Gordon Lightfoot Forums - View Single Post - AUSTIN, TX Show last night

Dave, Melbourne,Australia · 05-13-2018, 05:12 PM

***One might think that because Austin is billed as the "Live Music Capitol of the World" and because so much of the music here is geared toward a much younger generation than mine, there wouldn't be a big audience here for Gord.
Melissa[/QUOTE]***

I guess Live Music Capital of the World depends on the criteria used. A recent study found Melbourne (Australia) to be the live music capital of the world:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-1...-shows/9643684

It says Melbourne (current population 4 million) has more live music venues per capita than any other city in the world. Melbourne had one venue per 9,503 residents, which is better than London (1 per 34,350), New York (1 per 18,554) and LA (1 per 19,607).
There was a 20 per cent increase in the number of gigs happening in Greater Melbourne between 2012 and 2017, while 55 per cent of venues said their audience had increased in the past year.
Melbourne live music venues have an audience of 112,000 each Saturday night, the equivalent of an Australian Football League grand final.
Attendance figures were higher for live music than the AFL, Spring Racing Carnival, A-League, and other sports combined.
Live music generated $1.4 billion in 2017, up 16 per cent from 2012.

I'm surprised to learn that, even today, one in 40 Melbourne residents spend Saturday night at live music. In the 1980s, when I was young and going to Melbourne's pubs about once a week, the live music scene was excellent. Today, the saddest thing is that so many of those music venues have changed to generic, boring, "safe", high-earning poker machine venues or apartment buildings. (Sigh ...)

05-13-2018, 05:12 PM	#15
Dave, Melbourne,Australia Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 557	Re: AUSTIN, TX Show last night - AWESOME! *One might think that because Austin is billed as the "Live Music Capitol of the World" and because so much of the music here is geared toward a much younger generation than mine, there wouldn't be a big audience here for Gord. Melissa[/QUOTE]* I guess Live Music Capital of the World depends on the criteria used. A recent study found Melbourne (Australia) to be the live music capital of the world: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-1...-shows/9643684 It says Melbourne (current population 4 million) has more live music venues per capita than any other city in the world. Melbourne had one venue per 9,503 residents, which is better than London (1 per 34,350), New York (1 per 18,554) and LA (1 per 19,607). There was a 20 per cent increase in the number of gigs happening in Greater Melbourne between 2012 and 2017, while 55 per cent of venues said their audience had increased in the past year. Melbourne live music venues have an audience of 112,000 each Saturday night, the equivalent of an Australian Football League grand final. Attendance figures were higher for live music than the AFL, Spring Racing Carnival, A-League, and other sports combined. Live music generated $1.4 billion in 2017, up 16 per cent from 2012. I'm surprised to learn that, even today, one in 40 Melbourne residents spend Saturday night at live music. In the 1980s, when I was young and going to Melbourne's pubs about once a week, the live music scene was excellent. Today, the saddest thing is that so many of those music venues have changed to generic, boring, "safe", high-earning poker machine venues or apartment buildings. (Sigh ...) Last edited by Dave, Melbourne,Australia; 05-13-2018 at 11:02 PM.