The UK’s stay music scene has by no means been in ruder well being, in accordance with a brand new report which places the financial worth of gigs at greater than £6billion for the primary time.
Trade physique Stay music Trade Venues & Leisure (Stay)’s annual report on the well being of the sector says a post-lockdown rush again to venues has pushed a 17 per cent year-on-year increase to Britain.
It is also 35 per cent larger than what Brits spent on gigs and excursions earlier than the pandemic in 2019 – pushed by enormous acts akin to Coldplay and Beyonce.
Taylor Swift’s earth-shattering Eras Tour suggests 2024’s figures can be even larger – with the impression of the 34-year-old Fortnight singer so huge economists imagine the exhibits stopped the UK’s fee of inflation from dropping beneath two per cent.
Jon Collins, the CEO of Stay, mentioned 2023 delivered ‘vital development’ for the trade, largely pushed by stadium exhibits and large festivals – however has warned there are challenges for the grassroots venues the place many massive acts get their first break.
Coldplay performed various UK stadium exhibits in 2023, serving to to drive the stay music trade’s contribution to the economic system to a report excessive (pictured at Glastonbury 2024)
Beyonce’s Renaissance tour took in Cardiff, Edinburgh and London final 12 months (file picture of the Texas Maintain ‘Em star)
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is anticipated to ship a equally explosive contribution to Britain’s economic system on this 12 months’s figures
He has referred to as for a VAT lower for gig tickets to assist smaller auditoriums and festivals deliver within the punters they should survive.
Mr Collins mentioned: ‘We had a few of the largest names in music promote out excursions and festivals throughout the UK, however we additionally noticed stress construct up throughout our trade, resulting in grassroots music venues and festivals left with no alternative however to shut down within the face of rising prices.
‘Reintroducing a decrease fee of VAT on tickets would deliver the UK into line with worldwide opponents and could be pivotal in unlocking the financial potential of our trade.
‘With a decrease fee of VAT on tickets, we might see the sector develop additional, supporting extra jobs, producing extra funding, and placing on extra gigs, festivals and excursions for folks to get pleasure from.’
Final 12 months noticed Coldplay full a UK stadium tour, whereas Beyonce’s Renaissance tour took in London, Cardiff and Edinburgh. Different bands on tour final 12 months included Arctic Monkeys, Purple Sizzling Chilli Peppers and Bruce Springsteen.
The report finds that central London delivered 28 per cent of the financial increase alone – with Manchester in second, adopted by Glasgow, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Cardiff in that order.
And whereas spending on gigs has exploded eleven-fold since 2020, there are challenges for festivals, that are but to exceed post-pandemic ranges of spending.
Unsurprisingly, a lot of the spending is pushed by pop, which delivered 1 / 4 of the increase to Britain’s coffers, intently trailed by rock, indie and digital music.
Stay says the trade helps 230,000 jobs – greater than the capability of Glastonbury – although the variety of safe, everlasting roles has fallen 5 per cent.
And whereas Brits are flocking again to concert events in enormous numbers, a handful nonetheless have some post-Covid anxieties – and a 3rd of viewers members additionally suppose their fellow concert-goers have forgotten the best way to behave after spending years in lockdown.
BBC Radio 6 Music DJ Steve Lamacq, who chairs stay music physique Stay, mentioned the increase had come at a really perfect time for stay music amidst a post-Covid disaster
Steve Lamacq, the BBC Radio 6 Music DJ and chair of Stay, mentioned the increase had come at a really perfect time for stay music, which had been dealing with a post-Covid disaster.
‘Final 12 months, we noticed a lot of the stay music sector conquer adversity; confronted with a spike in prices because of inflation, the cost-of-living disaster and labour shortages, followers had extra concert events and festivals than ever to get pleasure from,’ he mentioned.
‘Nonetheless, we can’t overlook that pressing motion is required to assist the numerous grassroots venues, artists, and festivals which continued to wrestle final 12 months.’
Projections for subsequent 12 months will already be optimistic, bolstered by Taylor Swift’s record-breaking Eras Tour – which performed eight dates at Wembley alone alongside exhibits in Edinburgh, Liverpool and Cardiff.
Knowledge from Barclays earlier this 12 months steered Swifties have been set to spend £1billion on the exhibits – a mean of £848 every – between tickets, journey, accomodation, merchandise and their Swift-themed outfits.
Economists imagine the 10-figure splurge was so substantial that it could have stopped the UK’s fee of inflation from dipping beneath two per cent.
Susannah Streeter, head of cash and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, instructed MailOnline in August: ‘The Taylor Swift impact additionally seems to have a slight hand in these figures, as the principle downwards stress on inflation was a fall in resort room prices from June, when she was on her UK tour.
‘Pop star Pink’s UK appearances additionally noticed spikes in costs in some cities in June.
‘It now appears extra unlikely that the surge-pricing impact will flip right into a recurrent inflationary stress, because it clearly will depend on the brightness of the celebs.’
And Oasis is responding to unprecedented demand for his or her reunion exhibits by including additional dates at Wembley – amid a livid row over the Uber-style dynamic pricing connected to the tickets that followers mentioned betrayed their working class roots.
Suppose tank CEBR predicts Oasis followers will ship a lift of virtually half a billion kilos to the economic system.
However consumers have been left shocked by normal tickets greater than doubling from £148 to £355 on Ticketmaster attributable to demand.
The Tradition Secretary has pledged to look into the usage of surge pricing in a forthcoming Authorities assessment of the secondary gig gross sales market.
