The alternatives to live music
Over the past 10 months, there have been various efforts by bands and companies in the UK to provide some form of live music while it is not able to take place in the usual sense. Over the summer, a series of large scale outdoor events were held in Newcastle, and now when the winter months started, seated ‘socially distanced of course’ indoor gigs are increasingly being held. A large number of online events have also taken place, from festival-style streams with multiple artists over multiple days, to paid online gigs filmed inside empty venues. I actually began writing this post I believe in October, however since then we have had two national lockdowns and the situation has grown increasingly more worrying. As a result of this, I will discuss the future of live music for 2021, instead of just the efforts made to replicate gigs in 2020.
Originally I was quite critical about the series of outdoor gigs that took place earlier this year, and I still am for the most part. However now I actually think that if an artist I really liked had been playing, it was no more than an hour or so away from me, and the tickets weren’t extortionate, I probably would be inclined to go. Despite my slight change in attitude now, mostly due to the fact that it seems ‘normal’ live music is further away than most originally imagined, there are definitely still a lot of issues with the concept, with many running into problems before they could even be held. For example with the ‘Utilitia live from the drive-in’ gigs being nation-wide, they ended up all being cancelled due to uncertainty over regional lockdowns. Progressing much further, were the events at the purpose-built Virgin Money Unity Arena in Newcastle (Although the last few shows planned were also cancelled due to North East lockdown in September). Probably the biggest issue I could see with these shows was the price. Unfortunately since they’ve been and gone now, I can’t see the exact prices but I remember looking at the time and tickets were around £50-60 for Two Door Cinema Club. I do completely get why they have to charge more, the arena has a capacity of 2,500, which is 500 viewing platforms, so considerably less than a usual arena would, but has the same stage/screen/lighting setups, so a similar cost to put on the event. I’m actually a bit shocked at how so many of the shows sold out as personally, I wouldn’t pay the same price/more for a socially distanced gig as the atmosphere would be completely off. Yes, it’s great to know that I won’t get beer (or piss) chucked all over me, or flung into some sweaty man’s back, but if the alternative is being sat at an enclosed square with a couple of other people, I know I’d choose the former. Another thing that surprised me was the set times. Although I can’t find out whether this was the case for every act (I’d imagine it was), for the Two Door Cinema Club show they only played for an hour. Again, when paying arena prices, you’d expect an arena length set of around 90 minutes. Of course there were positives to these events, you could take your own drinks, and it was good for people who aren’t fond of crowds, however I would argue that the issues raised by holding large-scale events in such an uncertain climate outweigh the positives. I think there’s a strong possibility these events may return this summer, with COVID rules most likely relaxed somewhat and it being almost certain that normal festivals will be cancelled.
Indoor socially distanced events have also taken place since August last year, although obviously are not permitted now. The first event of this kind was a government-backed Frank Turner gig to trial indoor safety measures and was unfortunately deemed unsuccessful. The gig, held at London’s Clapham grand, had a 200 capacity compared to its usual 1250. Naturally the biggest, and the most unavoidable issue with this is cost, the venues operating cost wasn’t covered through bar and ticket sales, let alone the usual cost of the performers themselves (Turner was playing for free in this instance). Despite the failures of this event in many ways, it hasn’t stopped socially distanced gigs from taking place indoors, including Salem and WARGASM’s first ever headline shows. The latter took place at London’s New Cross Inn in December, with the gig receiving a lot of backlash on social media due to the angles of the image making tables look closer together, and the rapidly rising COVID cases in London at the time (the band live in London so did not travel out of the area for the gig, but the same cannot be said for all attendees).
It could be said that with the multitude of issues arising from indoor covid-compliant gigs, they are (for now anyway), more trouble than they’re worth. It has been said that only ⅓ of venues are able to operate socially distanced anyway, with many facing risk of bankruptcy if they were to open; table service equates to more staff being needed, it's difficult to make profit, and a venue being open means the end of furlough for their staff, and lack of job security.
Probably the most effective way for bands to raise money for both themselves and various charities during the past year has been online streams. During the first lockdown, I watched a few ‘festival-style’ streams with multiple artists playing over a couple of days, my favourite of these was five4five fest in May which raised money for the NHS (it was free to watch however). There was also merchandise for purchase, and a raffle with exclusive items from the bands playing. Five4five fest returned in december with another stream, this time with donations going towards the Music Venue Trust’s ‘#SaveOurVenues’ campaign. As well as these events, bands have organised their own live streamed ticketed shows, often in empty venues to recreate similar lighting and stage set-ups to normal shows. The Architects Royal Albert Hall in October is a great example of this, and received universal praise from those who watched. Personally, I saw Boston Manor’s live stream from the Blackpool Empress Ballroom in October and it was great to hear the songs from their most recent album ‘live’ for the first time, and it was also the first time the band had played properly in their home town.
Obviously another issue with these streams is the cost, bands want to play somewhere special so have to pay for a venue, and fans have to buy a ticket. I don’t have an issue with this as if I like a band I will happily pay for a ticket to support them, just as I would to an in-person gig, however I’m sure there are lots of people who would buy normal gig tickets but wouldn’t pay for an online show. I mentioned the criticism WARGASM received for their London show, with many stating that they should’ve done an online gig ‘like Architects’. WARGASM had participated in multiple online streams already, but for many small bands it is impossible for them to do an online show on the same scale and charge the same as bands like Architects. At the end of the day, Architects have 8 albums and have played Wembley Arena, WARGASM have 7 songs and it was their first headline gig. Playing in-person gigs, whether socially distanced or not, also brings in a large amount of money from merchandise sales, and the same obviously can’t be said for online streams. All that being said however, I do think live streams are the best way to support bands at the moment, if it is financially viable for bands to hold them.
So what can be sad about the future of live music? With it being very unlikely we’ll have normal live music back by the summer, I can definitely see outdoor socially distanced events returning, but besides from this, I’m not sure. After all, the Virgin Money Arena events last summer, were at its core, a business venture by a bank and the longer the pandemic lasts, the more small local venues close, with many relying on public donations after being denied government funding. As part of the £1.75 billion Culture Recovery Fund, £3.36 million made up the ‘Emergency Grassroot Music Venues Fund’ which was shared between 135 venues in England (funding for festivals was included in the Culture Recovery Fund). Although many venues and festivals were given funding, some applications were rejected with little guidance as to why. For example, 2000 Trees Festival is now relying on attendees to buy tickets now and have launched a membership system to reward those who donate extra to them.
I urge those reading this to support your favourite artists and venues if you can, many venues have their own crowdfunding pages, or you can donate to the Music Venue Trust’s #SaveOurVenues campaign here (the money raised here is divided between different venues). This week is also Independent Venue Week, now in its eighth year, and it is more important now than ever. You can buy tickets and view the schedule for the week here. The Music Feeds Festival (28th and 29th January) is part of this, and this year has performances from Liam Gallagher, Blossoms, Fontaines D.C. and many others, with money going to charities FareShare, Stagehand, and Help Musicians. You can purchase a ticket here.
Here are some of the articles I used when writing this post if anyone wants to read further:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-53578188 - Government trial Frank Turner gig
https://www.nme.com/reviews/live/wargasm-live-in-london-radar-2840329 - WARGASM gig review
https://www.nme.com/news/music/two-thirds-of-uk-venues-cant-hold-socially-distanced-gigs-coronavirus-2728226 - socially distanced venue issues
https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxqa75/coronavirus-social-distanced-concert-uk - virgin money arena gig review
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