Flanagan says Lazy Thinking had been on a month-by-month lease for years, but after starting a conversation with the landlords about the building\u2019s infrastructure and a long-term lease, it became clear they \u201cweren\u2019t interested in arriving at a productive solution\u201d.<\/p>\n
Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads<\/a><\/p>\n Though disappointed, Flanagan says the issue is systemic among arts and live music venues.<\/p>\n \u201cThe obsession with property ownership means that live music venues are always exposed as commercial renters \u2026 They are very often at risk to both the political and economic whims of the marketplace,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cYou are overwhelmingly talking about businesses that are renting their properties, and we have some of the lowest rental protections in the developed world \u2013 all of those forces mean landlords exercise a profound influence over our arts sector.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Live music venues are often a labour of love\u2019 \u2026 inside Sydney\u2019s Lazy Thinking. Photograph: Teagan Glenane\/The Guardian<\/p>\n The Bearded Lady in Brisbane\u2019s West End closed in May 2025<\/a> after negotiations with the venue\u2019s landlord fell through, The Jade in central Adelaide in January announced its closure after its venue\u2019s lease was not renewed<\/a> and in March last year the Gasometer hotel in Melbourne\u2019s Collingwood ended operations after its building owners rejected offers<\/a> for another party to take over the business, organisers said.<\/p>\n In July, LGBTQ+ inclusive performing arts venue Divine Playhouse was booted from a deconsecrated church<\/a> in the Sydney CBD over what its landlord, Redevelop, deemed to be \u201coffensive trade\u201d.<\/p>\n A host of other live music venues including MoshPit, Darling Nikki\u2019s and Mary\u2019s Underground \u2013 all in Sydney \u2013 and Melbourne\u2019s Stay Gold, Bendigo hotel and Misfits have also announced their closures since the beginning of 2026.<\/p>\n While most have cited financial pressures rather than interactions with landlords, being a renter can add to economic burden. Venue operators are often pincered between rising rents and disappearing income streams \u2013 particularly the loss of revenue from ever-declining alcohol sales<\/a>.<\/p>\n A small crowd absorbed in a show at Lazy Thinking. Photograph: Liam Black<\/p>\n Aran Tanaka Van de Ven, a venue manager for the group that operated Stay Gold, has worked at spaces with lease clauses stipulating rent can never go backwards.<\/p>\n \u201cLive music venues are often a labour of love,\u201d he says. \u201cBut for landlords, the value of their property has always got to be protected, even if it\u2019s in a climate where everyone\u2019s business is devalued because there\u2019s a cost-of-living crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n After engaging with almost 100 venues, music industry figures and stakeholders across Europe, the RMIT University live music venue expert Dr Sam Whiting found owning the building in which the venue operates was fundamental to long-term sustainability.<\/p>\n \u201cVenues often rent commercial premises where the landlord doesn\u2019t care what kind of way the building is used, they just want to make sure that their rent is paid on time and the lease is fulfilled,\u201d Whiting says.<\/p>\n \u201cSo music venues don\u2019t have security of tenure, which means a lack of certainty, which breeds unease and precariousness.\u201d<\/p>\n Those owned by the operators were able to plan better, weather challenges more easily and apply for grants with greater success. Spaces with longer leases were also able to better forecast and plan \u2013 but private landlords were not incentivised to support this, Whiting found.<\/p>\n Lazy Thinking was asked to vacate by its landlords, Flanagan says. Photograph: Teagan Glenane\/The GuardianLazy Thinking signage. Landlords are investors who want the maximum annual return, property experts concede. Photograph: Teagan Glenane\/The Guardian<\/p>\n The Real Estate Institute of New South Wales chief executive officer, Tim McKibbin, says landlords are investors who want the maximum annual return and capital growth, and no harm to their asset, and warns that imposing restrictions on investors will lead them to take their funds elsewhere.<\/p>\n The CEO of the institute\u2019s Victorian branch, Toby Balazs, echoes this sentiment.<\/p>\n
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