As Tone Deaf reported last week, all three Hi-Fi venues have entered administration. While it was unclear what precipitated the takeover, an official statement from venue owners has now revealed that the venues were placed under administration following a dispute with a major creditor.

Furthermore, administrator Simon Nelson of Romanis Cant accounting group has told Fairfax that the venues are currently for sale and that if no one steps up to buy them, they will be shut down. Nelson said that while he cannot guarantee a sale, he is “highly confident” a new owner will be found.

“All three venues will continue to trade under my control with the support of key employees, industry stakeholders, landlords and other stakeholders,” Nelson told Fairfax. “We expect to achieve a sale of the business as a going concern in the next four weeks… If not, it will be closed down.”

Meanwhile, the Herald Sun reports that earlier this week the owner of the Brisbane Hi-Fi establishment changed its locks, preventing Hi-Fi staff from getting inside. It’s reportedly understood there had been a dispute over rent payments.

The Hi-Fi Bar chain is owned by former Carlton Blues footballer Luke O’Sullivan, who first opened the Melbourne outlet in 1997. The venue currently has numerous upcoming gigs scheduled, apparently booked through to July, including tours from Mobb Deep, Parquet Courts, and A$AP Ferg.

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After a dispute with a creditor could not be resolved, “the creditor as a result put the business into voluntary administration,” the Hi-Fi group said in a statement last week, via Fairfax. “However, it’s business as usual in all three venues.”

The statement echoes sentiments expressed to Tone Deaf last week when we contacted a Hi-Fi source. Whether or not things will remain “business as usual” for the three East Coast venues remains to be seen, however, a potential closure of the chain seems to be status quo for the Aussie music scene of late.

As Smart Company reports, in 2013, Live Performance Australia’s annual report found revenue for live performance venues was down 8 percent during 2012, as lukewarm economic conditions resulted in less discretionary spending by consumers. Meanwhile, Australian live entertainment industry revenues dropped one million dollars from 2011 to 2012.

Ticket sales for the same period also dropped by 6.2 percent, however, according to LPA’s 2013 annual report, revenue for the sector jumped back to $1.478 billion, an increase of 22.7 percent from the year before, with ticket sales jumping by 10.2 percent off the back of improved consumer confidence.

The first meeting of Hi-Fi Bar creditors will reportedly be held in Melbourne on 24th February. If the venues do indeed close down, they will join a raft of Australian venues that have seen closure in recent months, including Melbourne’s Palace Theatre, which is in the middle of an ongoing battle between developers and activists.