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Over seven years, Mary\u2019s Underground has sold more than 150,000 tickets to 1000 shows, staged by 3000 artists, all in its famed Circular Quay basement. But on Friday, the team behind the popular live music venue announced that it would close due to financial reasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeven years ago we signed a lease on 7 Macquarie Place, more famously known as \u2018The Basement\u2019,\u201d the statement on Mary\u2019s website reads<\/a>. \u201cWe had big plans.\u201d<\/p>\n The vision was to have a burger joint with free live jazz downstairs. Over the years it has hosted musical heavyweights including B. B. King and Prince.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will come as no surprise that this is ultimately due to financial reasons and the many headwinds the live music industry currently faces, especially for venues under 500 capacity,\u201d the statement continues. \u201cDeclining bar sales, coupled with increasing costs and sky-high Sydney land values does not make a recipe for success.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n But the demise of a Sydney live music institution in the CBD might not solely signal a grim future for the city\u2019s nightlife. For Joe Hardy, the co-founder of non-profit gig guide SydneyMusic.net<\/a>, the closure of Mary\u2019s reflects how revellers\u2019 behaviours \u2013 and where they want to access nightlife \u2013 have changed.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a challenging location \u2026 because there\u2019s not a lot happening in that area that really sort of gels with what they\u2019re about,\u201d said Hardy, referring to Mary\u2019s punk and heavy metal scene.<\/p>\n \u201cHistorically speaking, the entire stretch from the Opera House through to City Recital Hall should have heaps of supporting infrastructure, just around the sorts of things that live music-goers would love to be attending.\u201d<\/p>\n Hardy said Sydney\u2019s CBD had shifted to primarily servicing office workers and had lost grungier venues \u2013 particularly after the closure of Swillhouse\u2019s Frankie\u2019s Pizza<\/a> \u2013 which have moved towards other precincts in the city and inner-west.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cDoesn\u2019t feel like it\u2019s as multifaceted as it used to be, but a place like Mary\u2019s \u2013 the rich history of The Basement was just incredible, and it\u2019s clear that there used to be a lot of demand for that in the area. It just feels like the location has changed a lot.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t really have a venue that just exists in a vacuum. You want it to be surrounded by spaces that people want to hang out in, and it\u2019s not necessarily just about spending. You want environments that feel like there is something before and after the show that can be part of your night out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Minister for Music and the Night-time Economy John Graham said Mary\u2019s provided some of the best live music experiences in Australia.<\/p>\n \u201cThis closure demonstrates the intense cost pressures on live music venues in NSW, which is why the government is so focused on cutting red tape and boosting our nightlife precincts,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n