The Standard to become a bowling alley

Celebrated Taylor Square live music venue The Standard will be converted to a bowling alley, it has been announced. The rebranding follows weeks of speculation about the venue’s future after at least one promoter was dumped from the schedule.

“We are changing, in essence, from a typical live music bar to a bar with music in it,” said the Standard’s music and entertainment director Matt Rule.

“The concept has been adapted from the famous Brooklyn Bowl in New York.”

The alley will contain four laneways and will be free for all punters to enjoy. The new direction includes live music but it won’t feature as the main attraction.

“We will strive to always be playing the best of the upcoming music scene as heard on FBi and Triple J, but it won’t be all about the band,” Mr Rule said. He declined to comment on the reasons for the Standard’s shift in direction, or about the struggles faced by live music venues more generally.

Questions were raised in January about possible changes at the Standard. Gallery Burlesque, which had performed at the venue for a year and a half, was told it needed to find a new home.

“I’m not supposed to talk about it but hey what can you do…not sure about the future of the venue,” burlesque promoter Onur Karaozbek wrote back in January.

With the new lockouts and liquor laws strongly impacting the city’s nightlife, some wonder whether more of Sydney’s music venues will have to resort to their own gimmick to survive.

Live music campaigner John Wardle, a key player in the City of Sydney’s Live Music Taskforce, said late-night trading is important for live music venues because it compensates for reduced alcohol consumption during peak show times. It also allows artists and patrons to mingle after the performance.