Does your venue qualify as a live music or live performance venue?

Licensed premises that provide live entertainment in NSW can deliver significant cultural, social and economic benefits to their local communities. Live music and other entertainment offerings attract patrons, support local artists and performers, increase visitation to hospitality venues, and contribute to the vibrancy and night-time economy of an area.

The availability of live entertainment can also enhance the diversity of entertainment options for residents and visitors while strengthening community engagement and supporting local employment opportunities. 

The NSW Government is providing incentives to support live music and performance venues [refer to Incentives for Live Music and Performance venues - NSW Government].

To qualify as a live music venue in NSW, the licensed venue must demonstrate that live music forms a significant part of its normal operations.

Metropolitan venues must host at least 10 live music performances per month, while regional venues must host at least 104 performances annually.

Eligible venues must also provide a suitable performance space, with metropolitan venues requiring a dedicated area equipped to support regular live music and regional venues requiring a space that is predominantly or frequently used for performances. 

Alternatively, to be designated as a live performance venue, an on-premises public entertainment venue licence must be held and it must primarily be used for live performances or arts and cultural events, such as theatre, visual arts exhibitions, or literary events.

There are significant incentives for eligible live music and performance venues, including:

• an 80% reduction in annual liquor licence and extended trading application fees, and
• up to two additional hours of liquor trading on nights when qualifying live music or arts and cultural events of at least 45 minutes' duration are held.

To take full advantage of these incentives, it is important that the additional liquor trading hours are within the trading hours permitted under your development consent.

Venues should also note that certain DA conditions have been ‘switched off’. These include conditions preventing live entertainment at hotels, clubs and small bars (though not applying to venues operating under a CDC) as well as limiting the use of decorations, preventing a dancefloor or restricting genres or instrument types. A more comprehensive list can be found here.

To qualify for the relevant live entertainment approval, a venue must demonstrate that it meets the eligibility requirements prescribed by NSW Liquor & Gaming [refer to the above link] and submit the required online application form together with supporting evidence.

Based on advice from NSW Liquor & Gaming, applications:

• are not publicly advertised,
• do not require notification of neighbouring residents, and
• are generally processed within an indicative timeframe of 2-3 weeks.

Naturally, this applies in circumstances where:

• all required information is provided upfront, and
• no concerns arise that require further consideration by the Secretary of NSW Liquor and Gaming.

If approved, mandatory record-keeping is required and it is important applicants are aware of the sound regulation requirements that apply to licensed venues in NSW. You can read the NSW Government’s guide on sound regulation here.

If the above is of interest to you then please do not hesitate to reach out to our team who can assist you with the registration process.

‍