Music Venue Trust responds to YouGov statement

In a new YouGov survey the UK public says less than £40 is a fair price for a live music ticket. The headline also says that people are being ‘priced out of attending’ live music events.

If people don’t go to grassroots concerts this is what happens – Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar – GONE! (pic Nick Linazasoro)

There are literally hundreds of brilliant, live affirming, incredible shows happening every single day at local grassroots music venues. The average price of admission is £10.90 a ticket, but there’s almost certainly one near you this week for less than a tenner. They are performed by fantastically talented musicians, just as good as any you’ll see on a huge stage. There won’t be flying pianos or cartwheeling robots, but these days there will be great sound and lighting, delivered by professional technicians. Bar prices are affordable, the staff are welcoming, and the audience in them wants you there as part of the community. And no, Harry Styles isn’t playing, but you know who is? Somebody who deserves an audience just as much, who has written as many songs, is just as passionate about the music they are making, who has something to perform for you that you might fall in love with.

The Richmond Music Venue another casualty – GONE! (pic Nick Linazasoro)

This survey says an incredibly depressing number of people didn’t attend a live music show in 2022. About a fifth of people apparently didn’t go because they thought they couldn’t afford it. So there’s something seriously wrong there, because it’s literally the cheapest, easiest, most accessible cultural experience there is.

These grassroots venues are open for business and offer reasonably priced concert tickets – Concorde 2, Green Door Store, Komedia, Latest Music Bar (pics Nick Linazasoro)

Let’s make sure every parent knows that. Let’s get every school teaching their pupils that. Let’s get out into our communities and make sure that every single person in them knows they have access to live music. Let’s ensure our local and national press are reflecting that. Let’s see the incredible music from these fantastic spaces on our TV, talked about on our radio, part of the national discussion of who we are and what we do.

These grassroots venues are open for business and offer reasonably priced concert tickets – Patterns, Prince Albert, The Brunswick, The Hope & Ruin (pics Nick Linazasoro)

Let’s find the one third of the public who didn’t attend a show in 2022 and make sure they know what they are missing out on. 14% of people regularly attended a gig in 2022. Let’s double that. Let’s make 2023 the best year of live music ever.