The particular benefits that individuals and the community receive from live music making in Australia are not unique. Viewed in isolation, they may not even be that efficient. For example, people might equally improve their social capital by going to church; and, as a ‘luxury’ purchase, the relative inelasticity ticket prices might be seen as justification for increasing the tax revenue gained from such events. Perhaps then users (and potentially non-users) are valuing the ability of live music to originally combine and distribute these otherwise discrete contributions to welfare.

Well controlled WTP studies suggest that the easier it is to replace a benefit, the less people are willing to pay for its preservation. In this case, there are a number of competing leisure alternatives in Australia. Although a comparative WTP study with these options has not been performed here, the fact that the community of users are theoretically willing to defend live music making to the extent described is an original and significant finding.