Is live music facing an unprecedented crisis? Discover the big challenges shaking the industry and what they mean for the future of concerts and events for artists big and small.
Live music crisis: Challenges facing the industry
Via Major Labs Artist Club
With headlines about an Oasis reunion, it would be easy to think that the only problem with live music is the exorbitant price of tickets. Unfortunately that’s not true.
On their first UK tour in 1994, Oasis played 34 Grassroots Music Venues (GMV), of which 23 (67%) are now closed. Grassroots music is in crisis and the future looks bleak unless we wake up to reality.
The harsh reality facing grassroots live music In its latest report, The Music Venue Trust has confirmed that an average of two GMVs will close every week in the UK in 2023. More than a third of the UK’s remaining grassroots live music venues are currently operating at a loss. Why should we care?GMV is an important part of the economy. The creative sector accounts for £115.9 billion, almost 6% of the UK economy. This is more than the aerospace, automotive, and life sciences industries combined. GMV contributes over £500m to the economy and employs around 30,000 people.
Music festival also canceled
This crisis extends beyond the venue. As of August 2024, 60 music festivals in the UK have been canceled, postponed or canceled for 2024. This number is expected to exceed 100 by the end of the year.
Live music profits soarMeanwhile, in stark contrast to the doom and gloom of grassroots music, the top end of the music industry is reporting a staggering 39% increase in revenue in 2023 compared to 2022. For those struggling to keep grassroots music venues afloat on 0.5% profits. Well, the Live Nation headline must be disgusting.
Live Nation, the world’s largest live entertainment company, reported a 21% increase in revenue to $3.8 billion and a 15% increase in operating profit to $367 million in the first quarter of 2024. did. Attendance increased 21% to 23 million fans. Venue food and beverage spend increased by 10% and sponsorship revenue increased by 24%.
If festivals and GMVs are shutting down, where will this growth come from? The answer is concert revenue, which is up 19% year-over-year, driven by massive tours by the likes of Taylor Swift. But is this growth sustainable?
live music participation
According to Mintel data, the average adult in the UK attends around 2.7 live music events a year, given that the average is not universal and is always skewed towards a small number of heavy buyers. It seems like there aren’t that many.
It’s clear whether Live Nation will continue to grow and protect its interests. The real challenge isn’t getting superfans to attend more shows, it’s actually getting the currently absent people who are off their couches to attend just one show.
Oasis’ reunion is just the show they needed. It speaks to dedicated live superfans and passive radio listeners alike. “Did you miss it from the beginning? Don’t worry, this is your chance to finally find out what all the fuss is about.” Oasis’ reunion will be a cultural moment, and a cultural moment will be shared by traditional fans This will be an opportunity to acquire new concert attendees.
However, the challenge is delivering these moments over and over again, and the pipeline is drying up. Unless The Smiths and Stone Roses are tempted to return to the stage, not many will remain excited about the prospect of seeing festival regulars Kasabian and Foo Fighters again and again.
The music industry is chasing a rapid cash cow
The music industry has changed over the past 30 years, with the shift from physical sales to digital streaming dramatically eroding the industry’s profits. Rather than sowing seeds for the future, they chose to double down on their existing cash cows and turn a quick profit.
The average age of Grammy winners over the past 30 years is 39.9 years old (Billboard) The average age of Glastonbury headliners in 2024 was approximately 38 years old
GMV, which gave Oasis a chance in 1994, has closed, but where will the next superstar come from? The desire for live experiences has received a welcome boost post-COVID-19, but it’s certainly only a matter of time before the economic realities of the continuing cost-of-living crisis catch up with us. When audiences finally start turning away from expensive Oasis tickets, where exactly are we left?
Coldplay supports Music Venue Trust
Established bands and artists can follow Coldplay’s example and do their part. The band recently put up a poster in the window of Dublin Castle, where the first-ever Coldplay show took place in 1998, announcing that the band had decided to donate 10% of the show’s profits to the Music Venue Trust. Announced.
Coldplay announces support for The Live Music Trust
This isn’t the first time Coldplay have remembered their roots, as the legendary GMV The Bull & Gate closed, they took the time to recognize the role the venue played on their path to the top. Ta.
“In January 1999, promoter Simon Williams and the great folks at The Bull let us perform five songs in 20 minutes. It got us our first NME review and made our lives… Forever changed. Long live the bull. We will always be grateful.” (Coldplay)
But that burden shouldn’t fall solely on artists.
Response from Live Nation
In 2017, Live Nation-owned TicketWeb partnered with the Music Venue Trust to launch grassrootsvenue.tickets, a website and service for fans to find tickets to GMV in the UK. That site is no longer active.
In 2023, Ticketmaster (also owned by Live Nation) allowed fans to donate to the Music Venue Trust when purchasing tickets. All donations will be matched by Ticketmaster. It’s unclear what impact this has had, but both efforts seem to have faded, with the initial burden of responsibility being placed on fans rather than Live Nation.
The Music Venue Trust is proposing that every ticket sold to an arena or stadium show should include a levy to contribute to supporting GMV. It’s time for Ticketmaster to get serious and start giving away a portion of its mysterious “ticket fees” to support GMV and independent festivals.
Looking at football, the Premier League has committed £1.6 billion to support the wider game and community over the 2022/23 to 2024/25 rights cycle. This includes £400m for projects such as facility development and community programmes.
It’s time for the top of the musical pyramid to support the bottom. After all, increasing the pipeline of new music stars is in their long-term interest.
Main sources:
music venue trust
live nation
Learn more about Major Labl Artist Club
Words Mark Knight, Major Labl Artist Club
Alana Bonilla on 10/09/2024 in Live & Tour | Permalink | Comments (0)
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