Pubs and other venues would be able to host acoustic music and other forms of "low impact" entertainment without the need for government approval, under a plan being pushed by a Labor MP.

The proposal, which is under consideration as formal Labor policy, would be aimed at encouraging Sydney's live music scene, which has suffered under the city's lock-out laws and amid the financial difficulties of some pubs.

Similar measures were introduced in South Australia this year, when that state's government provided that low impact entertainment was exempt from development controls.

"We need to save Sydney's music scene before it's too late," said John Graham, a former ALP official who was selected last year to sit in the NSW upper house.