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The Sunshine Coast’s recovering music industry has been dealt a major blow, with the region’s biggest live music venue suddenly closing permanently.
key point:
- NightQuarter, a live music venue and entertainment district, is closing its doors
- Co-owner Michelle Christoe says company is out of money
- Owner says COVID restrictions, cost of living and inclement weather lead to closures
NightQuarter co-owner Michelle Christoe said the Birtinya entertainment district has slowed its economic recovery due to the COVID-19 pandemic, flooding and rising living costs.
“We are heartbroken,” Ms Crystal said in a statement.
“We’ve sold our house and put it into a business to help get through this time.
“However, attendance at live music events and night markets has been shaky post-COVID and we’ve run the runway.”
The 1,500-seat venue was built from shipping containers and opened in November 2020 amid the pandemic.
The owners ran a similar venue on the Gold Coast from 2015 to 2019.
The venue was closed by Queensland Health due to Violation of COVID-19 restrictions Last June.
“In hindsight, we could have managed the ‘crowd’ better, but we did the best we could,” Ms Crystal said.
“We still feel like we’ve been unfairly attacked … and that has stuck with us ever since.”
The Omicron wave of last festival season led to the cancellation of 11 concerts at NightQuarter in early 2022.
This was exacerbated by the devastation caused by the floods in February.
“One of the events we had was the most popular Triple J artist in January and had a 60% absence rate,” Ms Christoe said.
“This is a dire outcome for everyone from patrons to artists and staff, especially for a venue that generates revenue from the sale of food and drink during concerts.”
Ms Christoe said the venue commissioned a study by the University of the Sunshine Coast to “investigate consumer confidence and buying behavior on the Sunshine Coast”, which showed poor transport, inflation and rising costs of living were barriers to crowds gathering.
“The recent spate of cancellations of shows such as Whitlam and the Sunshine Boys, as well as disappointing sales of national tours like Thelma Plum and James Lane, have cemented the decision,” she says.
All tickets to upcoming shows will be refunded through Moshtix.
Resilient industry continues
Andy Ward, academic chairman of the Sunshine Coast Music Industry Alliance, said this would be a devastating blow to the local music industry and would mean job losses.
“In a study we conducted earlier this year, we found that the Sunshine Coast had the highest density of working musicians of any region in Australia,” he said.
Dr Ward, who is also a lecturer in creative industries at the University of the Sunshine Coast, said audiences needed to be made aware of the implications of buying tickets at the last minute.
“What we’re seeing now is that people are waiting and holding off to see if shows are going to be canceled,” he said.
“The major music promoters … if they don’t see ticket sales two to three months after a show, then they’re actually going to cancel the show.
“Not just because of the impact of COVID, but because they’re worried they won’t be able to pay the bills either.”
However, Dr Ward said the future is promising.
“The good news is the music industry on the Sunshine Coast is very resilient,” he said.
“It’s really in an emerging stage.”
He said more small and medium-sized events need to be held to start building audiences.
“As consumers of music, we have to speak up and we’re willing to pay for tickets, beer, food, queues and jobs,” he said.
“Because it’s not just a cultural picture. It’s an economic picture of the region.”
need for cultural change
Musician and music producer Andrea Kirwin, who lives on the Sunshine Coast, said the region might miss out on big tours that were initially attracted by the crowd capacity of big venues.
“It’s sure to leave a big hole in the tour and it means less revenue for our industry and the hospitality industry,” she said.
“We have so many great bands, but a lot of us are playing in a room that’s only a quarter full … because people just don’t go out, they don’t want to pay the ticket price, and they can only have drinks and just listening to Spotify at home.
“It’s a whole culture change that needs to happen.”
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