Live music venues launching memberships and fundraisers to survive lockdowns

Struggling live music venues in NSW and Victoria are turning to community support to cover costs as COVID restrictions continue to stunt income streams.

Venues in Sydney and Melbourne told realcommercial.com.au they have either not been able to pay rent during lockdowns or have used creative measures to bridge the widening gap between profits and overheads.

Melbourne institution Cherry Bar and Ballarat live music hub Volta have both launched membership schemes on membership platform Patreon, offering perks for punters who sign up for monthly pledges – ranging from $5 to $30 – including merchandise, early ticket access and bar discounts on reopening.

On Cherry Bar’s page, owner James Young said rent was “by far our most intimidating regular expense” and hoped the regular donations would alleviate some financial pressure on the iconic laneway bar, which just hit its 21st birthday.

Young wrote that Cherry’s CBD location meant it has a 24/7 liquor licence and the “monthly rent bill is a whopper.”

The Vanguard is one of a number of live music venues in Sydney and Melbourne opting to cover the rent and lost income for artists and venues through creative ventures such as punters sponsoring a gig. Picture: The Vanguard

In Sydney, Newtown venue The Vanguard has opened a GoFundMe page with a $10,000 goal, allowing contributors to “sponsor a gig” to pay musicians, sound technicians and other performance artists to host shows at the venue. Attendance would be free to the public, and a full financial report would be available for transparency.

“Since the onset of the pandemic we have been overwhelmed with offers of support from the community,” The Vanguard wrote.

“We have set up this fundraising initiative in order to harness this goodwill and provide a vehicle for financial support of our music programming.”

Speaking on the phone from Ballarat, Volta owner Zachary Hill said open communication had been crucial to negotiating rent relief during the pandemic, and the membership route was a way to allow loyal customers to help out.

“Inevitably, the key is to be honest. I’ve got a fantastic landlord and leasing agent, they’re very understanding, but I think by being proactive about which avenues I’m going down and not keeping secrets, they’re sympathetic,” Hill said.

“With our membership, we do need the support but we created it as a way for customers to have a way to help because they kept asking how they could.

“It’s also worth noting that Patreon only takes 1%, so we get 99%. That’s massive.”

‘I’ve had to stand down 400 people, four times’

Penny’s Bandroom in Brunswick, a revamped version of former live-music staple the Penny Black, only opened in July and has already weathered two lockdowns.

Co-owner Scott Assender – director of the 100 Burgers Group, which owns the ‘Welcome To’ group, and rents premises in Thornbury, Brunswick and Bowen Hills, among many others – said the uncertainty has led to unwanted measures.

When asked how the group was paying rent on their venues, he replied: “We’re not.”

“I’ve to stand down 400 people four times now. We get the basics [of government support], but that’s it,” Assender said.

“We’re negotiating with 21 landlords. It’s a case by case situation. When we have reopened, every time it’s been new staff, so we’ve got to train everyone again.

“We just need people to understand that if they don’t support small business, when we do come out of lockdown, there won’t be small business.”

Assender said Cherry Bar’s membership was a “smart pivot” but wouldn’t work for most venues that didn’t have the same icon status and following.

‘The stress is greater this time’

LazyBones Lounge in Marrickville got a federal government grant to help manage creditors and rent. Picture: LazyBones Lounge

Craig Pietersen, owner of LazyBones Lounge in Marrickville, said the business normally hosts about 15 bands a week, but said the restrictions had left live music in a “dire” situation.

The venue’s saving grace was receiving a $200,000 federal government support grant about three weeks before the current lockdown, which had been helping to manage creditors and rent.

But otherwise it was a “week to week” prospect for live music venues in Sydney and Melbourne, Pietersen said.

“When we started this latest lockdown, we were in a great position, going into our ninth year with a good record with our suppliers – so we’ll come out of this. But it’s hard for new businesses to get grants without a history of operation,” he said.

“Where the biggest problem is – that nobody is talking about – is the musicians. They’re really struggling out there. This lockdown is more difficult than the last one; we don’t know what’s going to happen to the music industry. The stress is greater.”

Government support for live music

In August 2020, the federal government announced the opening of the Live Music Australia program, which is set to deliver funding of $5 million annually across four years, to help businesses rebuild and reopen, and increase opportunities and partnerships in the industry.

Round one granted a total of more than $2.5 million to 88 recipients across all states and territories, from pubs in the outback to clubs and theatres in major cities, while round two awarded $608,000 to be shared across 18 venues. Round three applications closed in August 2021.

In Victoria, a $13 million support package for the local live music industry was announced in September 2020, with an initial $9 million given to 106 venues. A $3 million fund for industry workers and a $1.2 million grant for 10 organisations and peak bodies completed the offering.

The NSW Government announced a $24 million live music “lifeline” in May this year, helping more than 150 venues in Sydney and NSW – such as LazyBones – to stay in operation amid lockdowns and ongoing capacity restrictions.

This week, the federal government has also announced it will give live music charity Support Act a further $20 million to support the group’s work with musicians, touring crew and other industry workers.  Support Act provides grants of up to $2700 to struggling industry professionals and also has a phone counselling service.

There’s also a further $15 million in federal government funding now available for arts organisations affected by COVID-19 through the competitive grants given out by the Arts Sustainability Fund.