Music charity the Music Venue Trust has come out in defence of the live music business, after a new poll has claimed that the majority of the British public reckon gigs are either ‘expensive’ or ‘very expensive’. According to figures from YouGov, half of Britons agree they’ve been ‘priced out’ of live music events in recent years.
44% of those polled deemed the prices of live music events to be ‘very expensive’, while Three-quarters of those going to gigs regularly have paid more than £50 for a concert ticket, including 36% who spent more than £100 on a ticket and 9% who had paid £200 or more.
In a statement on its Facebook page, the Music Venue Trust said: “The UK public says less than £40 is a fair price for a live music ticket. The headline says people are being ‘priced out of attending’. There are literally hundreds of brilliant, live affirming, incredible shows happening every single day at local grassroots music venues.
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“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.
“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.
“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. Lets 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. 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.”
The recent introduction of ‘surge pricing’ in live music ticket sales has also come under fire. This practice has been taken up by some ticket retailers in a similar manner to taxi service Uber, in which prices increase or decrease according to real-time demand.
71% of those polled said that they were against the idea, with 52% saying that they ‘strongly opposed’ it. The likes of Ticketmaster, which is among those using the practice, have said that surge pricing helps support artists while deterring ticket touts.
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