This article critically reviews the edited collection Music Cities: Evaluating a Global Cultural Policy Concept published in 2020 as well as two Australian policy documents. We review how the music city paradigm has influenced the latest music-related policies in the Australian context with a focus on Brisbane and Melbourne. Melbourne and Brisbane have developed contrasting approaches that came about to address the same issue: encroaching gentrification impacting the viability of live music venues. We also highlight that policies derived from the music city paradigm focus on the live music city and not on the city as a site of music production. Ultimately, this might not be the best approach to foster resilient music scenes, especially in a global pandemic context. Read the full article: https://doi.org/10.1080/09548963.2022.2062565