Melbourne really is the live music capital of the world

While our buddies in Sydney are fighting the good fight against the lockouts, with a parliamentary inquiry into the music and arts economy happening right now across NSW, a different kind of news has come out of Melbourne. State music body Music Victoria has released stats for the Melbourne Live Music Census for 2017. The census confirmed that greater Melbourne has 553 venues that host live music performances, with 464 of those considered as “regular” (they host a gig two nights per week minimum). This means that there is one live music venue per 9,503 residents in Melbourne. By comparison, New York has 453 venues (one per 18,554 residents) and London has 245 venues (one per 34,350 residents).