National survey reveals Australians want more live music venues

A survey conducted for Cedar Mill Group reveals almost half of Australians believe they are under-serviced when it comes to live music venues in their local area.

The data, released as part of the first annual Australian Live Music Census, was undertaken by themusic.com.au for Cedar Mill Group in order to understand the pulse and perceptions of Australia’s live music fans with 1,012 people canvassed for their responses.

43% of people either ‘disagree’ or ‘strongly disagree’ that there are sufficient live music venues in their area. This sentiment is even stronger in regional areas, where 75% of residents feel there are not enough live music venues, compared to 55% in metro areas.  

The data provides a holistic picture of the attitudes and aspirations of engaged music fans – with 85% of respondents attending more than four live music events a year, and 93% saying they will likely attend a live music event in the next six months. By comparison, only 27% said they’d likely attend a live sporting event in the same time period. 93% said memories they make at live music events will last a lifetime.

The research also confirmed Australians’ love of the outdoors, with 74% of people saying they ‘strongly agree’ or ‘agree’ that they enjoy the atmosphere at outdoor concerts.  

Issues including affordability, accessibility and safety are also front-of-mind for live music fans.

Regional Australians (36%) are more likely to say transport to and from a venue is their biggest annoyance with live music events compared with metro Australians (25%).  

In addition, 63% of regional Australians would attend more live music if it took place closer to them, while proximity was less of a factor for metro audiences, with only 34% saying they’d attend more live music if it was closer.

Accessibility is also on the radar of live music attendees. 82% of respondents said venues prioritising accessibility is important. This skewed slightly higher (89%) for female and gender-diverse respondents.  

Feeling safe at live music events is a significant concern for all, but particularly for female and gender-diverse Australians, with 40% of female respondents saying that they’ve felt unsafe at a live music event.

 Toilet queues are another concern that disproportionately impacts females at live music events, with 47% of female respondents listing it as their biggest annoyance, compared to just 27% of males.

Cedar Mill Group founder Paul Lambess shared “there’s nothing better than hearing amazing live music while in the great outdoors. We have long believed that although so many Australians love these experiences, there simply aren’t sufficient purpose-built facilities to make this pastime an accessible reality for so many. Now, the first Australian Live Music Census by Cedar Mill Group has shown us the views and attitudes of those who want more – more music, more venues, more transport and more accessibility.    

“Australia has incredible musicians, an amazing natural environment and a strong community of music fans, workers and supporters, so we look forward to finding ways to bring them more of what they love.”   

Cedar Mill Group announced a $235 million redevelopment of Morisset Golf Course in 2021, to be known as Cedar Mill Lake Macquarie. In August 2021, CMG also purchased one of the Hunter Valley wine region’s most premium development sites, in Pokolbin, and, the following year, acquired a 100-acre site on the Maroondah Highway in the Yarra Valley for its purpose-built outdoor entertainment amphitheatres.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This survey was conducted by themusic.com.au for Cedar Mill Group. 1,012 people were canvassed for their responses. Respondents were 48% male, 47% female and 2% gender diverse, with 1% preferring not to say. The largest age group to respond was 35 - 44 (25%), followed by 45 - 54 (23%), 25 - 34 (22%), 55+ (20%), 18 - 24 (6%) and 13 - 17 (1%).