Uni SA study shows regional live music venues experiencing burnout

Stress and burnout are a familiar feeling among regional live music venue operators that are struggling to ensure access to audiences and fairly pay artists, according to a study by the University of South Australia.

This challenge is compounded by a significant loss in venues, with data released in 2023 by music rights management organisation APRA AMCOS revealing that more than 1,300 live music venues have been lost in Australia since the pandemic, representing roughly one-third of the entire sector.

Researcher Dr Rosie Roberts, alongside Dr Sam Whiting of RMIT University, interviewed almost a dozen venue operators from regional South Australia in 2020/21 as part of a larger research project that informed the South Australian Government’s Live Music Support Package.

The $10 million package plans to deliver a suite of measures to bring back live music in SA as the industry recovers from the pandemic.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Music Development Office (MDO) - a South Australian government initiative - administered more than $9 million to support funding to 185 music businesses across the industry. Initiatives developed under the Supporting Revival 2023-2025 plan include supporting diverse communities across metropolitan, regional and remote South Australia.

Dr Roberts advised “many venue operators are undertaking a significant amount of the labour that’s involved for free, because they’re driven by a desire to develop and sustain a music culture in their region.

“The people we interviewed often described feelings of burnout and exhaustion and said they were the last to get paid, if paid at all, once they had ensured that the musicians were appropriately compensated.

“This can produce a churning cycle of music events which is difficult to sustain as operators become tired and need to step away. It’s very difficult to keep operations going in the medium to long term and this can fracture the development of regional music and produce short-term pockets of activity.”

In Australia, the live music and entertainment industry is worth $16 billion to the national economy, with the sector including sole traders, small businesses and large organisations. Collectively, they employ around 90,000 full-time workers.

Dr Roberts said solutions to improving the state of regional live music include continued town or regional art strategies, music feedback forums that connect city-based policy makers with regional stakeholders and the development of a regional live music policy.

She also suggests the appointment of regional live music officers, and dedicated funding schemes for small and medium-sized venues in regional areas, adding “regional live music venues perform a critical function for their communities because they provide spaces of sociality, belonging, education and skill development, so it’s important we provide a healthy and sustainable live music scene for our regional centres and towns.

“Small live music venues are where emerging musicians first engage in music making, yet they also continue their connection with the regions throughout their lives. This makes them vital to an artist’s development both creatively and professionally.

Image: Sydney's Oxford Art Factory.