A long but hopefully interesting letter on how @sydneymusic.net is doing as we close out 2025 (Spoiler alert — we're funded until EOFY)

SYDNEY. Very excited to announce our second discussion on the viability of grassroots music culture, hosted in collaboration with Offbeat Collective. No talks, no panels: just a full room discussion with whoever shows up. Spaces *very* limited. RSVP essential. events.humanitix.com/building-a-v...

Melbourne! I'm in your city next Tues to co-host a community discussion with local DIY producer and organiser Kuya Neil. We'll be exploring what makes a healthy grassroots music ecosystem, why things have gone a bit off the rails, and how to rebuild. Presented by @sydneymusic.net + Sound School

Sydney's most comprehensive gig guide @sydneymusic.net needs your help to stay in the game! Our popular "Music In Every Corner" t-shirts and tote bags are getting another run and will be shipping soon. Pre-order yours today! store.sydneymusic.net

Steal our code! Start your own guide! Instructions here: github.com/sydneymusic-...

Is there a gig guide in your part of the country? So far we've found 19 community-run gig guides across Australia. Explore here: everycorner.au ✨

Do you use @bandcamp.com? Today at @sydneymusic.net we did our first experiment with their new Playlists feature. We've published BAYANG (tha Bushranger)'s amazing selection of discoveries as a playlist, available to stream by anyone with a Bandcamp account. Go listen! bandcamp.com/sydneymusic/...

Buy Some Music is so back baby! And we've got BAYANG (tha Bushranger) to help us kick things back off — fresh after deleting his music catalogue from streaming services.

Many of the Reads on our website had unintentionally been hidden. Now fixed! Take a read of our archive: interviews with BAYANG (tha Bushranger), Party Dozen, Darren "D.C." Cross, Mara Schwerdtfeger, Nick Ward, plus selections & picks from curators and organisers across Eora. sydneymusic.net/reads

"When are you going national?" is a question we get asked all the time at @sydneymusic.net I'm convinced that gig guides do not scale: it's better that they're managed by people within the communities they serve. So we decided to try a different approach: an old-fashioned links directory instead.

Introducing everycorner.au! ✨

A source that makes a city’s music scene more visible and legible is crucial infrastructure. We started @sydneymusic.net as a non-profit gig guide because every other human-made discoverability resource by for-profit businesses had collapsed when the profits did, and scraped data can’t fill the void

Important time to be making as much noise as possible about the erosion of Australian music culture. Includes some soundbites from my partner-in-crime @caitlinwelsh.bsky.social, @benleemusic.bsky.social, Tyson Koh (fbi radio), Floodlights, Starving Kids in Brissie, and the triple j team.

Here's the latest version of this chart, which I've shared previously: # of referrals to @sydneymusic.net from chatbots like ChatGPT and Perplexity. In our latest newsletter I cover what the underlying effects of this trend are — and what it means for us. Read it here: mailchi.mp/sydneymusic/...

SydneyMusic is getting some changes in the coming weeks. One new experiment will be a reinvigorated email newsletter with extra editions featuring writing, interviews, links and round-ups. The first of the new emails goes out at 10am. Sign up now: sydneymusic.net/newsletter

Some news from us

Just had an interview (along with @caitlinwelsh.bsky.social) published in @benmaddenwriter.bsky.social's newsletter "Spin To Win" We discuss @sydneymusic.net's imminent shutdown, what we experienced and learned, and some thoughts on where things are at.

I'll be on FBi Radio's Backchat program at 9am this morning to discuss @sydneymusic.net's impending closure. Tune in here: www.fbi.radio

We’re saddened to report that SydneyMusic.net is ceasing operations and will no longer be online from Monday, the 15th of June. We had hoped that we would make it through a difficult period, but it has become clear that we can not go any further.

Help us get more people engaged with community-level live music! Our gig guide is at risk of shutting down due to a lack of funding. Support us today: sydneymusic.net/support The ATO has just advised that SydneyMusic Ltd. has now received DGR (Deductible Gift Recipient) endorsement.

TRANSGENRE is a music festival showcasing trans artists and providing a safe space for music fans of all ages to enjoy their art. We're helping put on a fundraiser for the festival's next iteration, ft. Fvneral, Huck Hastings + DJ Dad Bod (aka Ben Lee) Tickets: events.humanitix.com/gender-revea...

We're trying an experiment with a limited series of discussions about what we've learned being immersed in Sydney's underground for the last three years. Full of data, research, observations and conversation starters. Register your interest here: sydneymusic.net/discussion

Help us get more people out seeing live music! We know local, community-level live music helps create healthier, more vibrant communities - yet our local music scene's participation continues to decline. This is due to a decreasing number of viable small spaces, and the death of music media.

A small feature I've soft launched on @sydneymusic.net: you can now create your own lists of gigs and share them with others. Check it out: sydneymusic.net/gig-guide

Blown away by all of the wonderful people that came through for our fundraiser party at Crosstalk Records last weekend. Thank you to: Bilby Max Quinn myers Chonzu DJ Szem Arsonist Mphilly and the amazing team at Crosstalk Records for having us! 📸 @valeriejoyy.bsky.social

We're throwing a fundraiser party this Saturday! Returning to the location of our first ever merch launch back in 2022. 4:30pm–9pm at Crosstalk Records in Leichhardt Free / donations welcome RSVP: events.humanitix.com/crosstalk-re...

Our latest mixtape for our Super Supporters on Patreon is now live! Featuring amazing new music by the likes of Paste, koreancrashout, RAGEFLOWER, Jennifers Last Name, Twelve Point Buck, Ant Gallery, calm tyson and many many more. Curated by @caitlinwelsh.bsky.social Mixed by @joe.hardy.id.au

Kicking off a new series on SydneyMusic.net, alt-rock producer/songwriter/musician Annabelle Scobie offers her Pick & Mix: a grab-bag of recommendations for her favourite things in our city.

Hi from the friendly team that built @sydneymusic.net And thanks to wonderful community institution The Bearded Tit for letting us shoot in their back room on a rainy day. 📸 by @valeriejoyy.bsky.social

It's our 3rd birthday! Thank you SO MUCH to everyone that has been part of the journey thus far, we're blown away. 20,000 people use the website every month. Our Instagram account has more than tripled in following. Read some reflections from @joe.hardy.id.au here: sydneymusic.net/reads/sydney...

Don't forget to pick up some awesome SydneyMusic.net merch in our online store! Shipping all over Australia. All revenue goes straight back into the project. Totes sold out, stubby coolers nearly all gone - but heaps of tees and stickers still available! MERCH / DONATE: store.sydneymusic.net

Looking for Australian music recommendations? Too shy to ask your local record store? That's ok, we did it for you! 9 Sydney record stores give their picks for their own favourite recent Sydney releases - one per store. Some amazing stuff in here! Go take a read and listen!

Just released: our first-ever interactive "time capsule" documenting the 5,770 gigs we listed in 2024. It features some stats we thought were interesting, a map illustrating where live music happened, and a big deep dive into the data we collect. Let us know what you think!

I LOVE TO SEE INDIE PUBS GROW!

This year our goal is to get Sydney out to more gigs - but we're conscious that any music scene can be daunting if you don't understand how it works. To help with that, we will soon be commissioning work from music writers. Read more and register your interest here: sydneymusic.net/reads/sydney...

This morning's Gig Guide Highlights segment on 2SER Breakfast is now up on our Soundcloud! Joe and Danny discuss the reappearance of @marvelouscrane.bsky.social, The Cure's 6-date tour of Sydney in 1980, a "Big Smoke vs Steel City Beatdown", all-afternoon ambient music on a Sunday... and much more!

Here's this morning's @sydneymusic.net gig guide on ABC Radio Sydney! Featuring a backyard mini-festival in South Coogee, experimental electronica in a community centre in Annandale, Greek punk at a pub, math rock in a loading dock in Parramatta... and so much more! soundcloud.com/sydneymusicd...

I did some further analysis on the horrifying performance of Australian music in triple j's Hottest 100, and added some commentary

This morning's gig guide segment on ABC Radio Sydney's Saturday Breakfast with @domknight.bsky.social is on our Soundcloud! Featuring Psyched As fest, a DIY show in a private hall in Allambie Heights, a pub in Balmain, some great First Nations events tomorrow...

Here's the playlist btw Every single artist playing in Sydney* 22–28 January, 2025 open.spotify.com/playlist/7mQ... * that we know of and that's on streaming

Our user feedback survey has received 100 responses! Thank you so much to everyone that's contributed. There's still time to have your thoughts heard on live music in Sydney, and how the SydneyMusic Gig Guide helps you navigate it. Our survey takes 5 minutes - do it here: sydneymusic.net/survey

We're doing a user feedback survey! If you use SydneyMusic, we'd love to hear your thoughts on how we can improve it using this 5 minute survey. sydneymusic.net/survey

2024: IN REVIEW Last year was immense for music in Sydney, and our team has selected and reviewed their favourite songs from the year. Take a read! Playlist available on Apple Music, Spotify and TIDAL - and a mixed and sequenced mixtape is available on our Patreon. sydneymusic.net/reads/2024-i...

We've updated our Gig Guide Playlist with every artist playing Sydney over the next 7 days*. Tune in and discover something new, then go see it live! Available on Apple Music, Spotify and TIDAL sydneymusic.net/playlist * that we could find on streaming

We're revamping the Links page on our website! What local writers and resources should we link to? sydneymusic.net/links

We're back for 2025! We've been updating the gig guide through the holidays, but this week sees the return of: • Daily gig guide published via Instagram Stories instagram.com/sydneymusicd... • The weekly playlist (updated Weds), available via Apple Music, Spotify, TIDAL sydneymusic.net/playlist

Hey Sydney! Want a cute early evening vibe? I'll be DJing with @caitlinwelsh.bsky.social from 5-8pm at the Lady Hampshire in Camperdown. We'll be playing lots of great local music and a bunch of other faves. We'll have a bunch of @sydneymusic.net stickers as well!

We did our last update on 2SER Radio for 2024! SydneyMusic has been bringing weekly gig highlights to listeners on the station's Breakfast program since March. This was a top way to wrap the year! Selected and presented by Jess and Joe from SydneyMusic.net LISTEN: soundcloud.com/sydneymusicd...

Couple of quick snaps from last night's music trivia fundraiser at the Petersham Bowling Club.