IQ presents the second part of our Australia market report, where Jack Revell reveals the state of the venue market and checks in with the agents working behind the scenes. Catch up on part one here.

Venues: Battered Foundations but Battling On
While reports of the festival sector’s demise may have been premature, Australia’s venue landscape has been quietly suffering a more insidious distress. Since 2020, more than 1,300 venues – almost a third of the national total – have permanently closed. “If this isn’t a canary in the coal mine moment, what is?” asks Bluesfest’s Peter Noble.

“The businesses and professionals who support this ecosystem face mounting structural and operational pressures,” the Australian Live Music Business Council (ALMBC) says in a statement to IQ. “The broader infrastructure that sustains live music – from grassroots venues to independent promoters, production crews to artist managers – remains under-resourced and increasingly vulnerable.”

Regulatory burdens, rising insurance, rent hikes, and shifting consumer habits have squeezed venues, with declining bar revenues hitting particularly hard. Tam Boakes from Adelaide’s Jive venue describes the impact clearly in her parliamentary submission: “We are still suffering. Cancellations and postponements are normal. The cost of everything has gone up.”

Structural challenges compound the issue. The federally funded Re-vive Live programme, which supported hundreds of venues, has now ended without a confirmed replacement. The widely supported proposal for a ticket levy, modelled after the UK’s Music Venues Trust, has not yet materialised. “The venues are sort of on their own,” Chris O’Brien of Destroy All Lines says.

These stresses have shuttered some of the nation’s longest-standing venues. Brisbane lost the iconic 500-capacity The Zoo after 32 years. Melbourne bade farewell to stalwarts including The Gasometer Hotel, Baby Snakes, and Ferdydurke. Adelaide’s nightlife has faced devastating losses with venues like Roxies, Enigma Bar, Fat Controller, and Red Square closing almost simultaneously, in a cultural wipeout locals dubbed Armageddon.

“Since Covid, arena-level content in Australia has grown tremendously, with no signs of slowing”

Higher up the chain, infrastructure gaps have created critical bottlenecks. O’Brien highlights the particular issue of mid-sized venues: “Once you get to 5,000–10,000 capacity, we start to struggle. There’s only one option in Sydney, one in Brisbane, and three in Melbourne. We’re booking into 2027 just to secure spaces.” Joel Siviour of Seismic Talent notes the impact on touring strategy: “If you’ve sold out a 500-capacity venue and want to step up to 700 but the next venue available is 1,200-capacity, do you take the risk or lose momentum by repeating smaller venues?”

In contrast, arena-level events are thriving, according to Live Nation’s Mark Vaughan: “Since Covid, arena-level content in Australia has grown tremendously, with no signs of slowing.” However, he notes ageing venues and limited availability threaten further growth. TEG’s Tim McGregor has a different perspective, suggesting Australia’s stadium infrastructure is currently adequate: “I don’t think there’s a massive deficit in stadiums. We’re kind of right-sized.”

In response, state governments have initiated significant projects, albeit somewhat reactively. Brisbane is accelerating a AU$2.5bn arena in preparation for the 2032 Olympics. Perth plans a new 20,000-capacity contemporary venue, while Canberra is considering a new 30,000-seat stadium. NSW’s Vibrancy Reforms have led to 112 new music spaces since early 2023, while Victoria provided AU$10m for 144 local venues, alongside welcoming the recently opened Odeon in Richmond.

In a surprising twist, however, regional areas have come into their own. Post-Covid population shifts saw city dwellers move to rural towns, boosting local music economies. Wade highlights significant regional tour successes grossing millions without hitting capital cities, spotlighting venues such as Castlemaine’s Theatre Royal and the Torquay Hotel.

“We’ve put more tours into regional spaces in the last year than ever,” O’Brien adds. “We’re actually selling as many tickets in regional places as we are in the cities… it’s unheard of.” Owen Whittle of West Australian Music similarly notes regional WA towns like Esperance and Broome are becoming buzzing micro-scenes ripe for growth. In Tasmania, DarkLab’s revitalised Odeon Theatre is also attracting growing audiences.

“Australia can be tough, but when it works, it really works”

“There’s population growth, and people are hungry for culture,” says Dark Mofo’s Kimberley Galceran. Despite the challenges, optimism persists in true Aussie fashion. The ALMBC notes that the industry “continues to demonstrate remarkable creative and economic strength.” Melissa Tonkin from Adelaide’s The Gov captures the spirit: “Australia can be tough, but when it works, it really works. Connections between artists, venues, and audiences remain incredibly powerful.”

Agents: Holding their Ground & Defining the Sound
Australia’s agency sector remains remarkably independent amid increasing globalisation and market challenges. According to APRA AMCOS, around 120 active agencies operate domestically, with four-fifths locally owned and independently run.

Australian agencies typically adopt a generalist model out of necessity. Many serve as one-stop shops, combining traditional booking and in-house promotion, managing careers, national tours, and regional routings. This integrated approach suits the country’s independent-heavy, geographically dispersed market, allowing streamlined operations and relationship-driven strategies.

Promoters like Destroy All Lines (DAL) and Untitled Group typify this approach.

DAL launched its agency arm in 2017, primarily to support its Good Things Festival and specialised tours. Untitled similarly operates its agency, Proxies, by leveraging festival platforms to grow emerging artists year-on-year. Select Music, Mushroom’s Premier Artists, and Billions Australia take a similar in-house approach, acting as informal career architects for their artists. Select Music’s Stephen Wade highlights Rüfüs Du Sol as an example: “We discovered them playing to 40 people and worked with them up to where they are today.”

“You need a clear audience avatar to succeed now”

Perhaps this is why major global agencies have yet to establish themselves as fully in the local scene. Creative Artists Agency handles Australian acts from its London office, while WME and Wasserman Music maintain smaller Sydney-based teams focusing primarily on international exports and arena-level bookings. Recently, Live Nation disbanded its long-standing Village Sounds agency, prompting senior agents Evan Davis and Andy Gumley to establish independent agency Cornershop, a move indicative of independent strength.

Joel Siviour launched the independent agency Seismic Talent in 2022 after seeing a “huge opportunity” to focus on alternative and heavy genres. “Audiences want tailored experiences,” he says. “We move quickly, designing experiences specifically for fanbases. You need a clear audience avatar to succeed now. That’s been a really big shift recently.”

This tailored, genre-specific approach has become a defining trait, but exceptions do exist. WME, led by Brett Murrihy, represents a mix of Australian and international acts and manages global strategies for exportable talent. Murrihy stresses Australia’s continued importance: “Despite the current global economic challenges, Australia remains a must-play market.

“In times like these, the value of experienced, on-the-ground experts like WME Australia is amplified – we deeply understand the nuances of the local market and guide artist teams through these complexities to maximise income and career momentum.”

The agency sector is built on strong local relationships and deep market knowledge, which offers independents a clear advantage. Wade emphasises that while international acts often rely on global agencies, Australia’s smaller agencies remain indispensable due to their local insight.

“If artists and promoters think strategically, it’s an incredibly lucrative country”

Last Words: Bring a Map
The story of Australian live music in 2025 is one of profound recollection. Everywhere you look, you see both struggle and consolidation in equal measure to growth and innovation.

Generalism has given way to specialisation, in both audience and genre. Yet, if you give the people what they want – viral moments, nostalgia-driven wonder, and something that taps into community and identity – they’ll reward you in kind.

What may seem chaotic reflects a generational shift, driven by algorithmically targeted streaming and changing tastes. “It’s hard to navigate,” Tixel’s Sylvie Maclean says, “but it’s the reality now. I don’t see it shifting back.”

Still, in navigating this terrain, the basics still apply. O’Brien points to Slipknot as “the poster child for how to build a market properly” in Australia. Having first broken here in ’99, they’ve shown “incredible loyalty to the market for a long time, and the market, in turn, has been very loyal to them.” Frontier’s Dion Brant similarly emphasises strategic planning, saying working with promoters to build a three-to-five-year vision is crucial, rather than chasing immediate guarantees.

Government initiatives and technology platforms like Tixel are providing vital support for industry and flexibility for audiences. In a testament to the enduring strength of the scene, Australia seems to be having something of an international moment. “Sounds Australia saw a 35% jump in reported business outcomes last year,” Zilber says, pointing to Aussie acts like Rüfüs Du Sol, Troye Sivan, Amyl and the Sniffers, and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard who have blown up overseas.

“We’re a remote island. It’s expensive,” says O’Brien. “But if artists and promoters think strategically, it’s an incredibly lucrative country.”

 

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