New census finds Melbourne is the live music capital of the world

A new census has discovered 110,000 people see live music in Melbourne on any given Saturday night — more than an AFL Grand Final

MELBOURNE has been confirmed as the live music capital of the world.

The second Melbourne Live Music Census found Melbourne has more live music venues per person than any other city on earth.

The survey also found 110,000 people go to see live music on any given Saturday in Melbourne — more than an AFL Grand Final.

There were 17.5 million visits to live venues in Melbourne last year (up twelve per-cent from the previous survey in 2012) and the live music industry generated $1.42 billion last year in ticket sales as money spent at venues on drink, food and merchandise.

“Live music is Melbourne’s dominant cultural and social pursuit, and is a significant contributor to the city and state economies,” Project Manager of the census, Dobe Newton, said.

Melbourne musician Dan Sultan at The Corner Hotel in Richmond. Picture: Tony Gough

“We’ve seen iconic Melbourne venues like the Palace close and the Espy get gutted, everyone was doom and gloom but the live music scene is very resilient.

“There are still challenges faced by venues like noise issues, development and the cost of leases in areas being gentrified. But the figures speak for themselves, the live music scene is incredibly healthy.”

The census found greater Melbourne has 464 hosting live music at least twice a week, every week and that Melbourne has one live music venue per 9503 residents, beating London (one venue per 34,350 residents), New York (one venue per 18,554) and Los Angeles (one venue per 19,607).

Melbourne musician Dan Sultan said the latest findings were not particularly surprising.

“Melbourne has always been the number one live music city, this has just confirmed what I always knew,” Sultan said.

“I remember being a kid, growing up in the inner city and there’d be bands playing out the front of restaurants and cafes which I found very inspiring and made me want to play the electric guitar. Melbourne’s great for live music and I think Australia, not Melbourne in particular, but Australia can kind of often think this tall poppy thing that were not as good as other places and stuff like that, but we are. I mean the talent in this city alone, let alone Australia as a whole, rivals anywhere and now it’s official.”

Dan Sultan said Australian musicians are world class. Picture: Tony Gough

Music Victoria CEO Patrick Donovan said the figures show Melbourne’s growth as a live music city since the first census in 2012.

“We’ve bucked global trends of a declining live music scene. The number of gigs and audiences are growing, as well as the number of part time live music venues, which is consistent with the popularity of live music at non-traditional venues, such as sporting events, and at institutions such as the NGV, the Melbourne Zoo and Melbourne Museum.”

Minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley said the Census results demonstrate the important role the music plays across the state.

“Music is part of our DNA in Victoria,” Foley said. “Our live music venues, industry organisations and musicians are thriving — from grants enabling artists to tour and grow new markets to mentoring and professional development and helping live venues become more sustainable.”