City Venue Membership Criteria

To be eligible, venues must:

• Operate a dedicated space where original, ticketed live music is the primary focus, with performances 3+ nights per week.

• Feature a stage or room designed for live music, with suitable infrastructure (e.g. stage, lighting, sound desk).

• Have formal artist payment arrangements in place.

• Maintain a consistent live music program as a core part of the business.

• Be a hotel/pub with fewer than 10 gaming machines, or a public venue such as a music hall, concert hall, dance hall, or theatre.

Regional NSW Venue Membership Criteria

To be eligible, venues must:

• Operate a dedicated space that hosts at least two nights of live music (some ticketed original music) and/or live covers music (maximum of two nights of covers music) per week.

• Demonstrate an ongoing commitment to live music as part of business operations.

• Feature a dedicated performance space with appropriate infrastructure (e.g. stage, lighting, sound desk).

• Have formal artist payment arrangements in place.

• Program live music on a regular weekly basis as a key part of the venue’s identity.

• Be a hotel/pub with fewer than 10 gaming machines, or a public venue such as a music hall, concert hall, dance hall, or theatre.

Fee Structure

Membership fee ranges from $150 - $1,500 per annum based on capacity, with 3 months free offered from sign up date due to grant funding received for 2026 FYE.

• 100 pax or under - $150

• 101 - 250 pax  - $300

• 250 - 500 pax - $500

• 501 - 1,000 pax - $1,000

• 1,001 pax and above - $1,500

Associate Membership Criteria

The LMVA also supports NSW venues, performance spaces, and organisations that program or directly support live music, with the aim of increasing the number of dedicated live music venues over time. This includes venues and spaces that host live music as part of a broader business model such as restaurants, cafes, cultural spaces, community halls and art galleries, as well as organisations that directly support venue-based live music programming across multiple venues, including exclusive booking or programming services. Through this work, the LMVA supports the long-term sustainability of live music and contributes to the cultural landscape of NSW through the promotion of the arts.

Membership fee of $300 per annum applied for Associate Members, discounted to $100 to sign up before 30 June 2026.

To be eligible, organisations must:

• Program live music on a recurring basis within a venue or performance space, or directly support the programming and coordination of live music. 

• Demonstrate an ongoing commitment to supporting live music activity within venues and performance spaces in NSW.

These criteria are a guide for membership only, if your venue is a significant contributor to live music and you would like to join or have questions regarding eligibility please contact us.