Melbourne's live music industry:

Courtney Barnett, Smith Street Band and Angie McMahon. They all took the stage at various pubs and bars around Victoria - with Fitzroy, St Kilda and the city being some of the top areas.

Not only do we boast some of the top talent in the country, Melbourne’s city and surrounding areas has more live music venues per capita than any other city in the world.

Like most industries, the live music scene took a hit during the pandemic. During lockdowns, it was completely shut down and many venues didn’t survive. The ones that did are struggling.

The Old Bar is your typical live music venue. If you like sticky floors, grungy aesthetics, moody lighting and the faint smell of cigarettes, this is the perfect place for you to catch a show (they have gigs 7 nights a week).

But The Old Bar has been hit with insurance hikes that were never seen before Covid. Owner Joel Morrison said a lot of conditions were put on the long-standing venue.

“No drinking and dancing, which is just bananas. We don’t have a dance floor per se, it’s all carpeted. We don’t even know what that pertains to.”

Joel explains that it’s hard to enforce - what counts as dancing? Putting up signs around the venue has been done to try and deter dancers.

The Old Bar’s insurance prices have increased from $10,000 a year to $60,000. This isn’t a rare occurrence. Other venues across the state have shared their experiences on social media, with some insurances going up 500 per cent. Crowd favourites Cherry Bar and Yah Yah’s have both experienced this.

The Old Bar's 'no dancing whilst drinking' sign. Image by Jemma van Zaanen.

The Old Bar. Image by Jemma van Zaanen.

Beloved venues like the Collingwood Hotel and The Tote were also left with no choice but to close their doors.

Venues aren’t the only ones suffering, musicians across the state are feeling the impacts. 21-year-old musician James Pav has seen a noticeable difference pre and post pandemic.

“The demand [pre-pandemic] was very different. Ticket demands these days is crazy for big level shows, it’s really hard to get tickets. But for smaller level shows, it’s hard to even get people to come.”

James has noticed a decline in free gigs and an increase in ticketed gigs, which has proven difficult to attract an eager audience.

“Everything is so expensive, people don't want to go out as much and spend money. It sucks when you’re trying to convince your friends to come to a show and tickets are $25,”

“If it’s a band you’ve never heard of for $25, why do that when you can go see someone like Taylor Swift?”

And people have been spending. RMIT University found that the national economic impact of her touring was valued at half a billion dollars.

With venue owners and musicians sharing the same sentiment, things are slowly changing.

Creative Victoria are funding grants of up to $10,000 for live music venues across the state to increase patronage and support new and established artists.

When considering the future of Melbourne’s music scene, Joel and James share difference sentiments.

“It’s pretty grim. This is the hardest I’ve seen it do. We’re seeing that reflected every week with venues closing down. Whether that be breweries, venues, bars, restaurants. It’s just taken a big hit. Places are losing everything and having to walk away,” Joel said.

“The government can help out, maybe lowering some of the tax. The insurance can be helped out, although that’s tricky. Basically it’s just come to a show, come to a gig, go see something during the week, take a punt on something, come see some bands, buy a drink.”

James feels more hopeful things can improve, although he’s not sure how that change will start.

“I don’t think it can stay like this. We’re starting to see these issues come forward. Things will come together. Live music will never go away. There will always be a demand, it just depends on what form.”