Live music research

Key insights from The Economic and Cultural Value of Live Music in Australia 2014

• Live music spending in Australia delivers at least 3:1 benefit-to-cost ratio (page 51);
  
• Nationally, an estimated 65,000 full and part-time jobs are created by monies spent on live music (page 39), with taxation revenue generated for all tiers of government, (page 46);
  
• Food and drink is the number one expense for those attending a live music performance equating to 29.3 per cent of the total spend (page 19);
  
• Expenditure on tickets comes in second at 19.2 per cent of spend, followed by travel at 17.6 per cent and accommodation at 12.4 per cent (page 19);
• Audiences are prepared to travel significant distances to attend live music, and this demonstrates live music is a source of regional competitive advantage (page 26)
• Live Music attendance was identified by punters and venues as contributing to improved health and wellbeing (page 28-29).

The role of the Live Music Office in the research

The cost-benefit analysis was carried out by The University of Tasmania in partnership with City of Sydney Council, City of Melbourne Council, The Government of South Australia, and The Live Music Office, as an initiative of the City of Sydney Live Music and Performance Taskforce.

The Live Music Office was established in 2013 by the Federal Government, in partnership with APRA AMCOS, to increase opportunities for live music in Australia. Its focus is on identifying and advocating for better policy, regulation and strategy.

2011 National Live Music Research

This is the first study of this scale since the 2011 National Live Music Research (PDF 564 KB), commissioned by APRA AMCOS in partnership with the Australia Council for the Arts, Arts Victoria, Arts NSW and Live Performance Australia.

In the 2009/10 financial year, the venue-based live music industry entertained over 41 million patrons, contributing $1.21 billion to the national economy, and almost 15,000 full-time jobs.

Read a summary of key findings (PDF 503 KB).