Streaming Giant Spotify Spotlights State’s Best Live Music Venues

Live music venues across New South Wales are set to get an important boost from Spotify, with their new ‘Venue Pages’ feature highlighting the best places to catch a live gig. 

The move comes following calls from the Minns Labor Government to prioritise NSW for the rollout, with Sydney joining New York, London, and Paris as one of the first cities in the world taking part the new feature.

Going live on Tuesday, the Venue Pages will give live music venues their own home on Spotify, giving them the ability to list their gigs, making it easier for fans to go from streaming their favourite artists to buying tickets and seeing them live.

Head of Music at Spotify AUNZ, Alicia Sbrugnera, said Spotify was excited to work with the NSW government to help support venues, arts, and Australian music.

“Venues are the foundation of a thriving local music scene,” she said, “So giving venues a home on Spotify means helping fans to go from streaming their favourite artists to seeing them live.”

Directing listeners straight to live gigs

The dedicated venues pages allow users to search for venues, follow their favourites, save them to their libraries, access their gig guides, and show any new announcements. Their live events feed is updated daily, delivering show recommendations curated on user location, listening habits, and venues followed.

Spotify will also include a direct link from venue listings to official ticketing partners to securely purchase tickets, creating a quick link between music discovery and live music experiences.

Minister for music and the night-time economy, John Graham, said he hoped the streaming giant could boost the state’s local music scene. 

“Our local live music scene is the talent factory for the future of NSW music, but local gigs and venues have been under cost and demand pressures,” he said. “This boost from Spotify is extremely welcome and dovetails perfectly with all the other support we’re delivering.

“Spotify helps Australian artists reach overseas audiences, but local audiences have increasingly been drawn to overseas artists. This initiative helps swing more of the benefits of Spotify to local artists and venues, which is much welcomed.” 

The partnership with Spotify comes as part of the government’s effort to support and expand the state’s live music sector, while also reviving the night-time economy, which is struggling to recover from the impact of lockout laws and overregulation policies amidst a cost of living crisis.

This has included the introduction of ‘Michael’s Rule‘, mandating local support acts for touring international artists, the creation of the Contemporary Music Festival Viability Fund to provide emergency support for struggling festivals, and the country’s largest prize for music providing three outstanding artists with tens of thousands of dollars to boost their careers in an increasingly tough industry.