Space & Infrastructure · Indicator 6
Number of music venues
What this indicator asks
How many fixed music venues have been active in Greater Sydney since 1 January 2025?
70.0/ 100 · Sydney
We assessed 527 spaces in the region and identified 167 as dedicated music venues where music is the main purpose. The other 360 spaces also host music alongside other uses, such as pubs, bars, and RSL, bowling and leagues clubs.
Sydney has 167 dedicated music venues, about 32 for every million people in the region. Around 35% are bars, 20% are nightclubs, 16% are pubs and hotel bars, and 13% are concert halls and live music venues.
Of the survey respondents in Sydney, 93% call nightclubs and live music venues important for the city’s nightlife. This is the highest of six kinds of space, ahead of outdoor events, temporary spaces, cultural and community spaces, places such as record shops and studios and bars and restaurants with music.
A participant who ran a live-music venue said many venues closed under the lockout laws. The laws were introduced in 2014, and their last parts were removed in January 2026.