Original live music venues in hyper-commercialised nightlife precincts: exploring how venue owners and managers navigate cultural, commercial and regulatory forces

Abstract

Nightlife precincts are constituted by intersecting cultural, market and regulatory forces. They are a vibrant part of the experience economy of the city and important sites for the performance of live music and arts. This article examines original live music venues in Fortitude Valley, an inner-city neighbourhood in Brisbane, Australia. The Valley is both a culturally significant site for original live music venues and a dense hyper-commercialised nightlife precinct. Policy interventions in the area have sought to protect its live music venues, liberalise its nightlife economy, and curtail the harms generated by alcohol consumption. Drawing on interviews with live music venue owners and managers we argue that over time venues have adapted their ethos to the cultural and market logic of the nightlife precinct, rather than the music scene. Their accounts illustrate that venues are an important site where cultural values and market imperatives are negotiated.