Live music to roar as local venues pin hopes on revival

But an industry leader says while big concerts are popular, music lovers should not forget to support budding local artists as live shows continue to bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic.

International names such as Coldplay, Taylor Swift, Blink-182 and Pink are set to fill stadiums this year, but they are just the tip of the iceberg.

The influx of major acts heading to Australia in 2024 includes former One Direction singer Louis Tomlinson, Raye, Paul Weller, Queens of the Stone Age, and The Chemical Brothers.

Meanwhile, pop queen Kylie Minogue takes to the stage in Las Vegas for a 20-date residency, and plenty of other Australian artists are out in force.

Jessica Mauboy, Shannen James, Peter Garrett, G Flip and The Veronicas are all promising new music, while Indigenous hip-hop group 3% is talking about a tour of Victorian prisons, as well as a debut album release.

Missy Higgins sold out 22 concerts in one day for her upcoming anniversary tour, with two concerts in Melbourne and Sydney booked out in five minutes.

If Australians want to see more acts come up the ranks then they need to get out and watch them, says Stephen Wade, the CEO of Sydney-based agency Select Music who also chairs the Australian Live Music Business Council.

"There are so many amazing, young acts hitting the road presently, and as an industry, they need as much support as possible from lovers of live music," he told AAP.

"So buying a ticket at your local or a smaller venue to check out a line-up of up-and-coming acts, even if you don't know them, helps strengthen the scene from the roots up."

COVID-19 restrictions took a huge toll on the arts across the globe, with many performers struggling to stay in the industry and no audiences to play to.

Scores of music venues and pubs closed their doors as businesses endured rolling lockdowns, with some never to reopen.

But recent government initiatives have been trying to breathe life back into the Australian live music scene by making it easier to host gigs.

In June 2023, Victoria named Melbourne's St Kilda the state's first live music precinct, where live music is considered a priority activity, meaning less red tape for venues.

In October, NSW announced a $58 million overhaul of the state's live music regulations, with the government promising to ditch the bureaucracy and end the "age of lockouts".

The changes will make it easier for venues to host events and more difficult for noise complaints to shut them down, with live music venues allowed to trade for two hours longer in a bid to "bring back vibrancy" to inner city life.

Just this month, the state government lifted a controversial cap on events at Allianz Stadium in Moore Park from four to 20 a year.

Premier Chris Minns suggested lifting the restrictions, introduced more than two decades ago following a particularly noisy Rolling Stones concert, would inject $120 million into the NSW economy.

"There have definitely been plenty of positive changes from all levels of government and I feel we have shown as an industry not only our professionalism at being able to deliver everything from corner pub small gigs up to world class stadium shows," said Mr Wade.

"Many great initiatives have been put into place and it will be exciting to watch them roll out and for our industry to embrace this new-found relationship."

Australia might be emerging from the COVID-haze - Live Performance Australia figures show the industry made $2 billion in 2022, with 24.2 million people attending ticketed shows, and 2024 looks to continue that upward trend.

But there is still more to be done, Mr Wade said.

"At present, the industry is back to operating 100 per cent but still facing many challenges," he said.

"Big stars and events that feature well-known acts are leading the way, but we are still seeing acts struggling in the smaller venues across Australia and finding it much harder to develop our next generation of superstars because of this, so we are not out of the woods yet.

"Remember also that every major Australian act started their careers in the smallest pubs, so it's important they stay healthy."

On an international level, Australian artists are increasingly in demand, he says.

"We are seeing more interest than ever before in the Australian artists we represent overseas," Mr Wade said.

"And genre seems to be irrelevant - our artists are in huge demand, whether it be Rufus Du Sol, The Teskey Brothers, JET, Lime Cordiale or Amy Shark."

Australian Associated Press