<
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/jul/06/australian-live-music-industry>
"On a cold, rainy Tuesday night in Sydney’s Dulwich Hill, most of the
shopfronts are dark, but one is shaking. A small crowd is absorbed in a set by
local band Entertainment Quarter, performing behind a shelf of records and
T-shirts, in a space that used to be a butcher’s shop. It is so intimate that
the band greets new arrivals with a friendly “hello” as they step through the
door. Among the posters plastered across the walls, one stands out: a call for
patrons to become members for $15 a month to help keep the not-for-profit
venue, Lazy Thinking, alive.
Founder Jim Flanagan launched the venue’s membership model in June, citing
average losses of $1,000 a week. More than 100 people have since signed up. The
aim is to reduce the venue’s reliance on bar sales – a business model Flanagan
says no longer adds up for grassroots live music venues. “We sell drinks and
hamburgers, and we take a small portion of ticket sales,” he says. “Those
income streams have never been enough to cover the cost of running the venue.”
Flanagan believes the broader shift in drinking habits “is largely a good thing
for the world” but the impact of people drinking less means even a full house
doesn’t guarantee breaking even. “We will often have a full, potentially
sold-out show and we will make $400 at the bar, as opposed to maybe 30 years
ago – a show like that would make $3,000-plus.”
With a standard $15 door price for every show, members are still counted as
full-paying fans, so artists receive their usual cut of ticket revenue.
Alongside it, Lazy Thinking has launched a fundraising campaign to support
initiatives including artist residencies. Flanagan sees the model as a
necessary experiment at a difficult moment for the sector. “It’s just
horrifying how many music venues, both in Sydney and the country, are closing,”
he says. “It’s a bit of an apocalypse out there.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
