Support the Grassroots

Live Nation, the world’s largest live-entertainment company, just posted its 2023 figures, with total revenue of $22.7 billion (up 36% from 2022).

With multiple heavy hitters like Metallica playing stadiums again after the disrupted pandemic years, the touring industry seems to be back in good health.

81.3 million people in North America attended a Live Nation concert (up 16.6% from 2022) and 64.5 million attended internationally (up 25.4%). The company staged 33,629 concerts in North America and 16,430 internationally.

On the surface these figures paint a rosy picture, of audiences hungry for experience, with plenty of popular performers stepping up with record-breaking stadium shows.

But the reality on the ground, is that grassroots venues, a vital part of the musical ecosystem, are under serious threat from rising operating costs, the legacy of lockdowns, and noise complaints from property developers. 

The Music Venue Trust, a UK-based charity, found that 125 of these spaces closed or stopped hosting live music in the past year.

A survey of the remaining 835 members of the Music Venue Alliance (MVA), showed the venues staged more than 187,000 events in 2023, with close to 1.7 million individual artist performances across the board.

But despite making over £500 million in revenue, the venues themselves only made £2.5 million (or 0.5%) profit during the year.

We all know that an intimate club show can knock a stadium out of the park for vibe, intensity, and connection between the crowd and artist. It’s where many of us learn to perform, to hold a crowd, to build our audience.

But we risk these precious venues closing for good without our support.

I’m touring eight small venues in the UK this Autumn. I’ve been visiting some of them since I was a teenager. Losing them would be truly devastating. These are the places that really matter. (If you’re in the UK, please consider joining me for the evening.)

So far, governments have shown little appetite for imposing a ticket-levy on large-scale shows by companies like Live Nation, to help support the grassroots.

Art is often the first thing on the chopping block when budgets are cut. But it brings enormous value, not just to our lives, but our wider economy too. A night out at a gig means money for a taxi driver, a restaurant, a bar, a babysitter.

They also foster a sense of pride in our community. These are the events make life worth living.

So, consider how you can help your local venue. Buy tickets direct. Donate if you can. And write to your local representative asking them to do more in support of the grassroots. 

They need our help more than ever.  

Mary x

(Independent Artist of the Week: Mahesh Raghunandan is a singer-songwriter from Bangalore, India. He released his EP Accept in 2018, with a new EP coming very soon. Check out this beautiful live performance of his track ‘Realize’. Thanks for writing in Mahesh.)

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