Audiences at grassroots venues still below pandemic levels
A new report suggests Britain’s live music industry is struggling to return to pre-pandemic levels. According to new research, the number of gigs at UK grassroots music venues was 16.7% lower than in 2019, despite Covid restrictions being lifted.
The Music Venues Trust (MVT) has also said that audience numbers were at 89% of their 2019 level. That’s around 22million. While the UK’s grassroots circuit contributed a whopping £500 million to the economy, venues themselves made an average profit of just 0.2%
However, according to the MVT’s figures, most live music events actually made a loss, even with the average ticket price rising by 24% from £8.74 in 2019 to £10.90. In most cases, food and drink sales helped balance the books.
The MVT’s annual report concludes that, in 2022, small music venues made an average profit of £1,297. It seems that inflation, changing consumer behaviour, and soaring bill costs have all had a significant impact on the health of the UK’s grassroots scene.
Dark Davyd, Chief executive of Music Venues Trust, said that many venue owners are in a “precarious financial position” and that “the current economics no longer stack up”. The charity is now calling on the government to offer assistance to the live music sector, asking that VAT on ticket sales be reduced from 20% to 5%, or otherwise removed entirely.
The trust is also calling on arena venues to invest a percentage of their revenue into the grassroots sector to help the next generation of music artists. “We cannot go on building more and more arenas with no plan of how to fill the stages they create in five, 10 or 20 years’ time,” Davyd told the BBC.
Ricky Bates, manager of Southampton’s Joiners venue, agrees, describing small venues are an essential stepping stone for emerging artists. “Nobody starts a band and walks out on stage at the Hammersmith Apollo. It takes years in some cases,” he said. “Biffy Clyro, for example, toured for eight or 10 years before they signed to a major label and now they’re a stadium band.”
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