A guide to putting on your own gig in Sydney, from getting a bill together to paying everyone at the end of the night. Each step lists places to hire and what they cost.
Pick a room your crowd will fill.If the acts on the bill can bring about 60 people between them, a bar room or a small hall will feel full and cost less. A big town hall with the same crowd can cost more than the door brings in.
1
Build the Bill
Three acts is a good number for a first show. Choose acts that suit each other, and try to include at least one that already brings a crowd.
Before you announce the show, agree the set times, the set lengths and how the money will be split with every act. A group text where everyone agrees to the same numbers is enough.
The open nights on the Community page are a good place to meet acts to share a bill with.
2
Cost It Out Before You Book
List every cost before you book anything. Anything you forget usually comes out of what the acts get paid.
Most shows need the room, a PA, someone to run the sound, someone on the door, posters and ticket fees. Depending on the room you may also need a music licence and insurance, and each act needs to be paid.
An example night in a town hall
Room, five hours at $155
$775
Small PA, picked up
$166
Sound operator, four hours
about $400
Posters
about $80
Total
about $1,420
At $20 a ticket, that is 71 tickets sold before the acts are paid.
How acts get paid
The three kinds of deal
Guarantee
The act is paid a fixed fee however many people come.
Door deal
The act gets a share of ticket sales. Acts on the same bill can have different shares.
Versus
The act gets a fixed fee, plus a share of the door once sales pass an agreed number.
Choose a room that suits the crowd your acts can bring. For about 40 people, a bar room or a small hall works well.
A bar or small venue that runs self-promoted nights will already have a PA and a bar, and you share the door with the venue. A council hall is hired by the hour and comes empty, so you bring the gear and the people to run it.
House and warehouse showsA space that isn't approved for public events may not have safe exits for a crowd, and insurance usually won't cover a room used for something it isn't approved for. If you do run one, keep it small, free and invite-only, and make sure everyone knows where the exits are.
Places to hire
Petersham Bowling Club
Petersham
Deal
The club doesn't take any of the ticket, merch or door money, so the acts keep all of it.
Rooms
There are two stages, upstairs and downstairs, and a gear list on the booking page.
How
Email [email protected] with a short bio and links to your music. Bookings are by email only.
Ask the room what gear it has. Many halls have lights and power and nothing else.
A solo act or duo can get by with two powered speakers, a small mixer and two microphones. A full band needs foldback speakers, more inputs on the desk and someone who knows how to run it.
PA hire
Gsus4
Rydalmere
Kit
The live music pack has two Mackie speakers, a Zoom L-20 mixer, two stands, two mics and cables, for $166 a night if you pick it up.
Operator
Delivery, set-up and an operator cost $99 an hour plus GST, with a three-hour minimum.
Weekends
Weekend hire runs from a Friday pick-up to a Monday return.
Free events cost nothing on Humanitix, TryBooking and Eventbrite.
6
Licences, Alcohol and Insurance
The hall will usually ask about all three of these when you book.
What you may need
Music licence (OneMusic)
Ask first
Ask the hall whether it has a OneMusic licence. A hall with a Community Halls licence already covers live acts, as long as the total paid to performers for the event is under $6,000.
No licence
If the space doesn't have a licence, you'll need a OneMusic Events licence yourself. The minimum fee is $82.50 an event.
To sell drinks at a one-off event you need a Single Function limited licence. Only not-for-profit groups can get one. It costs $110, and you need to apply at least 28 days before the show.
On the night
Anyone serving needs an RSA, and free water and food have to be available.
BYO
If you're not selling drinks, the hall's hire agreement sets the rules, so read it before telling people to bring their own.
City of Sydney asks hirers for $10 million of cover. Inner West asks for $20 million from any contractors you bring in.
One night
Local Community Insurance Services sells cover for a single event, priced by quote. City of Sydney also sells cover to people hiring its halls.
Membership
Musicians Australia membership costs $3.89 a week and includes public liability insurance. Check that it covers you as the organiser as well as a performer.
The 2024 changes that protect licensed venues from noise complaints only apply to licensed venues. In a hall, house or warehouse the usual council noise rules apply, so finish on time.
Send the show to the gig guides as soon as tickets are on sale.
Announce the show three or four weeks ahead and again in the final week. Ask every act on the bill to post about it and tag the venue and each other.
Record shops, cafes and bars will often put up posters. Putting posters on poles and street furniture can get you fined in the City of Sydney.
Gig guides, posters and listings
The Rizzeria
Marrickville
What
It's a volunteer-run risograph co-op. In an hour you can usually print 20 to 50 A3 posters in two colours.
Cost
Printing with a volunteer is $25 an hour, plus $10 for a master for each colour, 30c for each colour on each sheet, and 50c to $2 a sheet for paper. Most people spend $65 to $85.
How
Book online, and email [email protected] to check which inks and paper they have.
Most live music grants in NSW are for music businesses with an ABN and some experience running shows, so they're easier to get once you've done a few.
Where to look
Sound NSW: All-Ages Live Music Programming
NSW
What
It offers up to $100,000 for at least four all-ages events, planned with young people aged 12 to 24. Half the funding is set aside for Western Sydney and regional NSW.
Who
It's open to NSW music businesses with an ABN and experience running all-ages events. A first-time organiser can apply by teaming up with one.
When
Applications open 28 September and close 9 November 2026 at 2pm.