Young Australians are being priced out of attending live music as ticket prices continue to climb, according to Australia’s grassroots artists.
Up-and-coming bands say while they struggle to keep the music industry alive, they have fewer opportunities to perform, higher associated costs to pay and make little to no profit.
Recent research from the Australia Institute found 64 per cent of young people aged 16-25 believe attending live music events is important, however, three out of five young Aussies also said the greatest barrier to attending live music events is the cost.
Local artists are being forced to sacrifice income to keep audiences coming to shows.
Tim Bryant, a Sydney-based drummer, told Central News his indie rock band Lip often didn’t charge anything, just to draw a crowd unable to afford even the average $15 price of a ticket to one of his gigs.
”We try to do gigs that are free so that we can prioritise getting people in the room, it’s early days for the band. Getting out there, getting exposure, it’s important,” said the 21-year-old Sydney University music student.
You can’t blame anyone for not wanting to spend their money on tickets because they can be pretty expensive.
“We don’t want people to feel like they can’t come along just because of the tickets they have to pay for.
“I think the energy of a live performance and being able to see people and being able to connect is a very unique thing.”
According to a report by Live Performance Australia, the average ticket price for contemporary live music increased the most across all live performances in Australia in 2022 to $87.
And international music powerhouses touring in Australia, such as Oasis, have recently been criticised for charging fans extreme prices.
Brits Oasis, who are set to tour Australia in November next year, sold out their gigs in 36 hours at set prices after being criticised for using surge pricing in the UK, which elevated the cost of tickets as they became more scarce.
However, prices for the band’s Sydney show still ranged from $187 to $411, with a handling fee from Ticketmaster of $8.95 on top.
As touring costs continue to soar, small bands increasingly are taking the hit, making it harder than ever for artists to connect with their fans and share their music.
Brisbane-based indie rock band Beddy Rays began to gain traction when their hit song Sobercoaster reached number 57 in Triple J’s hottest 100 in 2020.
The band has just finished its latest national tour, but lead guitarist Lewy McKenna describes their success as a ‘slow-burner’.
“It’s pretty hard to sell tickets at the moment,” said McKenna. “Towards when the show is happening we sell more, but there is no urgency from punters… you can’t blame anyone for not wanting to spend their money on tickets because they can be pretty expensive.”
The crowd at a Beddy Rays gig. Photo: SIenna Martyn.
He added, it came as a surprise to the band when they sold out shows in Darwin and Launceston.
“Touring around Australia is tough at the moment,” he said. “We’re a pretty skeleton crew here… we’re our own roadies, chief hydration officers, guitar techs, all that sorta stuff! We used to bring a bit of a big crew but times are tough!”
Members have also put their full time jobs on hold to prioritise the band, but most still need to work casually.
“It’s pretty damn exciting for a bunch of tradies that didn’t really know that this could potentially be a career,” said McKenna.
“At the end of the day we’re all doing it because we love doing it and it’s not gonna bloody stop us.”
While Beddy Ray’s success is promising, for artists just starting out, Bryant said it’s almost impossible to make a living as a musician at the moment.
“I don’t consider gigging as part of my income at all,” he added. “The gigs we’re doing pay us, but I don’t actually make any income.”
Bryant said he chooses to put the money he makes back into the band to support the cost of touring. They have travelled to Canberra, Wollongong and Newcastle for gigs, but choosing to tour, even close to home, is a balancing act between the cost and value of exposure.
“I think there’s a lot of great music being made and being performed,” he said. “We’re just not in a state at the moment that’s ideal for exposure.”
Beddy Rays performing at the Oxford Art Factory. Photo: Sienna Martyn.
Cancelled festivals
NSW music festivals Splendour in the Grass, Groovin the Moo have called it quits in 2024 due to poor ticket sales and increasing overhead costs.
Beddy Rays has been releasing music since 2017 and played many festivals over the years including Spilt Milk and Falls Fest, both of which will not run in 2024.
The band was also set to make their Splendour in the Grass debut this year.
“From an artist’s point of view a festival is a really good place to lock in those fence sitters that wouldn’t buy a ticket to your show but will come to the festival,” said McKenna.
“The scary thing is to see such a big heavyweight festival like splendour just cancel like that… you don’t know what the future holds.
“I know when I wasn’t touring so much as an artist, just as a punter it was the one time of year that I always took off from work was to go to Splendour.”
Music fan Louie Papadakis, a 21-year-old business student, regularly attends festivals but thinks the system needs to change.
“The best way to allow people to get to music festivals is to consider affordability,” he said. “Maybe by introducing something like a payment scheme.
“I think festival culture is like one of the best things you can do as a young person so to see it go is really disappointing.”
According to Creative Australia the COVID-19 pandemic, extreme weather events, regulatory changes and rising operational costs are the biggest challenges affecting the ongoing sustainability of the Australian music festival industry.
Lost Paradise, a NSW festival scheduled to take place over New Years, has put ticket sales on hold, as ticketing platform Lyte suddenly went out of business.
A report from Creative Australia found that young people aged 18–24 are purchasing festival tickets at lower rates than before the pandemic. In 2018–19, young Australians were the primary consumer group for music festivals.
McKenna is hoping for more support to come for the industry itself.
“I think it’s a really multifaceted thing because obviously cost of living, that’s not really much to do with the music industry but it has a huge effect on it,” he said.
The NSW government recently announced new regulatory and financial support for music festivals across the state which includes major amendments to the Music Festivals Act.
One change will give festival organisers the right to appeal to a cross-government panel on costs and conditions if its economic viability is under threat.
The Contemporary Music Festival Viability Fund established by Sound NSW will also offer support to large-scale contemporary music festivals by addressing economic burdens such as rising costs, inflation, freight and the currency exchange that are negatively impacting festivals.
Funding will be available for two years as the industry adjusts to the current economy.
The government says these changes will provide an improved regulatory framework that prioritises both health and safety of patrons and the economic sustainability of music festivals in NSW.
This comes as Lost Paradise, a NSW festival scheduled to take place over New Years, has put ticket sales on hold, as ticketing platform Lyte suddenly went out of business. The festival was set to sell out with just 5 per cent of available tickets remaining.
Lost Paradise is updating festival-goers via their Instagram, with fans awaiting confirmation about the future of the festival.
All photos by Sienna Martyn.
