Paul Lambess’ Winarch Group has released the second annual Live Music Census, a survey of over 1000 Australian adults.

Australians make lasting memories at live music shows, and are keen to attend more of them in the coming six months, however only a small portion of them feel the venues and infrastructure around them are sufficient. They also have a long list of improvements which could be made to live music venues – and the process of getting there – to make the experience safer and more enjoyable.

The data-check is commissioned each year to understand the pulse and perceptions of Australians when it comes to their live music consumption.

Attending Live Music

Only 6% of the representative sample ‘strongly agree’ that there are sufficient live music venues in their area, while a further 37% ‘agreed’ with the statement – meaning it’s a net minority of people (43%) who feel there is adequate infrastructure around them to cater to their live music wants and needs. 24% of people, meanwhile, ‘disagreed’ with the statement that they had sufficient live music venues in their area, and a further 7% ‘strongly disagreed’, bringing the net negative sentiment to 31%. The remaining 26% responded neutrally.

Despite a significant proportion of people believing there aren’t adequate facilities around them, the intent to attend more live music in the coming six months remains strong. 33% of the representative sample said they are ‘very likely’ to attend a live music event in the next six months, with a further 31% saying they are ‘somewhat likely’. 21% were ‘unsure’ of their live music plans, while only 7% said they were ‘unlikely’ to be at a gig within the next six months, and 8% were ‘very unlikely’ (totalling only 15% who have minimal intention of acting within the next half year).

As things stand, 32% of people say they attend a live music event once every few years, with the remaining 68% attending more frequently – including 1-3 times a year (31%), 4-11 times a year (15%), 1-2 times a month (11%), 3-4 times a month (6%), once a week (4%), and the very keen more than once a weekers (1%).

Frustrations With Venues and Industry

The data from the Winarch Group Australian Live Music Census clearly reveals an intent to attendmore live music events, despite an overarching sentiment that there aren’t quite enough venues to do so.

So what else would encourage people to act on this sentiment and intent, and purchase more tickets, more frequently?

Cheaper ticket prices was the most popular option in response to the question ‘What would encourage you to see more live music?’ coming in at 74% of all respondents.

Half of respondents (50%) said having appropriate venues in closer proximity to where they live would get them over the line. Those responding from outside the capital cities felt this sentiment in stronger numbers. 61% of New South Wales residents outside of Sydney said closer proximity of venues would encourage them to attend more shows (versus 45% of Sydney respondents). It was a similar story in Victoria, with 60% of those outside Melbourne saying better proximity would change the game for them (versus 49% of Melbourne respondents who said the same thing). 73% of those outside Adelaide (compared to 37% of Adelaide respondents), 67% of non-Hobart-based Tasmanians (versus 63% of Hobart respondents), 63% of those outside of Perth in Western Australia (compared to 48% in Perth), 57% in the ACT, 52% of those outside Brisbane in Queensland (versus 43% for Brisbane), and 40% of those in the Northern Territory felt the same way. 32% of people overall said better transport options would get them across the line to attend more shows.

The biggest frustration people feel when actually attending live events is toilet queues (59%). There was, however, a gender disparity with this frustration, with 67% of females listing this as a concern, versus 50% of males.

Booking fees (41%) and transport to and from the venue (also 41%) are the next most common concern. The inadequate transport concern was most likely to impact the younger cohort of those aged 18-24, with 48% of them listing it as a concern, compared to 32% of the respondents aged 65+. The city most frustrated by inadequate transport is Sydney, with 47% of Sydneysider respondents listing it as a frustration, compared to 44% for Hobart, 43% for Brisbane, 43% for Perth, 40% for Melbourne, 39% for the ACT, and just 29% for Adelaide.

Regionally, those most-frustrated by transport hailed from Tasmania (83%), compared to regional Western Australia (50%), regional NSW (41%), regional Queensland (35%), regional Victoria (30%), and regional South Australia (27%).

Poor visibility frustrated 40% of respondents overall, while 31% were frustrated by their access (or lack thereof) to tickets and good seats.

What Next?

The good news is, despite myriad frustrations, there is still an incredibly positive sentiment towards live music experiences in Australia. 54% of respondents agreed with the statement ‘The memories I make at live music events will last a lifetime’, with a further 23% strongly agreeing – taking the overall net positive sentiment to 77%. 20% responded neutrally.

There’s also a good mix of the types of events and genres of music that Australians enjoy. 60% of people attend indoor ticketed concerts, 56% free events or concerts, 39% ticketed outdoor concerts, 33% one-day music festivals, 26% theatrical productions, 21% live cover acts, and 14% multi-day music festivals. Pop was the most popular genre (57% of Australians said they attend pop music gigs), followed by rock (54%), musical theatre (34%), country (31%), hip hop (25%), jazz/blues (23%), classical (23%), folk and traditional (21%), EDM/ dance (17%), and punk/ metal (13%). More could also be done, however, to encourage Australians to attend more live music events by local musicians. 22% of respondents said they never attend an Australian artist or band. 53% attend a local act between one and three times a year, and 11% go more frequently (four to 11 times per year). Smaller numbers go one to two times a month (8%), three to four times a month (3%), once a week (2%) or more than once a week (1%).

Winarch Group Founder, Paul Lambess, said: “Understanding the priorities, perceptions and preferences of Australians when it comes to live music is key to ensuring we have a thriving local industry. The Winarch Group Australian Live Music Census paints a picture of an Australia that knows what it wants – more purpose-built live music venues, fewer issues with accessibility and transport, and the opportunity to create more lifetime memories.
“We need more people acting on this positive intent and sentiment, and getting out there and seeing more shows across the capital cities and our arts-loving regions. The data in this second annual Winarch Group Australian Live Music Census will help inform venue owners, promoters, policymakers and key stakeholders, to ensure they’re prioritising what people want and need from this culture-defining industry.”

This survey was conducted for Winarch Group by Pure Profile. A representative sample of 1,001 people were canvassed for their responses. Respondents were 51% female and 49% male. The age group breakdown was as follows: 65+ (21%), 25-34 (18%), 35-44 (18%), 45-54 (17%), 55-64 (16%), 18-24 (11%) and a handful from the 13-17 bracket. Melbourne and Sydney respondents represented 21% apiece, followed by Brisbane and regional NSW (10% each), Perth and regional Queensland (9% each), Adelaide and regional Victoria (6% each), Hobart and ACT (2% each), regional Western Australia and regional Tasmania (1% each), and a handful from Northern Territory.

Musos Corner, also owned by Paul Lambess, is an AMA member