A new survey has shown that 72% of grassroots artists did not make any profit from their most recent tour, and most are not making more money despite the logistical costs of playing and tickets going up.
The UK's Pirate.com operates a large network of rehearsal, DJ and recording studios across the country and polled 1,700 live acts and DJs to discover some worrying realities that threaten the sustainability of touring as a musician.
While rising ticket prices have made headlines for mainstream artists, the effect is being felt on the grassroots level too 86% of artists surveyed reported an increase in ticket prices when gigging, but only 17% had seen an increase in their gig fees. Inflation doesn't seem to be translating to better pay for artists.
We're mostly at a loss when we play
Papaya Noon
“Gig fees have varied so much for us, but the cost of rehearsing, paying musicians, and travelling has increased, so we're mostly at a loss when we play," Cardiff duo Papaya Noon told Pirate.com. "Musicians are being taken advantage of because we do it for the love of it, which is a shame.”
It's a lack of communication between artists on what they should be getting or negotiating towards as a fee that DJ Urma cites as as reason behind this situation.
“One of the biggest obstacles to a decent fee is that no one speaks about what they're paid and people don't know how to negotiate,” says the North Wales multi-genre DJ.
Despite this, the majority of musicians asked still believe playing live is vital to their success. Only 20% of artists who responded to the Pirate Studio poll said that they believed gigging and touring are less significant for promoting their music now.
The costs involved in playing live have risen across a variety of areas, with Pirate.com citing travel, accommodation, venue fees, crew wages, food, drink, and promotion among them.
Live performance is still very much a proving ground for talent and building fanbases, which makes the survey's findings all the more concerning if these trends discourage the next generation of musicians from playing live regularly. David Martin, CEO of the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC), recently summed up the issues facing gigging artists as a “cost-of-touring crisis".
If the cost-of-touring crisis isn’t addressed, we can expect to see a real impact on the industry at large
David Borrie, Pirate.com CEO
Pirate.com's findings back this up with 88% of touring musicians reporting rising costs, and none reporting a decrease. Even more sobering is that 72% of these artists are not making any profit from their tour: 48% said they break even, and 24% actually operate at a loss. And of those who reported losses, 81% reported a significant impact on their overall income.
Pirate.com CEO and co-founder David Borrie now fears for the future: “If the cost-of-touring crisis isn’t addressed, we can expect to see a real impact on the industry at large, where the most exciting new acts are forced to stay at home.”
Read the report at Pirate.com
