Melbourne has always swung between live music and club culture. From disco to pub rock to raves and back again, these shifts aren’t new. But the current resurgence of techno is reshaping the city’s nightlife, pulling young people away from live gigs. As this wave grows, venues are being forced to rethink how they survive and stay relevant.
Even though the city has long been Australia’s live music capital, it seems the new generation of partygoers are increasingly interested in DJs over bands and solo acts. Between 2018 and 2024, 338 famous live music venues in Victoria were forced to shut down. This included venues that were thriving in 2019, such as the Gasometer, a live music staple based in Collingwood which gave a platform to up and coming artists throughout the years.
Many live music venues are seeking creative ways to keep crowds coming through the doors. Some are offering free live music during the week to draw in younger patrons and stay competitive in a changing nightlife scene, or simply to offer more. Brendan Frankcomb, manager of Baxter’s Lot in Fitzroy, says the club has managed to double up on live music even though young crowds are moving towards the clubs.
“We realised pretty quickly that live music was what set us apart,” Frankcomb tells upstart. “From then on, we committed to supporting emerging artists and giving them a platform to hone their craft.”
Why, then, can so many new nightclubs open and thrive in 2025 while live music clubs are forced to shut down? Frankcomb says the cost of public liability insurance has become a major issue for small venue owners, because they are treated the same as a club of any size.
“This year alone, mine jumped to $30,000, double what it used to be,” he says. “There’s no Australian insurer for live music venues anymore.”
Many live music venues have seen public liability insurance premiums increase several-fold in recent years. Some have risen from about $15–$20,000 annually to over $60,000 or more. Small and medium venues are especially impacted, with few insurers willing to offer policies under fair terms.
“In 15 years, I’ve never had a single public liability claim, yet we’re charged the same as a massive club with a huge dance floor,” Frankcomb says. “It’s just not fair.”
The struggles of staying open as a small club are hard. TikTok and Instagram have shifted how young adults discover nightlife. Young people are exposed to festivals such as Beyond The Valley, where dance music thrives online because of videos of DJs playing massive festival sets, but that same hype just doesn’t seem to be there for live music.
Baxter’s Lot has taken advantage of these social media platforms in a similar way, bringing people through the doors by showing the successful nights of packed crowds singing along to live music.
“TikTok has been a game changer for reaching younger audiences,” Frankcomb says. “It’s definitely brought more people through the door for our live music nights.”
Melbourne musician Lewis Ciaravella has felt the culture surrounding Melbourne’s nightlife change. He’s been performing in the city for decades, having started as a teenage busker on Swanston Street. But post-COVID, he’s noticed a drop in numbers for live music.
“Dance music has just taken over,” he tells upstart. “It’s the same way grunge took over in the ‘90s, these cycles happen over and over. These days, younger crowds will happily spend $30 or $40 to get into a nightclub.”
“It’s not that they don’t like it [live music]. They just haven’t been given a way into it yet.”
Ciaravella says part of the problem is that many venues are out of touch with younger tastes. Rather than fight the tide, Ciaravella has chosen to adapt, even learning how to DJ to get a better understanding of the genre and to add another skill to his repertoire.
“I don’t just play the song straight,” he says. “I’ll listen to remixes and create my own version so it’s still live music, but it has the energy of a dance track. I use pedals and effects on stage to make it feel bigger, like a full show rather than just one guy with a guitar.”
Despite these efforts, however, the economic squeeze on musicians is intense. Both Frankcomb and Ciaravella agree that the future of live music is in some ways out of their hands and needs support from higher up.
“What we need is the government to step in and help us with this,” Frankcomb says.
For Ciaravella, another reason clubs are thriving is the drug culture, with people preferring to spend $20 on drugs rather than $150 at the bar. He points out that high costs are driving audiences away.
“If a pint wasn’t $17, people would be going out,” he says. “The main difference between a nightclub and a pub with live music is how much money you have to spend.”
Being able to have cheap drinks brings people into the club, and, in the case of Baxter’s Lot, they then stay for the live music.
“Venues need to adapt to younger crowds instead of expecting them to just turn up,” Ciaravella says. “You can’t compete with nightclubs by doing the same old thing.”
Meanwhile, Frankcomb believes community is the key to survival.
“For us, it’s not just about music,” he says. “It’s about building a community for both the artists and the audience. That’s what will keep live music alive.”
Article: Charlie Jones is a second-year Bachelor of Arts student at La Trobe University. You can follow him on X at @charliejones63.
Photo: Musician playing guitar and singing at concert by Lachlan Ross is available HERE and is used under a Creative Commons licence. This photo has not been modified.
