Response to PRS for Music Popular Music Concerts Tariff review – Mark Davyd (Music Venue Trust) and John Markey (Young Aviators)

In December 2015, collecting society PRS for Music published a summary of responses from its consultation on the terms of its Popular Music Concerts Tariff (‘LP’) that is applied to ticketed live popular music events such as concerts and festivals. To discuss the document, we asked Mark Davyd of Music Venue Trust to comment from the perspective of live music venues, and we asked John Markey, drummer and backing vocalist in Glasgow band Young Aviators, to give the perspective of a musician in receipt of PRS royalties.

Gig Going on London’s Periphery: Charting the Mainstream in the Margins – Kevin Milburn

Kevin Milburn’s post charts the shift of live activity in London from the early 1960s to the present day from the west to the east and southeast, highlighting the closure of significant venues along the way, including the Lewisham Odeon, as played by The Beatles. The post shows that such sites were not threatened by lack of use or decline but instead because of being based in areas newly attractive to investors, alongside other external factors, a story very pertinent at a time when, according to one report, London lost 30% of its venues between 2007 and 2015.

Fighting for the right to party: live music after the Paris attacks – Adam Behr

Live Music Exchange’s Adam Behr writes in The Conversation today about the potential fallout for touring musicians following the attack on The Eagles of Death metal gig in Paris last month.

Adele Beats The Touts – Bob Lefsetz

This week’s blog post was written by music industries blogger, Bob Lefsetz, and originally published in the regular Lefsetz Letter. In it, he examines the live music and ticketing industries, and Adele’s attempts to beat the touts for her latest tour.

The Show Must Go On Report: Environmental Impact Report and Vision for the UK Festival Industry – Powerful Thinking (2015)

The Show Must Go On report was conceived as a festival industry response to the Paris climate change talks in 2015.

Five Things I Learned at Iceland Airwaves Festivals 2015 – Matt Brennan

Matt Brennan attended his first Airwaves Festival in Reykjavik, Iceland, in November of this year. He also went along to the industry “Nonference” daytime programme hosted by Iceland Music Export. This blog post reports on the five things he learned from the experience.

Music: A snapshot of Sheffield’s music sector – University of Sheffield and Sensoria Festival (2015)

A report outlining how Sheffield is a leading Music City with 788 organisations active in the music sector, 465 active bands, 70 rehearsal rooms and innovation across all music genres – including electronic, folk, free noise and rock.

The Signs of Festival – Emma Webster

In anticipation of the EFG London Jazz Festival, Emma Webster’s blog post considers the signs of festival – how we know a festival is on its way before it begins.

LIVE DMA Survey 2015 – LIVE DMA

A survey of LIVE DMA member organisations, covering mostly small to medium venues in Spain, Belgium, Denmark, France, Norway and the Netherlands, covering topics such as ticket sales and level of subsidy.

Ten Things Learned at Venues Day 2015 – Emma Webster

Emma Webster’s blog post listing ten things learned at Venues Day 2015, from the need to make some noise about the issues facing small venues, to whether audiences are getting older, to suggestions of adopting the French model of a ticket levy to raise revenue for venues.