Over the next hundred years came the innovations : the pianola ; the phonograph ; radio ; television . By the 1970s , screens had appeared in living rooms , bedrooms and even kitchens . Accompanying the rise of TV , a devastatingly effective marketing tool , was the rise of that mainstay of the staying-in economy , supermarket distribution . Accelerated by changes both sociological ( such as the suburban dream and women ’ s employment ) and technological ( telephones and refrigerators ), the desire and the capability to entertain at home at scale – affordably – crystalised .
It ’ s at this point , the ’ 70s , that I believe a balance of sort was struck between the two competing economies – the at-home economy , and the out economy . Perhaps it was the best of both worlds – reasonable choice at home , and an out economy able to differentiate its product as a heightened experience .
In NSW , it was the halcyon era of the live music scene . Genuinely , nothing could beat live ; mainly because , at this point , there was nothing to beat live . The out economy was able to offer the Big Night Out – with , all too often , feats of intoxication that today are rightly questioned by new-generation revelers on the basis of health , cost and social responsibility .
Let ’ s jump forward to about 2000 . The digital age . The era of the Internet , of devices . The adoption of technology by the out economy caused at least two , possibly three , major shifts over two decades . The first was Google and search – the ability to discover what is on well in advance of the experience . The second major enhancement to going out was Uber – guaranteed transport to point of consumption and back home again . And if there was a third major enhancement , it would probably be the use of devices in-venue . For all the hype about the potential of AR and VR , the main usage really has been in the rise of digital payment systems and simple interfacing , like order-at-table functionality .
If devices revolutionised the out economy , then the same opportunity was embraced with both thumbs up on the home front , with a proliferation of online streaming services and a vast array of products available via home delivery platforms . COVID-19 even gave us the going-out experience at home via the online ordering of cocktails and restaurant meals .
We could characterise the period from parlour music up to the digital age as an era of market competition between the athome entertainment economy and goingout economy . But what of the current challenges facing live music – venue closures , and climate impact on outdoor events ? These are not NSW-specific challenges . For example , according to the Night Time Industries Association in the UK , 31 % of the UK ’ s nightclubs , amounting to more than 1,000 venues , have been forced to close since 2020 .
Is it possible that we have moved from an era of healthy competition to a critical point of existential threat for the goingout economy ? What if the experience during the pandemic were not so much an aberration as a foretaste ?
Markets typically respond to competition with approaches such as competitorproduct differentiation , pricing strategies and rebranding . When the threat to a market becomes existential , two things happen : innovation , and government intervention . This is where the NSW Office of the 24-Hour Economy Commissioner comes in .
THE NIGHT-TIME ECONOMY AND THE POWER OF PLACE There ’ s no doubt that night-time activity provides significant benefits for local economies and the social life of our towns and cities . In the 2023 calendar year , the night-time economy generated $ 34.6 billion in sales turnover across NSW , with $ 18.8b through in-person consumption . 1 There were 48,000 core night-time economy businesses recorded across NSW 2 , and this has continued to increase , with Western Sydney reporting the fastest growth . The sector employed more than 170,000 people in Greater Sydney 3 alone in the same period , recovering strongly from the pandemic .
Night-time economies offer a diverse range of leisure activities , cultural events and urban amenity for residents , night-shift workers and visitors . These can enhance the sense of community and social cohesion of a place , giving people a sense of belonging and pride in the places they live , and promoting cultural exchange and creativity within communities .
In a post-pandemic world , we have already seen many changes in the ways people interact with our cities and an acceleration in the growth of precincts outside of the Sydney CBD . The decentralisation of the night-time economy reflects the desire for local options , and the need for vibrant local precincts . This is evidenced within Greater Sydney in Blacktown and Canterbury Bankstown ’ s 39 % 4 and 23 % 5 respective growth in number of NTE businesses .
We recognise that each place is shaped and influenced by its physical , social and cultural characteristics , which create their own different narratives and their own appeal , and thus success .
FIRST NATIONS STORYTELLING Underpinning the going-out economy is the need for human connection , accessible via communities and centred on place . And we cannot begin to acknowledge the connection of community without acknowledging the history and stories of our Aboriginal and Indigenous community , who have been sharing stories for more than 60,000 years on this land .
We acknowledge that as a government , we need to do more to elevate our First Nations communities in the storytelling of our places . With appropriate consultation , it is something I am pushing forward within the 24-hour economy .
Engaging respectfully with First Nations stories will have several benefits . It will deepen the audience ’ s appreciation of Australian culture , foster greater respect for First Nations knowledge , and help Indigenous audiences feel welcome to attend spaces where they previously might have felt unwelcomed .
DISTRICT ACCELERATION We know that businesses , and people , are stronger when we come together rather than competing with one another . We saw this with the establishment of YCK Laneways in Sydney , when a plethora of small bars in the CBD joined forces to tell a consistent story about their district for the mutual benefit of their enterprises .
With this in mind , the Office of the 24- Hour Economy Commissioner launched the Uptown District Acceleration Program , an initiative which brings together neighbouring businesses to work on building their vision for their districts .
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT JOURNAL VOL 17 NO 2 2024 05