One in three young people say cost is the biggest barrier to attending live music events as the Australian scene faces financial pressure.
The Australia Institute was commissioned by The Push Youth Music Organisation to survey 1,009 Australians aged between 16 and 25 last month.
Two in three respondents said attending music events was important to them but 59 per cent said cost was a barrier, with 35 per cent saying it was the most significant reason preventing them from going to live gigs.
A survey has found live music shows are important to a majority of young people. (ABC News: Patrick Rocca)
The Push chief executive Kate Duncan said the survey aimed to understand the relationship between young people and the live music industry.
"There's been a lot of speculation and conversations around changing audience behaviours and this report is a really important first step to capture the data," she said.
She said there had been a lot of conversations about festival cancellations and changing audience behaviours but knowing two in three young Australians said attending music events was important to them was handy information.
Ms Duncan also said younger respondents said age was the second-biggest barrier.
"For a lot of young people their favourite artists are touring but more times than not they're playing in licensed premises which immediately makes it a barrier for them," she said.
The Australia Institute postdoctoral research manager Morgan Harrington said the survey found 58 per cent of respondents said they had $100 a week or less to spend on arts or entertainment after they had covered their cost of living.
"When you know a concert ticket regularly costs in excess of 100 bucks, plus the cost of getting there, plus the cost of drinks and a meal, well you can see that cost really is a barrier," he said.
It comes as BIGSOUND, Australia's largest gathering of the music industry, convenes in Brisbane for its annual showcase and conference discussing the future of the music industry in Australia.
Music industry representatives are working on ways to make live shows more accessible to young people. (ABC News: Patrick Rocca)
Speaking to ABC Radio at the conference, renowned music economist Chris Carey said he would love to see more encouragement for young people to go and experience live music.
"The more we can encourage an early adoption of music, a massive passion for music … the better we will be," he said.
Mr Carey said the government had a role in that.
"Whether it comes from venues facilitating, whether it's licensing bodies and councils locally, there are opportunities to make it much easier to enjoy all of the good things live music brings," he said.
He said the COVID-19 pandemic had increased the risk for venues to host live gigs.
"So risk has increased, general costs around the piece have increased, and you are more exposed than before because the models you used to look at … were built for a world that existed before COVID," he said.
Music Venue Trust chief executive and founder Mark Davyd said there needed to be much more thought given to making it more viable for venues to engage young people across the music industry globally.
He leads the charity which aims to secure the viability of grassroots music venues.
He said the turnover generated by patrons under 18 wasn't enough to make the events financially sustainable.
"How do we open the doors of these local spaces to make sure young people can get in," he said.