Live music venues will get an important boost from a new Spotify 'Venue Pages' feature after calls from the Minns Labor Government to prioritise NSW for the rollout.
Sydney will join New York, London, and Paris as one of the first cities in the world to benefit from this new feature. This is the result of direct discussions between the Minns Labor Government and Spotify AUNZ about bringing more of the benefits of music streaming to local venues and artists.
Launching today across nine countries, Venue Pages will give NSW live music venues their own home on Spotify, to list their gigs to make it easier for fans to go from streaming their favourite artists to buying tickets and seeing them live. Features include:
- Dedicated venues pages which allow users to search for venues, follow their favourites, save them to their libraries, access their gig guides, show details and new announcements.
- A live events feed updated daily, delivering show recommendations curated on user location, listening habits, and venues followed.
- Direct link from Spotify venue listings to official ticketing partner to securely purchase tickets, creating a quick link between music discovery and live music experiences.
- Spotify will run an on-platform marketing campaign and educations sessions for NSW venues in the weeks following tomorrow's announcement.
Working with Spotify to increase its positive impact on the local live music scene is part of a wider set of initiatives from the Minns Labor Government to support the industry as it faces challenges from cost increases, changing audience habits and an increase in local audiences streaming overseas artists. Key measures have included the establishment of a $160,000 prize pool for the NSW Music Prize and the adoption of Michael's Rule which incentivises international artists to book an Australian support act.
The NSW Government will continue to work with Spotify AUNZ on the roll out and will also support local venues with training to maximise their engagement with this new feature.
Minister for Music and the Night-time Economy John Graham said:
"We applaud Spotify for bringing Venue Pages to Australia and expect it to drive more local listeners to local gigs, which is great news.
"We've been working with Spotify, discussing ways they can use their immense global power to boost our local music scene. Streaming has sometimes hurt the local music scene, but this is a turning point where Spotify is increasing its support for it.
"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. 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."
Alicia Sbrugnera, Head of Music at Spotify AUNZ, said:
"Venues are the foundation of a thriving local music scene, so giving venues a home on Spotify means helping fans to go from streaming their favourite artists to seeing them live.
"In the Australian rollout of Venue Pages, we're excited to work closely with the NSW Government and the Minister for Music and Night-time Economy, John Graham, to support venues, artists, and Australian music."
