A student from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) is currently mapping the changing landscapes of live music in Australia, and although the study is not finished yet, her findings so far are quite fascinating.
Sarah Taylor, a musician tackling her PhD right now has chosen to focus on live music in both Melbourne and Sydney from 1983 – 2006, comparing gig guides of the two major cities with census data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics to investigate any similar patterns, as well as highlight any major differences between the city’s local music scenes over the past couple of decades, as ABC reports.
The major findings from Taylor’s research shows that the number of bands in each city has increased, however the number of local gigs has heavily declined.
Beginning her study from 1983, Taylor discusses that bands would first gain popularity by performing in the heart of cities, and would eventually expand to the outer suburbs, something no where near as common today.
In addition to this, her findings show that bands would play multiple gigs in one night, she comments “It would be quite common [for booking agents] to say ‘you’re playing Fern Tree Gully then you’ll go across town and you’ll play in Geelong the same night'”.
Moving toward the ’90s, local gigs in Melbourne became clustered to a few areas, with the likes of Fitzroy witnessing a rise in the amount of live music venues available for performing artists.
Melbourne 1983 – 2006
In stark contrast, Sydney was seen as Taylor says “unstable”, with venues opening, only to close within a year, making it much more difficult for musicians to perform in the Harbour city, “It’s more like a city of villages, it’s a little bit fragmented, so when it started losing its suburban circuit it was a little bit more in trouble in terms of finding a place where people could bunker down and make their own scene” she said.
Sydney 1983 – 2006
According to Taylor, live music venues in Sydney definitely had it much harder than that of Melbourne, liquor licences in Sydney could cost $50,000, while a small Melbourne bar would pay just a few hundred dollars, making it pretty clear why a new bar in Sydney struggled to survive.
Naturally, with the arrival and easy access to the internet, both cities saw a spike in bands who utilised social media to build their artistry profile. However at this time, more venues began to close in both Melbourne and Sydney.
Taylor noted of the difficulties this caused, “You could sell your music anywhere but what people are most worried about more than ever is ‘where can I play here’?”
Her findings saw that musicians in Sydney were hit particularly hard, with many artists being forced to perform “free showcases” just so their music could be heard live, which eventually led to the decline of musos willing to play in the Harbour city, “That’s what you do when you are 20, then you get sick of it and you can’t and won’t do it anymore”.
Down south in Melbourne the scene once again looks different, with venues like the inner-city Ding Dong Lounge and what was Pony hosting the majority of gigs up until 2006, “There’s more venues in the city now and I wonder, this is just my theory, I wonder if it’s just because everyone’s so spread out that the only way you can convince other people to come is to go to a central location.”
Meanwhile in Sydney, the city is seeing a somewhat expansion of clusters once again, which can definitely be attributed to the harsh lockout laws that have caused venues to close, as well as new performing spaces and DIY warehouse parties popping-up outside of the locked-down entertainment precinct.
Ms Taylor aims to have her study complete by July of this year. For the full comprehensive breakdown, please visit ABC.
