Hull City Council’s Post

🎫 A Ticket to the Future: Securing Bristol’s Music Legacy The newly-released A Ticket to the Future report outlines a bold vision to create Bristol's first Music Fund—an initiative designed to invest in the city’s iconic music sector. At its heart is an innovative 1% ticket fee on music events, paid at the point of sale, to support grassroots venues, artists, and promoters. A recent survey found overwhelming public support: 93% of respondents are happy to pay the fee, with 96% saying it would have "no effect" or even make them "more likely to buy a ticket," knowing the proceeds benefit Bristol’s music scene. Rooted in community power, the fund has the potential to generate £400k to £1m annually—providing crucial support at a pivotal time. This report also comes as Motion, one of the UK’s top music venues, faces lease renewal challenges in 2025, further highlighting the urgent need for sustainable solutions to protect Bristol's cultural ecosystem. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eqgDgkCu #BristolMusic #GrassrootsVenues #MusicInnovation #CulturalSustainability #BristolNights #MusicFunding Bristol Nights

The UK's nightlife is on its knees: We're losing 10 venues every single month, with over a third of clubs already gone since 2020. At this rate, our club culture could vanish by 2029. But there's hope - here's why supporting independent music matters more than ever... Small independent labels play a crucial role in cultivating the music industry from the ground up. They often serve as the first platform for emerging artists, providing them the initial exposure they need before moving on to bigger opportunities. At Primitive UK, we take pride in offering this platform to deserving emerging artists, giving them recognition that enables them to achieve greater success. While on the surface, the UK music scene appears healthy with 35% growth pre-pandemic, these figures mask a more complex reality. The sector's recent growth was primarily driven by concert revenues, which rose 19% year on year. However, these numbers are dominated by major stadium tours from artists like Beyoncé and Coldplay, which accounted for almost three-quarters of the total £6.1bn made last year by corporate entities like Live Nation. This concentration of money among a select few doesn’t represent the grassroots scene and marginalises the challenges faced by the broader music ecosystem. A thriving music scene needs to grow organically, yet the attention seems to focus on the top 1% of artists. This overlooks the closure of 10 nightclubs a month across the UK and the decline of nightlife culture. The success of mega-tours shouldn't distract from the vital role that underground venues and independent labels play in nurturing new talent. The best way to sustain a vibrant music scene is through support of small labels and events. This can be as simple as sharing posts of artists you like, discussing new music with friends or just going out and seeing a new band. By fostering a culture of sharing music and supporting independent artists, we create an environment where the entire scene can flourish. SUPPORT SMALL LABELS.

What is Happening to Glastonbury? This week, most of my conversations have revolved around the historic Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm. Founded by Sir Michael Eavis, the festival has grown into an internationally acclaimed event since its inception in 1970. Now welcoming 200,000 people each year, music lovers from all over the world travel to experience the festival's unique atmosphere. Despite the high demand for tickets, which far exceeds supply, this year I have sensed a shift in enthusiasm due to what many perceive as a lacklustre lineup. The Pyramid Stage in 2024 featured headliners SZA, Coldplay, and Dua Lipa. SZA, whose music gained popularity through TikTok, might seem an unusual choice for such a prestigious festival, suggesting Glastonbury is veering towards mainstream appeal. Coldplay, headlining for the fifth time, delivered a performance that lacked lasting impact despite playing back-to-back hits. Dua Lipa, a constant presence in the charts, also represented a shift away from the festival's previous headliners in 2023: Arctic Monkeys, Sir Elton John, and Guns N' Roses, setting a troubling precedent. Is this lineup a true reflection of today's music industry? If so, how could it change so drastically in just a year? Was Sir Elton John in 2023 a nod to a golden era of music that can’t be replicated or revived? Or is this the dawn of a new era with artists such as Fontaines D.C, and Olivia Dean who performed but perhaps should have been given more prominence?  Financial concerns are unlikely to be the influence of these choices. The festival sells out yearly, driven by its legendary status rather than the headliners. The motivation to feature more commercial mainstream artists might be separate. Additionally, the shift in responsibility from Michael Eavis to his daughter Emily, who is taking on more control over the festival due to Sir Michael’s growing age, might also be influencing these changes. Should I embrace these changes and let go of the past? Or should the music industry uphold certain standards for headliners? The future of Glastonbury might lie in finding a balance between honouring its roots and evolving with the times. While the lineup might not be as strong as in previous years, Glastonbury's environment remains unmatched. The festival's multitude of secret sets, intimate stages, and its loving atmosphere contribute to its legendary status, which is hard to diminish, even with a weaker lineup.

You don’t need me to tell you that the country’s night time economy - that’s pubs, clubs and restaurants – is struggling. Inflation, operating costs and lack of late night transport are just some of the issues impacting the age old tradition of a night on the town. One of the areas of the industry that has been hardest hit is grassroots music venues, which face being squeezed out by bigger arenas. This can also impact the emerging artists looking for somewhere to start out. Decision makers in Glasgow have taken steps to inject some much-needed cash into Glasgow’s music scene. City councillors have approved a £1 levy on tickets for large-scale concerts and events. This will be added to ticket prices for concerts and events held at large venues in the city like the OVO Hydro, Hampden Park, and the SEC Armadillo, which frequently host internationally renowned artists and attract millions of visitors annually. Proceeds from the surcharge will be funnelled into a dedicated fund aimed at supporting smaller, independent music venues, many of which are vital for nurturing emerging talent but struggle under rising operational costs. The local councillors behind the proposal argue that the policy will redistribute a small fraction of the revenue from Glasgow’s thriving mega-gig scene to smaller venues, which play a critical role in the city’s cultural identity. The levy is expected to provide a financial lifeline to allow venues to invest in infrastructure, sound equipment, and promotions while maintaining affordable prices for audiences. This support comes at a critical time, with a number of grassroots music spaces across the UK forced to shut down in recent years. While the £1 levy might sound modest, it has sparked some debate. Critics have raised concerns about whether concertgoers will be deterred by increased ticket prices. Others argue that large venues and promoters may try to shift additional costs onto consumers beyond the levy itself. In my opinion, the charge is relatively minor compared to the overall cost of attending a concert, which can include steep ticket prices. Tickets for major acts can range from £60–£150, and that’s for the cheap seats! VIP packages can cost substantially more. Therefore, a wee £1 fee is unlikely to significantly impact demand. It’s a balancing act which I think the local leaders responsible for this decision have shown they understand. Mega-gigs bring in millions of pounds each year through tourism, and hospitality. By reinvesting a small portion of these proceeds into grassroots venues, the council aims to sustain a pipeline of homegrown talent while safeguarding the diversity of its music scene. The reaction from the music industry has been largely positive. Promoters, venue owners, and artists have welcomed the initiative as a progressive step towards maintaining a local and sustainable music ecosystem. Link for the full column in the comments  

Leeds has lost another music venue. Old Red Bus Station, a temple for the 160 bpm end of things, closed this month, a significant casualty for the city's culture & nightlife. I chatted with Old Red's Alex Wilson to understand what happened to the club, and why this keeps happening, in Leeds and across the country. It's sobering reading, especially during Independent Venue Week, but it's a familiar story, and important to understand how worrying the situation is: https://lnkd.in/eUcr4Qni Alex attests to the many massive factors affecting venue closures – macro-economic trends, changing audience needs – but there are still specific questions for the industry to ask: 🪩 Is there an issue with how clubs are regarded? Do they fit into what we call 'the arts' and if not, how do we include them in this definition? 📉 If people are going out less, how can the industry adapt? How do we get balance between the corporate and grassroots levels, to protect the talent pipeline that everyone depends on? 🤝 What policies can local government realistically implement to help clubs & venues, acknowledging the unique ways they differ from other cultural spaces, whilst being just as culturally valuable? Independent venues don't close because of mismanagement, or failed city councils, but there's a mix of things that need to be unpacked and properly planned against soon... or else, as Alex says: "there’ll be no talent, there’ll be no pipeline, there’ll be no future.”

Grassroots music venues are extremely important, not just for the development of future talent, but for the cultures that don't produce popular music artists. Friends in the folk music community have been reaching out recently to our fellows to pre-buy tickets to gigs because venues cannot put events on without knowing capacities. It is hard for Grassroots Venues to know if their night is going to be profitable if there is no previous information on the artists, for example, a sell out stadium tour or a multi-albim record deal. Grassroots music, as an artist, is about finding your feet and what works well with your music. It's about finding your audience, and ultimately making money doing the thing you love doing above all else. Often grassroots artists have a full time job because playing at your local venue doesn't pay as well as becoming a high paid, record producing artist, who becomes a household name. Grassroots venues are smaller, their in towns and villages, and they bring in genres of music that don't permiate into the collective psyche. They bring together religions, cultures, beliefs and emotions from all walks of life. Without them some of your household names wouldn't exist. This report shows how many of these important venues are closing because we are not supporting them. There's something to be said about large music venue atmospheres, because it brings a vibe that everyone is a part of. But those intimate concert/gig venues bring about community feelings and emotions that to an artist can't be replicated in a larger venue. I believe in grassroots venues and I just want to know if you all do too? https://lnkd.in/enA9wr7R

GOOD HEDONISM -- Live music venues, clubs and bars feed creativity and drive social change. But they’re increasingly in danger, and the global hollowing-out of nightlife has the power to radically change culture. Last year, 125 grassroots music venues closed permanently and 1,293 pubs shut their doors across Britain. According to the Night Time Industries Association, more than 3,000 pubs, clubs and venues have closed down in London alone since the pandemic began in March 2020. With numbers like that, it’s worth asking: If we lose nightlife, what else do we lose? • The damage is naturally economic, but “social and cultural,” too. Nightlife “brings people together and remains an insistently communal experience,” even as society becomes more atomized, and is an outlet for collective movements. • Gigs and clubs require us to be together – as friends, but also with those we don’t know. Luis Manuel Garcia-Mispireta, an academic who researches dance-music scenes, calls this “stranger-intimacy”. • "Hedonism can lead to trouble of the negative kind, but it can also lead to trouble that changes the world." • After dark, revelations and revolutions happen. Marginalised communities have found freedom in nightlife, and gone on to push that freedom into the daylight. People who were at the Stonewall riots say that their protest emerged from an insistence on the right to dance freely. Want to dig into this more? 📖 'Life After Dark: A History of British Nightclubs and Music Venues' by Dave Haslam 📖 'Together, Somehow: Music, Affect, and Intimacy on the Dancefloor' by Luis Manuel Garcia-Mispireta 📖 'Gay Bar: Why We Went Out' by Jeremy Atherton Lin

A few months ago, we discussed the future of music festivals being more small and mid-sized rather than large scale mega festivals. As festival season begins, it seems like the trends are showing a few factors. 1) Fans are being priced out due to increased ticket prices and travel costs. 2) They are also getting fatigued from festivals pushing to go 4-5 days even in some cases, and being split up between multiple festivals with very similar lineups. 3) Additionally, potential headliners are limited and opting to do their own headline tours and shows. Whatever the cause, the small/niche events that appeal to very specific audiences are seeming like the move for the future. I hope that my ideas and events can one day be the blueprint for success in the industry. #musicindustry #musicbusiness #musicfestivals #coachella https://lnkd.in/giiPcHaC