Adapt or die: the Australian live music lovers trying to reinvent an ‘ancient’ and ‘unviable’ industry

On a cold, rainy Tuesday night in Sydney’s Dulwich Hill, most of the shopfronts are dark, but one is shaking. A small crowd is absorbed in a set by local band Entertainment Quarter, performing behind a shelf of records and T-shirts, in a space that used to be a butcher’s shop. It is so intimate that the band greets new arrivals with a friendly “hello” as they step through the door. Among the posters plastered across the walls, one stands out: a call for patrons to become members for $15 a month to help keep the not-for-profit venue, Lazy Thinking, alive. Related: Is Australian music at risk of extinction? - podcast Founder Jim Flanagan launched the venue’s membership model in June, citing average losses of $1,000 a week. More than 100 people have since signed up. The aim is to reduce the venue’s reliance on bar sales – a business model Flanagan says no longer adds up for grassroots live music venues. “We sell drinks and hamburgers, and we take a small portion of ticket sales,” he says. “Those income streams have never been enough to cover the cost of running the venue.” Flanagan believes the broader shift in drinking habits “is largely a good thing for the world” but the impact of people drinking less means even a full house doesn’t guarantee breaking even. “We will often have a full, potentially sold-out show and we will make $400 at the bar, as opposed to maybe 30 years ago – a show like that would make $3,000-plus.” With a standard $15 door price for every show, members are still counted as full-paying fans, so artists receive their usual cut of ticket revenue. Alongside it, Lazy Thinking has launched a fundraising campaign to support initiatives including artist residencies. Flanagan sees the model as a necessary experiment at a difficult moment for the sector. “It’s just horrifying how many music venues, both in Sydney and the country, are closing,” he says. “It’s a bit of an apocalypse out there.” ‘For a lot of people, it’s like their other lounge room…