How to Support Local Artists Beyond Buying a Ticket

Buying a ticket is the bare minimum. Don't get us wrong — it matters enormously. But if you genuinely love what local artists are doing, there's a whole lot more you can do that costs you nothing but a few minutes of your time.

Show up early and stay for the support act

This one's embarrassingly simple and almost nobody does it. The support act is usually a newer artist trying to build a crowd from scratch. Showing up at doors instead of fashionably late means they're playing to actual humans instead of venue staff. The Jam Sandwiches are playing Bar Open in Melbourne tonight — get there early and give the openers a reason to keep going.

Tell your friends about it (specifically)

Not a vague Instagram story. A direct message to three people who you know would love it. "Cut Worms are at Mapleton Public House tonight, you need to be there" is infinitely more powerful than a 24-hour story that disappears between memes. Personal recommendations are still the most effective music discovery tool on the planet.

Buy something at the merch table

Streaming pays artists almost nothing. Merch is where independent musicians actually make money on the road. Even a sticker. Even a badge. It's a direct cash transfer to the person whose music you just stood in a room with.

The venues that foster emerging talent — your Mojo's Bars, your Bar Opens, your Brightside Brisbanes — only survive when punters treat them like community spaces, not just entertainment products.

Leave a review or tag the venue

A genuine, specific Google review for a venue like The Junk Bar in Brisbane or a shout-out tagging Altar Bar in Hobart does real work for small rooms that can't afford marketing budgets. Algorithms reward engagement. Your words have weight.

Follow them before they blow up

Phil Jamieson has 41 upcoming gigs listed on musick.com.au right now. He's been at this for decades. The emerging artists playing Mojo's Bar in Perth tonight are building toward that same longevity — but only if people pay attention early. Following an artist on Spotify or socials when they've got 200 followers means something. It signals to labels and bookers that there's a real audience here.

Talk about music like it matters

Because it does. The live music ecosystem in this country runs on passion. When someone asks what you did on the weekend and you say "I went to see a local band and they absolutely tore the roof off" — that's cultural currency. It normalises going out, supporting small rooms, taking a punt on an unfamiliar name.

Festivals like BIGSOUND in September and the Big Red Bash next week are incredible, but the real heartbeat of Australian music is happening on a Wednesday night in a room that holds 150 people. That's where careers start. That's where scenes are made.

Be the person who shows up for that.

Discover what's on near you tonight at musick.com.au — Australia's live music discovery platform.