The Zoo, one of Australia's most revered live music venues, to close down in July

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Brisbane live music venue The Zoo will cease operation this July after 32 years in business. Owners say that the venue is not financially viable and has been running at a loss for the past three years.

Transcript

00:00 Shopping, a meal and a concert all in one.

00:06 This Gold Coast venue's bread and butter is live music, but that's getting harder to sustain.

00:13 It's impossible to just be a live music venue.

00:16 The revenue that a venue takes from a ticket is so minute.

00:21 Entertainment precincts rely on bar sales to turn a profit, but the cost of living has

00:26 people tightening their belts.

00:29 Most gigs, people will have two to three drinks, we're seeing that they might have one to two

00:33 drinks.

00:34 Neighbouring venue, Moe's Desert Clubhouse, hosts five gigs a week.

00:38 If we have a room, I'm going to fill it with something.

00:41 It's also used for private venue hire, podcast and rehearsal studios, as well as a co-working

00:47 space.

00:48 With ticket sales down 50 per cent, the business is still struggling to stay afloat.

00:55 A 200 per cent increase in insurance, add to that power bills are almost doubled, the

01:02 cost of stock.

01:03 In trying economic times, the cancellation of larger events like Splendour in the Grass

01:09 is on the mind of music lovers.

01:11 People have lost faith in paying for tickets early on, which then doesn't support the local

01:17 artists.

01:18 A survey released last month found that half of Australian musicians earned less than $6,000

01:24 a year.

01:25 With live music venues struggling, the future of budding artists is uncertain.

01:31 If we lose this section of the industry, which is in real jeopardy, yeah, we lose out on

01:38 those building blocks for the future Australian bands.

01:41 An industry looking for a lifeline.

01:44 And if you're looking for a lifeline, you're looking for a lifeline.

01:45 And if you're looking for a lifeline, you're looking for a lifeline.

01:46 And if you're looking for a lifeline, you're looking for a lifeline.

01:46 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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