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Nina Las Vegas has opened up on the harsh reality musicians face as a result of the Sydney lockout laws.

Speaking with GQ last week, the dance music connoisseur and former triple j host said it plain and simple: “You actually can’t make a living off music anymore.”

Nina – who finished up at the nationwide taste-making radio station last year to start her own record label – spoke truthfully on the heavy reality of the music industry as a result of Mike Baird’s collective punishment for Sydney siders that, over the past 2-years, has turned a global city into a ghost town.

She went on the describe how hard it is to make it in the music industry in this suffering city, saying “you have that big hit or that flukey lucky thing. And that’s so rare.”

“So many people in the band world get famous for great shows and great reviews and word of mouth. We’re so focused on numbers and statistics and likes and SoundCloud that the whole energy has changed. And the fact you can’t even shift that by saying ‘hey, let’s go watch them live’– it’s just stale.”

Nina – a veteran Sydney DJ who has seen the highs and the lows of this city – added that the spontaneity of Sydney nightlife has been quashed. “You can’t just rave and go with the flow anymore. You have to buy a ticket to a gig like, three weeks in advance.”

“You have to commit to one thing. It’s just so annoying. It’s affecting things so much that people who are turning eighteen or nineteen now don’t even know what they’re missing out on.”

Despite the heavy but honest reality check, she is hopeful for the future.“The big thing now is you have to spread the word… We have to get the word out to people who still think the lockout laws are a good idea. And you have to explain what’s wrong with it.”

Nina Las Vegas is celebrating her label’s first birthday tonight in Melbourne. Find out more here.

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Read up on Mike Baird’s proposed changes to the lockout law times here.