Great to see this report produced by the Live Music Office which outlines exactly how live music boosts the economy!

Did you know “….for every dollar spent on live music, three dollars of benefit is returned to the wider community. This is a significant, and unrecognised, contribution that includes the dollars that flow to the national economy as well as the ways experiencing live music enriches people’s lives.” – Dr. Dave Carter, Lecturer in Music Technology at University of Tasmania.

But wait – there’s more!

Other key findings from the research include:

  • Live music spending in Australia delivers at least 3:1 benefit-to-cost ratio;
  • Nationally, an estimated 65,000 full and part-time jobs are created by monies spent on live music (page 39), with taxation revenue generated for all tiers of government;
  • Food and drink is the number one expense for those attending a live music performance equating to 29.3 per cent of the total spend;
  • Expenditure on tickets comes in second at 19.2 per cent of spend, followed by travel at 17.6 per cent and accommodation at 12.4 per cent;
  • Audiences are prepared to travel significant distances to attend live music, and this demonstrates live music is a source of regional competitive advantage;
  • Live Music attendance was identified by punters and venues as contributing to improved health and well-being.

Interesting huh! So if the Australian live music industry contributes so much to the wider community, why isn’t the Government doing more to support it?

To download the full report, go here and to read the rest of this article on the Live Music Office website, go here