In this ‘Middle Eight’ for the journal Popular Music, Simon Frith reflects on the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded Live Music Exchange project.  He describes the background to the project and some of the points of interest that arose from the original live music project from which LMX developed.  Simon then ponders notions of knowledge exchange and how such a project as LMX can be assessed in terms of its ‘impact’, before asking questions about the nature and purpose of ‘knowledge’ as defined by bodies such as the AHRC, and how and by whom such knowledge exchange activities should be resourced.

Click here to read the full article (requires institutional login).

This article examines the policies of the British Musicians’ Union towards the employment of musicians who were not UK citizens in the period from the 1920s to the 1950s, with particular emphasis on an alleged ban on American musicians entering the country. Drawing on a number of hitherto largely ignored and/or unavailable sources, it argues that many previous accounts of these policies have simplified a more complex picture. We illustrate that complexity and suggest that the issues surrounding the ban are ones which continue to resonate.

Click here to read the full article (requires institutional login).

In October 2012, a group of 100+ tertiary students enrolled across various Melbourne campuses in music business, performance and sound production courses, conducted a unique music research project.  A ‘census’ of popular music activity in the city’s hundreds of hotels, bars and clubs.

The on-ground information they collected was combined with existing festival/theatre/concert data to produce an estimate of annual operations.

Their findings and the existing data revealed the following key findings for Australia’s unquestioned live music capital –

•  62,000+ annual, individually advertised gigs  •

•  470 Greater Melbourne live music venues  •

•  14.4 million patron visits annually  •

•  $1.04 Billion spent in small venues, concerts and festivals  •

•  116,000 Annual Full Time Equivalent jobs  •

Click here to read the Executive Summary.

Click here to read the full report.

Background to the Census

In essence, the idea for a census was generated by perceived shortcomings in recent reporting.

After many years in the statistical ‘wilderness’, several recent reports focusing on popular music, confirmed the economic significance of the live music sector in Melbourne and – to a lesser extent, regional Victoria.

This attention was in no small part due a number of regulatory challenges to the viability of venues, and therefore to the enjoyment of fans and the livelihood of thousands of musicians and workers who create Melbourne’s vibrant live music scene.

Concerns were highlighted by the landmark SLAM (Save Live Australian Music) Rally in February 2010, when an estimated 20,000 Melburnians took to the streets to protest their concerns.  Notably the attempt to enshrine a link between alcohol-fueled violence and live music in venue regulation, and endangering the economic viability of many live performance venues.

While the various reported findings have greatly assisted industry advocacy efforts in policy negotiations with the City of Melbourne and the Victorian State Government, there were differences in methodology – and thus reported results, which produced a significant variation in findings.

With additional funding unlikely to be forthcoming to employ another commercial research consultancy, a cheaper alternative needed to be found.

Cost however, was not the only consideration.

With one exception, these previous reports relied on a limited number of interviews and small survey sample numbers to abstract data and reach their conclusions.

While the need to provide the credibility and imprimatur of established market research/analyst firms is understandable when local and state government agencies are dispensing public monies, the fact remains that these agencies usually lack the expertise/knowledge base to engage with the rather eccentric live music sector.  Nor can they rely on the existing ‘cultural industry’ data from our national aggregator – the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which traditionally fails to capture the live sector – especially in small venues, in any meaningful way.

This lack of industry engagement/knowledge resulted in a couple of significant assumptions by the consultants –

• That all venues would be registered with the appropriate collection society (APRA) for the purposes of obtaining the appropriate license.
• That definitive venue economic generation data could be accurately abstracted from a very small venue sample.
• That despite the small-venue focus of the studies, there was no real attempt to include the concert/festival data from Live Performance Australia which is such so significant to the ‘big picture’.

Puzzlingly, in one instance, a decision was made to ascribe no economic value to live performance in 46% of venues studied because they were not ‘dependent’ on live music.  This despite the fact that most of them identified themselves as regularly (2 nights per week) presenting live performances.

So, despite the industry’s acknowledgement that these studies were important, there was widespread support for the suggestion that some methodology  anomalies needed to be addressed, and data reporting issues resolved.

Hence the idea of conducting a comprehensive ‘census’ emerged.

Using a large group of student volunteers would certainly be cost-effective.  More importantly, the numbers of collectors would allow visits to the smallest bars and the largest clubs and everything in between, rather than estimations based on limited samples.  Thus minimising sample irregularities.

Our peak industry body Music Victoria and the City of Melbourne agreed to fund the project.

Summary of Other Research –

‘Capital Report‘ (Dr Shane Homan (Monash Uni) & Dobe Newton (NMIT) for City of Melbourne, May, 2010)

The live music section drew extensively on 10 years of NMIT’s ‘State of Play – Live Music in Melbourne’ reports.

For 2009, it estimated 12.8 million patron visits across 500+ venues in Melbourne’s CBD and inner-suburban music precincts, generating some $1.2 billion in ticket/door revenue and patron ancillary spending (food/drink/transport/merchandise), associated with venue attendance.

In addition to the small venue data, the final figures included information from Live Performance Australia’s 2010 Ticket & Revenue Survey covering major concert and festival performances.

‘The Economic, Social and Cultural Contribution of Venue-Based Live Music in Victoria’ (DeLoitte Access Economics for Arts Victoria – June 2011)

The report focused on live music value in small venues, and found a total contribution to the Victorian state economy of $511 million in 2009/2010, with 5.4 million attendances and full-time equivalent employment for 17,200 persons.

‘Economic Contribution of Venue-Based Live Music Industry in Australia’

Ernst & Young for APRA (September, 2011)

Estimated that in 2010, 41.97 million patron visits were made to live music performances in 3,900 venues across Australia, generating $1.2 billion in venue income (17% ticket sales, 83% patron spending) and creating 14,900 full time equivalent jobs.

Although the report did not set out to provide state-by-state analysis, it did report that Victoria’s contribution was 22% of the national total (NSW 32%, Queensland 24%), thus –

In Victoria in 2010, 9.2 million attendances generated $267 million in turnover from 823 venues creating 3,264 full time equivalent jobs.

The Census Process

The plan was to put enough data collectors on the streets to visit as many live music venues as possible in Melbourne’s CBD and famous inner-suburban music ‘precincts’ – Abbotsford/Collingwood, Brunswick, Carlton/Fitzroy, Prahran/South Yarra, Richmond, St Kilda and South/Port Melbourne.

It was hoped that conducting such a labour-intensive exercise would –

•          Confirm the number of venues regularly supplying live music performance.

•          Record accurate patron attendance on a prime live music night (Saturday, 13^th October).

•          Produce accurate information on venue operation and patron attendance on other nights of live music performance.

•          Produce data on the number of venue staff, musicians, DJs and production staff employed in delivering the performances.

In addition to their collection of venue information/data on the night of the Census, collectors distributed information to patrons and live performers in the venues visited encouraging them to complete online Consumer and Musician surveys to add vital data to that collected on the night of the Census.

This would enable comparison with similar survey data collected by student research over the last five years from thousands of live music patrons and hundreds of working musicians.

Before census night, the process was fine-tuned through discussions with the Australian Bureau of Statistics, APRA and Live Performance Australia.

Census Night

Not surprisingly, it rained!

Despite that, 17 teams of 6-7 students were provided with record sheets and survey promotion material, plus Census ID and an intro letter to venue staff.

Each team (operating in pairs for safety reasons) had 25-30 venues to cover.

Team leaders were responsible for collecting the record sheets at the end of the night, and ensuring all volunteers signed-off at the end of shift.

Although, we did not have the physical resources to attend the 140-odd venues that regularly operate in the outer suburbs, but they were contacted to confirm operations.

The volunteer collectors were able to visit over 90% of the venues on their lists.  Some were closed, some were hosting private events, a small number had ceased live music operations.

Census Findings: Executive Summary

Venues & Gigs

The Census confirmed that Greater Melbourne currently has a total of 465 small venues offering regular (minimum of 2 nights per week) live music performances.

The CBD has a total of 137 venues – 120 hotels/bars/clubs plus 17 larger theatre/concert venues (less ‘frequent’, but obviously significant).

There are 194 small venues in the inner suburban music ‘Precincts’ – Collingwood, Carlton, Brunswick, Fitzroy, Northote, Prahran/South Yarra, Richmond, St Kilda and South/Port Melbourne.

There are 139 small venues in the outer suburbs.

Bars and nightclubs predominate in the CBD, while hotels are a more significant live music presenter in the Precincts and outer suburbs.

In addition, 50-odd venues (function centres, RSLs, sporting clubs etc) offer live music on an occasional basis.

On a ‘typical’ Saturday night, 92% of small CBD venues (124) and 93% of small Precinct venues (180) presented a total of 311 live performance gigs involving musicians and/or DJs – often on multi-artist bills.  We estimate an additional 115 gigs in outer suburban venues.

Attendance

Every Saturday night (and Friday night as well), 97,000+ people attend popular music live performances in Melbourne –

38,805 in CBD venues

38,585 in Precinct venues and

20,000 in outer suburban venues.

Note: Saturday 13th did not feature one of the major concerts/festival events which regularly feature on Melbourne’s live music calendar.

Entry – Patron Spending

On Saturday 13th October, live performances in Melbourne venues generated $5.4 Million in turnover – Door/Entry tickets plus ancillary patron spending (food/drink/merch etc).

DOOR

34% of CBD venues (50) and 22% of Precinct venues (42) charged for entry to live performances.

Prices varied widely from $5 to $65, generating a total of $745,940 ($533,805 in the CBD and $212,135 in the Precincts).

ANCILLARY SPENDING

The Census Consumer Survey showed that patrons attending live music performances spend an average $45 extra per visit to small venues, and $75 per visit to large/concert venues on transport, food, drink and merchandise.

On Census night, this additional spending generated an additional $3.7 Million in turnover -

CBD Venues – $1.97 Million

Precinct Venues – $1.74 Million.

(Based on post-Census research & analysis of advertised gigs/venue operation, we estimate an additional $900,000 in ancillary spending in outer suburban venues).

Venue Employment

Live performances in Melbourne’s CBD and Precinct venues on the night of the Census created employment for 901 musicians, 739 DJs, 237 production staff and 2,731 venue staff.

Using the formula applied by the Australian Bureau of Statistics – 35 hours = Full Time Equivalent employment, and assuming (based on standard industry practice), that a gig equates to a minimum 4 hours for performers and 6 hours for production and venue staff, these figures equate to -

103 FTE jobs for musicians, 82 FTE jobs for DJs, 41 FTE jobs for production staff and 468 FTE jobs for venue staff.

Annual Live Performance – The Big Picture

Using the Live Music Census data and additional information from recent reports produces a comprehensive snapshot of annual live music operations in Greater Melbourne.

To allow for the fact that venues have the occasional ‘dark’ night, and that there is a seasonal variation in audience/gig numbers, we have calculated activity based on a 50-week ‘year’ to allow for that variation.

On an annual basis, 65% of CBD venues and 69% of Precinct venues regularly feature live music performances on 3-4 nights per week.

Greater Melbourne’s 465 small live music venues annually present 62,000 popular music performances –

19,100 in the CBD,

34,300 in the Precincts and a minimum of

9,000 in outer suburban venues.

Many of these gigs involve multi-artist bills.

Live Performance Australia’s ‘Ticket Attendance & Revenue Survey 2011’ has comprehensive ticket sales/revenue and attendance information for the significant number of popular music concerts and festivals at large venues.

These are almost entirely confined to the Greater Melbourne area. (see next page)

What’s Not Included -

There are a number of major events with significant popular music components which have NOT been included due to lack of quality data.  However, if we consider the ticket revenue, patron attendance and spending associated with live popular music performances at a number of mainly free, municipal events – St Kilda Festival, Brunswick Music Festival, Melbourne International Arts Festival, Laneway Festival, Darebin Music Feast, Spanish Festival, Melbourne Fringe Festival, Moomba – to mention a few, the overall findings of the Census definitely err on the conservative side!

Venues – Annual Attendance

Melbourne’s live music fans attend an average of 4.5 live music performances per month and 1 concert/festival per month. (Source: Census Consumer Survey, & DeLoitte Access Economics report).

So, on an annual basis, there are14.4 million patron visits to popular music live performances in Greater Melbourne.

CBD small venues –                           4.55 million

CBD large venues -                           0.53 million

Precinct small venues -                     5.53 million

Outer suburban small venues -       1.93 million

Major venue concerts (LPA) -         1.64 million

Major music festivals (LPA) -           0.22 million

Note:  These attendance figures do not include the 368 regional venues registered by APRA – many of which operate on multiple nights.  A conservative estimate (one third of the total annual attendances at Precinct venues) would suggest a contribution of an additional 1.8 million patron visits.

Venues – Annual Income/Expenditure

It’s a billion dollar industry!

Live performances in Greater Melbourne venues generates $1.04 Billion annually in ticket sales/door entry and patron spending.

Door entry/ticket sales generated $292.7 Million and ancillary patron spending at live performances an additional $746.7 Million (transport/food/drink/merchandise).

Door/Ticket Revenue

CBD small venues –                           $57.36 million

CBD large venues -                           $18.16 million

Precinct small venues -                     $31.82 million

Outer suburban small venues -       $10.61 million

Major venue concerts (LPA) -         $129.65 million

Major music festivals (LPA) -           $45.12 million

Ancillary Patron Spending

CBD small venues –                           $204.9 million

CBD large venues -                           $39.9 million

Precinct small venues -                     $248.8 million

Outer suburban small venues -       $87.6 million

Major venue concerts (LPA) -         $121.5 million

Major music festivals (LPA) -           $44 million

Note:  Adding APRA’s regional small venues at one third Precinct activity would add an additional minimum $93 million.

Venues – Annual Employment

On an annual basis, live music performances in Greater Melbourne venues provide employment opportunities for 159,250 musicians, 123,800 DJs, 37,550 production staff and 451,450 venue staff.

(Note: These figures do not include employment created by major concerts and festivals, as the Live Performance Australia data does not include this information from their reporting sources).

Using the ABS formula (Full Time Equivalancy = 35 hours work per week),  and assuming industry practice (Muso/DJ gig = 4 hours, production/venue shift = 6 hours), this equates annually to -

4,149 FTE jobs for DJs

6,437 FTE jobs for production staff and

77,391 FTE jobs for venue staff.

The total of  116,000 FTE jobs annually, makes live performance a major employer in Greater Melbourne – ABS (2009) -  Retail 229,000, Education 177,000, Food & Accom 136,000)

Industry Comparisons/Information

Major Cultural Activity

In 2012, Arts Victoria reported that in 2009/2010 approximately 4 million Victorians visited cultural events and/or facilities – Cinema 69%, Libraries 33%, Popular Music Concerts 31%, Art Galleries 26%, Museums 26%, Musicals & Opera 21%, Theatre 17%, Classical Music 10% and Dance 9%.

With the exception of Cinema, popular music fans had by far the highest rate of multiple attendance, with 45% attending 2-4 times and 20% 5 times or more.

Adding the 14 million (minimum) visits annually to live performances in small venues, confirms the dominant cultural position of popular music performance.

Source: ‘Arts and Culture in Victoria 2012:A Statistical Overview’ (Arts Victoria, based on Australian Bureau of Statistics ‘Attendance at Selected Cultural Venues and Events 2009-2010’)

Sport

Australians are often reported as ‘obsessed’ with sport, and Melbourne often referred to as the nation’s sporting ‘capital’.

However, the Live Music Census (and data from other reports) confirms that we are VERY passionate about our music.

In a year, fans make 14.4 visits to popular live music performances in Melbourne’s pubs, clubs, bars, concert halls, music theatre and festival venues.

This is more than double the total attendance (5.9 million patron visits) for all Melbourne AFL games (4.65 million), NRL (0.2 million), A-League (0.4 million) and Super Rugby (0.14 million) matches in Melbourne, plus the Spring Racing Carnival (690,000)!

In fact, it’s nearly 3 million more than the total AFL, NRL, A-League and Super Rugby patron attendances (11.8 million) for the whole country in 2011!

(Sources: AFL official website/Wikipedia)

Melbourne – A world music city

A comprehensive literature review/search, failed to unearth much in the way of city-specific live music research or data.  Thanks to academics from the UK, Canada & US who regularly contribute to the Live Music Exchange (www.livemusicexchange.org), for their efforts to unearth and highlight relevant material.

The most ‘interesting’ was released at the 2012 London Olympics by Mayor Boris Johnson.

The ‘World Cities Culture Report’ – a comprehensive analysis of 12 of the world’s major cities (not including Melbourne) was compiled by BOP Consulting.

In that report comparative data on live music venues showed -

New York (8.2 million population) – 277 live music venues – 1 per 29,600 residents

Paris (11.7 miilion) – 423 venues – 1 per 27,660

London (7.8 million) – 349 venues – 1 per 22,350

Berlin (3.5 million) -250 venues – 1 per 14,000

Tokyo (13.1 million) – 385 venues – 1 per 34,000

Sydney (4.6 million) – 89 venues – 1 per 51,685

Note/Warning:

The figures should be viewed with obvious caution.  We know that APRA lists 215 active live music venues for Sydney (reports by DeLoitteAcess Economics & Ernst&Young) – considerably more than the 89 sourced from ‘Time Out’ magazine for the ‘World Cities’ report.  Using the APRA list would reduce Sydney’s figure to one venue per 21,000 residents.

That said, using APRA’s 370 venues (from the same reports) for Melbourne produces a figure of one venue per 11,900 residents.

Melbourne or Austin?

In 1991, the Austin City Council passed a resolution to brand their city the ‘Live Music Capital of the World’ on the basis that it had more live venues per capita than any other US city.

Several year’s later (1994), ‘Billboard’ magazine published an in-depth profile on Melbourne comparing it favourably with Austin as one of the world’s great live music cities.

The Austin City Council and the Austin Visitor’s Bureau, have done a wonderful job of promoting their live music scene.  Much better, it must be said, than the City of Melbourne.

The official Austin website lists 200 occasional live music venues and 87 ‘core’ regular presenters.

With a population of 820,000, this confirms one ‘core’ live music venue per 9,425 Austin residents.

The Live Music Census data (465 ‘core’ venues) produces a result of one venue per 8,915 Melbourne residents.

Conclusion

The Live Music Census confirmed that 90+ venues offering regular live performances in Greater Melbourne were missing from the lists used in other reports.

It was therefore not surprising that the attendance, employment and economic generation totals are a considerable increase on those previously reported.

The figures are more impressive considering they do not include contributions from Victoria’s regional small venues.

And even more noteworthy when we consider the additional indirect spending – by patrons and venues, involved in the presentation of live music – e.g. sponsorship, advertising, venue purchases from suppliers, accommodation, restaurant dining, musical equipment purchase, production hire etc etc.

Note:

Although the scope of this study does not permit definitive value/totals to be ascribed to this indirect spending/income, several studies on cultural value conducted by the City of Austin in 2006 & 2009, estimated it at approximately 35% of the ‘direct spending’ total).  UK Music released commissioned a report in 2009 – ‘Contribution of Music Festivals and Major Concerts to Tourism in the UK’, which showed that 46% of the spending associated with major music events took place ‘off-site’.

The totals reported in this Live Music Census are robust, based as they are, on a large quantity of collected data rather than estimates from smaller samples.

Not only is popular live music a major contributor to the state’s Gross Domestic Product, the data shows that live music performance is one of the major employers in the CBD and Greater Melbourne.

The key findings not only confirm that Melbourne is Australia’s centre of popular music live performance, but that it can clearly take it’s place as on of the world’s great music cities.

Dobe Newton

Live Music Census Project Manager, Victorian Live Music Census

May, 2013

This article offers some initial impressions of the potential policy implications of conducting research in to live music. It examines issues of regulation, the black economy and sharp business practices, and developments in concert ticketing. It argues that the live music industry offers a potentially richer field of study than that of recorded music which has hitherto tended to dominate academic enquiry.

Click here to read the full article (requires institutional login).

Using an approach pioneered by the literary scholar Franco Moretti, this article maps popular music performance sites in order to understand the links between performers and their audiences and between music and its geographical, social, economic and cultural environments. Three case studies are provided. The first compares three genre-scenes in the Manchester region in the 1960s—dance bands, beat music and folk clubs. The second case study examines the itineraries of four national tours of Great Britain in 2008. The final example is the international touring career of Elton John between 1970 and 2006.

Click here to read the full text (requires institutional login).

I was asked to talk to you today about the social value of music in the context of regeneration, which I will do, though rather indirectly.  My talk is organised as a mathematical series:  I will present 5 propositions, consider 3 consequences of those propositions, and come to 1 brief conclusion.

My first two propositions are linked.

First, policy makers don’t make music, musicians do.

Second, a music industry does not create a music culture; rather, a music culture leads to the development of a music industry.

These propositions seem obvious to me, as a sociologist, but they are often forgotten by policy makers, particularly in the context of regeneration, when policies to support the development of music businesses are taken to be the same thing as policies to support music making.  They are not, and my point here is simply that people make music because that is what humans do.  Music making has been essential to the development of human sociability and, to this day, people make music not primarily to make money but as a necessary part of everyday social activities – putting children to bed, worshipping in a church, supporting a football team, having a party, etc.  It’s worth remembering that for many musicians today, as for the last hundred years (playing many different kinds of music), performing at weddings is a steadier and more significant source of earnings than, say, the returns from copyrights or record sales.  One of the more foolish arguments for the extension of the copyright term in EU law was the suggestion that without its potential returns musicians would cease to make music.  They wouldn’t.  Music making is not an activity driven by such economic considerations (though the economic exploitation of music making may be).

My third proposition is that what matters to musicians, what is most significant for their musical activities, is a combination of the right spaces, sufficient time, and a network of appropriate people.

Again, this proposition seems self-evidently true though it needs fleshing out a little.  Spaces are needed in which to practise, rehearse, learn to perform, perform, possibly record, etc.  Time is needed to develop craft skills, to learn an instrument, to learn to play with other people and to an audience, etc.  The people needed are teachers, role models, mentors, fellow musicians, fans, obsessives, etc.

I haven’t got time to go into more detail here but will note three further points: first, the complexity of such networks of space/time/people and the variety of possible settings (musical instrument dealers, coffee bars, youth clubs, record shops, arts centre, pubs, youth clubs, etc.).  As times and technologies change, so do the networking possibilities, but music making depends on places to gather.  Second, this is one reason for the particular importance of school, colleges, universities and conservatoires, not just as places where musical skills are learned, but also as places where musical communities develop, audiences are formed, and possibilities realised.   Third, the development of social media has certainly meant new sorts of virtual spaces and networks.  These are important in many ways, but music making and listening remain material events; they cannot be replaced by online practices.

My fourth proposition is that what matters to music listeners is also the right combination of spaces, time and people.

This proposition should not need elaboration though I would stress again, first, the variety of venues needed to make different kinds of musical experience possible, not least the varied experiences of dancing to music; second, the relationship of the rhythms of musical entertainment to the rhythms of life – work and leisure, growing up, courting, ageing, changing jobs, moving house (or place or country); and, third, the importance of like-minded listeners.  Musical sociability is in some respects tribal; it involves exclusion as well as inclusion (and a good music scene reflects this).

My final proposition is this: most people who make music don’t make a living from making music.

There are two different issues here.  On the one hand, many musicians who have highly developed craft skills (and provide a range of musical services) still have to do other things to sustain themselves and their families, whether routinely or at different moments in their careers.  On the other hand, much music making is done by amateurs, for love rather than money, though often in ways that make their own contribution to the music economy.  In Britain the most obvious example of this is choirs – every town has an amateur choir and/or choral society, every city has numerous choirs and choral societies, many of which have been going for a hundred years or more.  Annual choir concerts more often than not involve paying professional soloists and accompanying instrumental performers.

The point here is that what we might mean by a flourishing music culture is not necessarily measurable in terms of musical earnings or employment.  Or, to put this another way, musical employment and earnings depend on a music ecology that is not based in a music economy.

What are the consequences of the situation I have been describing?

First, that although, on the whole, musicians can look after themselves – music will happen whatever policy makers do – the conditions for music making and listening can be more or less frustrating.  For example, many of the policies that most affect music making are not music policies, but concern planning, transport, education, social welfare, alcohol licensing, health and safety, noise and crowd control, smoking, etc.  In cities, in particular, musicians are often most frustrated by the unexpected consequences of urban policies that take no account of music at all.

In economic terms we need to understand music as a service industry rather than as a form of commodity (or rights) production.  For musicians, that is, a healthy – regenerated – environment will be one in which a variety of people will want (and will able to play decently for) a variety of musical services; the issue for most musicians is not employment as such.

The second general consequence of my propositions is that the music market is both a good and bad thing.  It provides dynamism for musical creativity and acts as a useful form of communication between musicians and their audiences, but it is inevitably (because of the logic of competition) more concerned with the construction of a mainstream than with musical margins and is therefore essentially a conservative force.  One crucial aspect of a healthy local music ecology is that new entrants (with new ideas, constructing new audiences) should have the space and time to get established.  This is where public funding and resources can be significant.  What is unnecessary is for the state to act as a kind of ersatz music business – its role is to support entrepreneurs, not to be entrepreneurial.

The third consequence of my arguments here is that we have to understand that, in important respects, music making and listening are essentially irrational activities, they concern emotions and are driven by enthusiasms.  Music is not made by the rational economic individual fantasised by market theorists; musical experience is not conducive to rational or bureaucratic planning, to auditing, measuring, etc.  And this is the key to understanding music’s social value – as a source of happiness, fellow feeling, exhilaration, etc., yes, but also as a source of irritation (noise!), aggression, social distinction, etc.  It is a great mistake to think that music is just a good thing!

But I will conclude on a more rational note.  In thinking about music and regeneration during the rest of the Forum you should keep two questions in mind:

What is good music for a country, region or city?   What is a good country, region or city for music?

My own belief is that the answers to these questions are rooted in issues of geography, sociology and social psychology rather than economics.  A flourishing local musical economy is certainly a sign of a healthy musical culture, but creating a healthy musical culture is not simply an economic matter.

Simon Frith
University of Edinburgh

This week’s blog post was written by music industries blogger, Bob Lefsetz, and originally published in the regular Lefsetz Letter.   In it, he shows how Kid Rock bargained with his merch company, and his promoter and ticket agent, in order to get a fairer deal for the fans as explained in this piece in Billboard: Kid Rock Takes ‘Pay Cut’ With $20 Tickets on Summer Tour. Lefsetz’s piece argues that ‘Everybody should profit, but it should all be in service to the fan’ and asks whether other artists will follow Rock’s example.

It is worth noting that Lefsetz’s piece follows an interview with Piers Morgan on US TV, in which Kid Rock as good as admitted that many artists tout their own tickets on the secondary market: “I’m going to tell people, a lot of artists already do it. I think I’ve been guilty of it in the past, too. We take some of our tickets, we put them on StubHub, overcharge with what the market determines they’re worth”, as reported in the CMU Daily.

Can Kid Rock change the concert business?

His father sold Lincolns.

Where I grew up, there were no rich people. No bankers, no right wing titans ranting the poor were lazy and the government was taking all their hard-earned money. Some dads worked for the electric company, others sold insurance or held blue-collar jobs. The upper middle class were doctors and lawyers. And just beneath this tier were the auto dealers. We knew who they were, because their stores all featured their names.

We were all in it together. Sure, you could be unpopular, you could be bullied, but there was no velvet rope, no class parties or junkets that you just could not afford. And when we all saw the Beatles, we picked up guitars and started to play. And money had nothing to do with it, the music and the screaming and the energy drew us in.

Music is now the province of the underclass. No one smart is going to dedicate his or her life to a musical career, they might give it a year or two after college, but then they’re going to hotfoot it to graduate school, they don’t want to be left behind. The dirty little secret is most starving artists are not artists. They’re just poor people who can’t make it who call themselves artists. They’re not at the bar discussing Camus, they’re on the couch watching the Kardashians wondering why someone won’t pay them.

So you’re not gonna get a revolution from the poor people who do gain notoriety in the music business. Because first and foremost they need the money! This is their way out!

As for the businessmen who grease the wheels? No one knows who they are. The days of high-flying label titans are through. Clive is riding into the sunset and Tommy got kicked out and won’t be let back in. No one knows who Michael Rapino is, the press never talk about the fact he’s the most powerful person in the music business, since he wields the checkbook, and smart managers and agents were always faceless, knowing if they have a profile, their artists will fire them, just ask Terry McBride.

So Kid Rock gets a hair up his ass about ticket fees. And unlike the public, he’s got power to exact change.

That’s another thing about today’s artists. They all blame someone else. “Who me coach?” They’re slackers who believe responsibility is anathema.

But Kid Rock is different. He grew up in a middle class family. When he supports Republicans he thinks they’re the close-cropped, reasonable, educated men of yore. But Nelson Rockefeller is now a Democrat, as is Ronald Reagan. Rock’s values don’t align with the Tea Party. And first and foremost he believes in giving back. I.e. his beer and clothing company in Detroit that employ locals as opposed to exporting the jobs to Asia and crying there was no choice.

So it’s 2011 and Rock is on an arena tour and the fees on his tickets are $14.25. And that’s just too much. He wants them down to five bucks.

How does he achieve this?

Via transparency. Unlike the fans, Rock is not stupid. He knows the money doesn’t all go to Ticketmaster, there are kickbacks to buildings and promoters.

But rather than push the ball uphill, he decides to start with his own business. By lowering the price of t-shirts. Instead of the rip-off price of $35-$40, he drops them to $20-$25. His merch company had a fit. But, as stated earlier, the artist has all the power, Rock demanded the drop. And he saw sales go up…and it got him to thinking…

So Rock and his manager had a meeting with Rapino. The essence of which was, “You show me yours and I’ll show you mine.” Show me where every dollar is buried and I’ll throw in my money and we’ll start fresh.

And Rapino agreed.

Took the better part of two years to come to an agreement. The wheels of change grind slowly. But now the deal’s done.

But not before Rock got another hair up his behind. Not only did he want the fee to drop to five bucks, he wanted all tickets to be $20.

Huh?

Rock’s goal was to give back. To return concertgoing to what it once was. A regular habit as opposed to a vacation. That’s how the business revitalizes, by getting people to the show. If it’s so expensive they can only go once a year, they’re gonna save up for the superstar extravaganzas, which must feature production as opposed to music to justify the cost, and ultimately everybody else loses.

But because he’s intransigent, Rock then wanted no fee at all.

So a deal was struck. If you went to Wal-Mart, where they’ve got Live Nation kiosks, you could buy a ticket for $20, including parking, with no fee. Ticketmaster picked up the vig, furthermore, more kiosks were installed to handle the demand.

And you say that Ticketmaster is the enemy.

So what happened?

Across the board, onsales doubled or tripled from 2011. Blowing past everybody’s expectations.

Irvine sold out in nine days. Came close, but didn’t go clean back in 2011, they were 700 or 800 short.

Chicago went nuclear. 2011 was 16,000, they’re probably gonna do 28,000.

Pittsburgh sold more in twenty four hours than the final number in 2011.

Boston did 10,000 tickets the first day.

St. Louis asked for a second date.

Sure, it’s his hometown, but Rock has sold seven Detroits already. They put up four the first weekend, then three the next. They stopped it there.

Everything goes in the pot, drinks, parking, merch, Live Nation and Rock are partners. And if you think this is de rigueur, you’ve never sat in the trailer where the promoter shows you the two sets of books, his and the one he shows the act. And I’m not joking, there are truly two.

And there’s no guarantee. If you want to revolutionize the world, you’ve got to put your money where your mouth is. How can we expect change without risk? It’s intrinsic to the game!

But it’s not only the ticket to get in, it’s the beer to have a good time. Instead of double digits, beer is four bucks. And Kid Rock fans drink a lot, there’s a lot of profit there, don’t forget, it all goes in the pot, Live Nation and Rock share it.

As they do parking, which is also just four bucks.

And it’s all paperless. Except for the very back of the pavilion. I mean why go halfway?

And there are a thousand platinum seats, not because Rock needs the money, but because he wants to combat scalpers. And season seats come out of that thousand, everything’s on the manifest. And the first two rows go unsold, they’re for upgrades for those in the back.

Sound like a good time?

You betcha!

Instead of buying a mortgage, you’re taking a flier, you can relax, you can party, you can drink and flirt and…HELL YEAH!

And Rock is probably gonna make more money. Because in 2011, he averaged 11,000, this time around it’s gonna be closer to 18,000.

But it’s not about the money, it’s about the fans. Not only paying back, but converting them, closing them, bonding them to Rock so they come again each and every tour.

Yup, the onus is on Bob Ritchie. He’s got all their money, now he’s got to deliver a kick-ass show that blows their minds and gets them talking. Because Rock knows you can’t rely on radio, you can’t rely on press, you can only rely on yourself. There are no middlemen, in today’s world it’s just the act and the fan. The promoter should not be the enemy, nor should the ticketing company. Everybody should profit, but it should all be in service to the fan.

And it all came about because Kid Rock is smart, he grew up in an upper middle class family, he knows it’s about values as well as money. But artists don’t seem to share Rock’s values today. They might do a benefit concert, but they’re unwilling to take any personal risk, they see the plight of their fans, but they’re so busy climbing the economic ladder that they shrug their shoulders and pay no attention.

So what happens now?

I’m not sure.

Rock has opened the door. Will anybody else go through?

Thanks to Bob Lefsetz for allowing us to re-post this article, the original of which can be found here on the archive of the Lefsetz Letter, a regular blog about the music industries from an inside perspective.

Please not that in the future, the weekly email will contain our blog post for the week, and you can keep up to date on live music developments via our Twitter feed: @LMExchange

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This Week’s Blog Post

Disrupting Engagement?: Live Music, Mobile Technology and Fandom – Lucy Bennett

This guest post by Lucy Bennett discusses the effect of mobile phone technology on live events – connecting them to fans outside the gig whilst disrupting and altering the nature of audience engagement in the venue itself.

One From the Archives

Live Music 101 #3 – Why Concert Promoters Matter – Matt Brennan and Emma Webster

In the third of our series on the theories that underpin our research into live music, Matt Brennan and Emma Webster attempt to define the promoter and how they operate, in an extract from ‘Why Concert Promoters Matter’, originally published in Scottish Music Review in 2011. The authors analyse existing accounts of live music promoters and offer their own analysis of what a promoter is and does, concluding that promoters may use one or more of three basic models of promotion within rock and pop: ‘independent’, ‘artist-affiliated’, and ‘venue’.

Live Music News:

Indie ticketing company Eventbrite raises a further $60 million of funding: The current cash injection comes from Tiger Global Management and T. Rowe Price amongst others and brings its total funds raised to $140 million. Since February 2012 it doubled its total number of tickets processed and has sold 100 million tickets sold across 179 countries, totaling $1.5 billion in gross sales – one third of that amount was sold in the last nine months.

Viagogo partners with Benicassim: Viagogo has signed a partnership with Spain’s Benicassim Festival. As Benicassim’s official international ticketing partner, Viagogo will provide a platform for fans to buy secondhand tickets to the event as well as resell any tickets they cannot use. It has also signed its first official music deal in Finland becoming the official secondary marketplace and international ticketing partner for the Weekend Festival.

Also in ticketing,  the Society of of Ticket Agents and Retailers (STAR) has warned that theatres are unintentionally breaching new guidelines on ticket pricing: STAR is holding an open meeting in the West End to brief the entertainment sector about new official rules for advertising ticket prices, after expressing fears that many theatres are accidentally breaking them. Recently published guidelines from the Committee of Advertising Practice call for all charges, including booking fees, transaction charges and delivery costs, to be indicated as soon as a ticket price is mentioned in any marketing communications. The See Tickets agency has, meanwhile, rejoined STAR after a gap of a year.

In California, ticketing legislation favours Live Nation: The California Assembly upheld language in a bill that allows for paperless ticketing technology and creates a penalty for people who use software to circumvent security measures placed by issuers to prevent automated efforts to acquire event tickets. AB 329 would help Live Nation’s ticket division, Ticketmaster, by allowing for paperless tickets in the nation’s most populous state. Ticketmaster had been at odds with secondary ticketing business StubHub over the legislation in California as well as Tennessee, Florida, Minnesota and New Jersey.

All Tomorrow’s Parties ends holiday camp weekenders: All Tomorrow’s Parties has called time on its holiday camp weekenders after its 2013 installment. The last of the ATP Camber Sands-based events are dubbed ‘End of an Era parts 1 & 2′ and will take place in November with part 1 in partnership with Primavera Sound and part 2 co-curated by art rock collective Loop. Among the acts will be Television, performing Marquee Moon in full.

Sound City’s ambition to match SXSW within 10 years: Sound City CEO Dave Pichilingi has stated his intention to see the music conference festival brand match Texas’ SXSW within ten years, teasing “transformational changes” for the Liverpool event in years to come.

goNORTH reveals 2013 showcase list: The list of acts invited to showcase at goNORTH 2013 has been revealed. The 13^th edition of the Scottish showcase festival for the creative industries returns to Inverness on June 5th-6th with over 70 acts set to perform across the city centre.

Gigwise partners with Kendal Calling: Gigwise has signed a partnership deal with Kendal Calling festival that will see it host a number of acts on its own stage.

Tokyo Rocks to be rescheduled later this year, says organiser: Recently cancelled Japanese festival Tokyo Rocks will be rescheduled for later this year, organisers have said. The festival, which featured a line-up of British and Japanese artists co-curated by Alan McGee, was due to take place next month. However, late last month it was announced that “management problems” meant that organisers were forced to cancel and had begun issuing refunds to ticketholders.

KISSbeach at Great Yarmouth cancelled due to ‘schedule changes’: ”Summer festival schedule changes” have forced a large beach concert planned at a Norfolk resort to be cancelled, its promoter has announced. Live Nation said the changes meant KISSbeach, at Great Yarmouth on 29 and 30 June, would no longer go ahead and refunds would be available.

Fergus Linehan appointed as new Edinburgh International Festival director: The former director of the Sydney International Festival and head of music at the Sydney Opera House, will take over from Jonathan Mills.

New folk festival Tradfest launches in Edinburgh: A new festival has opened in Edinburgh showcasing traditional music, dance and storytelling. Locations as diverse as the Portobello promenade, Arthur’s Seat and Calton Hill will be used as performance spaces.

Glasgow’s West End Festival to stage Mardi Gras parade again: The 2013 Glasgow West End Festival will stage a Mardi Gras-style parade again after a successful fundraising drive. The event was dropped last year after the rising costs of road closures, security and clearing-up could not be met from sponsorship income.

Plans for all-Ireland fleadh campsites in Londonderry: The organisers of the all-Ireland fleadh have applied for permission to open temporary campsites in Londonderry. The world’s largest Irish traditional music event will take place in the city in August, but there are concerns that there is not enough accommodation.

MAMA-acquired East Village Arts Club opens: The venue formerly known as The Masque and The Barfly has now re-opened as East Village Arts Club under its new owners MAMA Group.

Multi-arts venue to open in old Clapham library: Omnibus will open in September in what used to be the Clapham library. Since closing last year, it has been redeveloped into a four-space arts centre, which will host theatre, live music and visual arts. It features two 100-seat spaces and two smaller studios.

South Devon Arts Centre to open in Totnes: The South Devon Arts Centre (SDAC) on the site of a former bike showroom in Totnes is being run by a community not-for-profit group. The venue will hold 300 people when it opens on 31 May and will host live music, comedy and theatre.

Belfast’s music pub Auntie Annie’s to close: The well known venue, once part of the CDC Leisure chain, has been under the control of an administrator since June 2010.

Los Angeles’ iconic Gibson Amphitheatre to close in September: Live Nation has confirmed that the iconic Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California will shut in September as a result of the building’s lease agreement coming to an end. The company says the last concerts at the 6,000-capacity venue will consist of “very special” lineups.

Wembley Stadium celebrates 90th anniversary: Wembley Stadium is marking its 90th anniversary with a series of events to celebrate its illustrious history. The new Wembley stadium, which opened in 2007, was built on the site of the original north-west London stadium which hosted many legendary gigs, including Live Aid.

Glasgow Central Station to become music venue: Glasgow Central Station is to become a music venue in a new scheme which will bring weekly jazz concerts, regular dance performances and other cultural events to its main ­concourse.

Arts executives must ‘hammer home economic value of culture,’ says Maria Miller: The culture secretary said that the case for funding must be made on economic grounds. The sector was quick to respond, with Sir Nicholas Hynter arguing that the economic case is already clear, and NESTA also making the point that the creative economy now accounts for 10% of the economy and that the implications from its own research were that “to retain this strength… when times are tough we should be investing more, not less.”

NESTA’s vision is laid out in its Manifesto for the Creative Economy, released this month.

Arts Council England streamlines its boards: Arts Council England is streamlining its National Council to reflect new regional structures and strategic priorities. It is to reduce the number of people serving on its National Council, in order to ‘streamline decision making.’ The funding body is responding to the recommendations of a report, commissioned by ex-Chair Dame Liz Forgan.

Creative Scotland emails reveal ‘political’ belief: Emails from former Creative Scotland chief executive Andrew Dixon reveal his belief that criticism of the body was “highly political”.

Investec survey – 40% of people want businesses to fund the arts: Four in ten people think UK businesses have a duty to support the arts sector through corporate sponsorshop and more than a third say wealthy individuals should offer more financial support to the arts, findings of a new survey from Investec Wealth & Investment reveals.

Tesco Clubcard founders set their sights on the arts with an investment in box office data specialists Purple Seven: New initiatives to drive customer loyalty and stimulate growth in the arts sector are set to emerge from a new venture involving Tesco Clubcard pioneers Clive Humby and Edwina Dunn. The couple have made a “significant investment” in box office data specialists Purple Seven with a view to boosting earned income in arts organisations.

Cultural Olympiad attracted audience of 43.4million: The four-year-long UK-wide Cultural Olympiad marking London’s hosting of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012 attracted an audience of 43.4 million – 25.8 million outside of the capital – to more than 177,000 events in over 1,000 venues nationwide, a new report by the festival’s board reveals.

BECTU seeks blanket ban on upfront fees: Entertainment union BECTU is calling for a blanket ban on agents and directories charging upfront fees. The union is arguing that current legislation allowing agencies that find work for actors and entertainers to charge such fees for putting information about them in a publication – including a website – should be scrapped.

London market buskers fined as licensing row remains ‘unresolved’: Buskers are staying away from a market in east London for fear of being fined by local council enforcement officers, who have warned them not to play there in future.

Plan for compulsory instrument lessons for pupils gains Andrew Lloyd Webber’s backing: Andrew Lloyd Webber is backing a multimillion pound scheme aimed at implementing compulsory musical instrument lessons in selected secondary schools. Lloyd Webber has complained that ministers have so far been unresponsive to the initiative. 

Jury in place for Jacksons v AEG Live: The jury is now in place for the big Jacksons v AEG Live court case. Agreement was reached by both sides on which six men and six woman should sit on the jury for the case sooner than initially expected. With the case due to begin,  the doctor convicted for causing Michael Jackson’s death through negligence, Conrad Murray, has given another interview from jail declaring his innocence and announcing that he is determined to win his medical licence back.

Turkish pianist to be retried for insulting Islam: The initial conviction, and 10 month suspended sentence, has been set aside due to procedural errors.

Pussy Riot member denied early release from prison: Judge says Nadezhda Tolokonnikova has ‘not always followed the rules of behaviour’.

Madonna accused of violating Russian visa laws: Madonna has been accused by a Russian legislator of violating tax and migration laws after allegedly performing a commercial concert in St. Petersburg with the wrong visa, and then failing to pay proper taxes on the money she made.

Rapper Aggro Santos ‘raped woman after being mocked’: The rapper and former I’m a Celebrity contestant Aggro Santos raped a woman in a hotel room following a show after she mocked him, a court has heard.

Ex-Woodruff Arts Center employee pleads guilty to embezzlement: Ralph Clark took $1.1million from his budgets and faces a sentence of up to 10 years.

Orange Order parade in Belfast passes peacefully: An Orange Order parade past St Patrick’s Catholic Church on Donegall Street in Belfast city centre has passed off peacefully. The Parades Commission determination had stipulated that a single drum-beat should be played while passing the church, but the band did play some music.

Clubbers mix former legal high mephedrone with ecstasy, despite ban: Research shows that polydrug use is increasingly common

Royal NZ Ballet suffers lockout in China: The risk of serious injury from chilly theatre conditions has forced the Royal New Zealand Ballet to cancel two shows in its tour of China.

Philadelphia Orchestra fund-raising still has a way to go: Although now out of bankruptcy, the orchestra is still operating hand-to-mouth with long term security not yet ensured.

Lucerne orchestra axes concert with Depardieu: The city of Lucerne’s symphony orchestra has cancelled a concert featuring French movie actor Gérard Depardieu next month for fear of protests over his appearance.

King’s investiture song in Holland reinstated: The John Ewbank song that was dropped after it received heavy criticism is back in the programme of events after this shown to be the preference of 60% of the public.

Choristers say BBC Songs of Praise fee is ‘an insult to singers’: Choristers at Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff have been angered by the payment offered by the BBC to appear on Songs of Praise. They were  offered £110 to perform over two days, but the rate agreed with the union Equity should be £214 a day.

First ever International Opera Awards go to Frankfurt, Jonas Kaufmann and Nina Stemme: The awards were set up to promote opera to a wider audience as it comes under increasing financial pressure.

Royal Philharmonic Society honours ‘life-changing’ musicians: The Royal Philharmonic Society has announced that it will award its most prestigious honour to five musicians to mark its 200th birthday. The recipients, who include British viola player Rosemary Nalden and pianist Ricardo Castro, will be given an honorary membership. The society, which has only given out 131 memberships in the past 187 years, said the musicians had all made a “profound difference” with their work.

Manager of Swedish rockers Crashdïet dies at gig in Nottingham: The manager of Swedish glam rock band Crashdïet has died after suffering head injuries in an accident at the band’s gig in Nottingham.

Touring pioneer Shirley dies: Rock tour trucking pioneer Edwin Shirley, who provided concert logistics for the likes of Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones and Michael Jackson as well as the London leg of Live Aid, has passed away.

Beyoncé bans press photographers from Mrs Carter world tour: Singer to issue official photographs only, following unflattering portrayals of Super Bowl performance.

The Rolling Stones play tiny club show in Los Angeles: The gig took place at The Echoplex with most tickets distributed to fans via a ticket lottery which took place earlier in the day at the El Rey venue across town, after the news of the show went online that morning. The start of the main tour has been delayed due to  NBA playoffs

Pink postpones Birmingham concert due to illness: The American singer was due to perform at the LG Arena but has had to postpone the performance because of an inner ear and breathing infection.

Composers announced for new music biennial: Twenty new works from the likes of composer Matthew Herbert and folk group Lau are to be created for a New Music Biennial in 2014. The inaugural event, developed by PRS for Music, is designed to “celebrate creativity” and “inspire audiences” across the UK.

Canterbury music fans can play in virtual orchestra: A virtual orchestra has been set up in Canterbury allowing members of the public to take on the roles of the conductor or musicians. The Universe of Sound opens at Canterbury Christ Church University and features the Philharmonia Orchestra and its conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen.

Gareth Malone begins search for young ‘contemporary choir’: TV choirmaster Gareth Malone has launched a national talent search to create an “inspiring” choir showcasing young talent.

Roddy Doyle’s The Commitments becomes West End musical: The musical, also written by Doyle, will preview at London’s Palace Theatre starting in September.

The National to perform their song ‘Sorrow’ for six hours straight at New York gallery: The band have joined forces with artist Ragnar Kjartansson for installation/performance art piece ‘A Lot Of Sorrow’.

Musician Mark Vis brings piano to streets of Brighton: A musician is taking his piano to the streets of Brighton in a bid to bring people together through music.

And finally

Music fans caught out by Jimmy Kimmel Coachella spoof: Festival-goers at Coachella 2013 in California try to show off their edgy musical knowledge, but come unstuck as they unwittingly praise non-existent bands.

Sarah Brightman wants to pioneer space rock. Literally: Singer hopes to write and record music on the International Space Station, when she will become the first professional musician to dock there.

Live Music Features:

Maria Miller-  a mind already made up?: The economic case for the arts adds up, says Dan Rebellato, but doesn’t account for the risk that gives culture its true value.

The $20 Ticket: Bob Lefsetz on the background to Kid Rock’s cut-price tour.

What’s behind sky-high concert ticket prices?: CBC news on the high price of tickets for major concerts.

Why This Year’s Two Big Australian Hip-Hop Festivals Collapsed: A Billboard report on the last minute cancellation of two major festivals.

Why most dance acts don’t get paid royalties for radio, clubs or festivals: The Guardian on why the technology exists for artists’ radio or live plays to be tracked, but most get nothing when their work is used.

Leeds Arena giant mint helmet or technicolour dreamboat?: Bold, brazen and bling, Leeds’ £60m new venue looks like a giant bug – but is a strangely appropriate addition to the city asks Oliver Wainwright.

Even the Score- Female composers edge forward: Alex Ross in The New Yorker on the progress being made by female composers.

Hidden history: Greg Sandow on how gambling was used to fund Italian opera in the nineteenth-century.

Chinese Opera Performers See Fewer Faces in the Audience: The New York Times on the life of touring opera performers in Thailand.

Opera dressers – quick, my hot towels!: Hermione Hoby looks at the work backstage at New York’s Metropolitan Opera.

How late should you play when you’re pregnant?: Norman Lebrecht questions the effect on German orchestras of legislation regarding pregnancy and the workplace.

House concerts bring magical music into front rooms: A BBC report into the rise of the house concert.

The 10 Most Annoying Concert Behaviours: Rolling Stone on the most irritating things that audience members do at rock gigs.

Gig regrets? I’ve had a few … : Dave O’Neil takes a lighthearted look at missing gigs.

Live Music Exchange Events:

Live Music Exchange, London: ‘Changing Times for Live Music: Sustaining a vibrant live music ecology’: City University London, 14th May 2013, 9.00am-5.00pm, £10/5 (conc).

A one-day conference organised by The University of Edinburgh’s Live Music Exchange and City University London’s Department of Creative Practice and Enterprise, featuring Paul Latham (Live Nation), Will Page (Spotify), Simon Frith, and Dave Laing.

Click here for the programme and to register.

Introduction to Live Music Promotion

Date: Wednesday May 15th
Time: 10:30am – 5:00pm
Cost: Free (but spaces are limited)
Venue: Musicians’ Union, HQ- 60-62 Clapham Road, London, SW9 0JJ

Live Music Exchange and the Musicians’ Union present a one-day workshop for publicans, barstaff, DIY musicians and anyone looking to find out more about how to get into putting on gigs.

Opportunities to present live music have expanded greatly since the Live Music Act came into effect in October 2012. This workshop will point you in the direction of how to take advantage of the new regulatory environment effectively and effectively- to benefit your business or act.

Experts on the regulation of live music and the practical aspects of running gigs will take you through the MU’s Live Music Kit in hands on discussion groups and Question and Answer Session.

The event is free but due to the interactive workshop nature of the event, space is limited:
Email contact@livemusicexchange.org for more details or click here to register.

Live Music-Related Events

Musicians’ Union: What’s the Deal?: The MU brings professional advice and networking sessions to the coasts of Devon and Dorset this spring, visiting both Bridport and Torquay and looking at the latest MU campaigns and services to members, together with an overview, updates and advice on copyrights, agents, teaching, royalties and income streams, live issues, insurances, tax, promoting and monetising your music online, partnerships, contracts. For MU members.

Bridport: Bridport Arts Centre, South Street, DT6- 29th April 2013, 6-9pm /
Torquay: The Imperial Hotel Hill Park Road, TQ1 4LD- 30th April, 6-9pm

Promoters and Artists’ Fund: Deadline for applications – 1st May 2013

Café Oto are launching a Promoters and Artists Fund to support the creation and delivery of new live events with UK-based musicians. The fund is made possible through support from the Jerwood Charitable Foundation.

What is on offer:

Finding the Music in Technology: The Station, Silver Street, Bristol, BS1 ATG, 9th May 2013 , 5pm- 6.45pm

The Bristol Music Education Partnership are offering their second training session this year: ‘Finding the Music in Technology‘ and will be led by musician Barry Farrimond.

It will be a hands-on workshop about how to use technology to create great music effectively and quickly in the classroom, so bring an instrument if you’d like to test some of the recommendations out.

17th Biennial IASPM Conference: Laboral Ciudad de la Cultura, Gijón, Asturias, Spain, ‏ 24-28 June 2013.
Bridge Over Troubled Waters: Challenging Orthodoxies.

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Her work has been published in the journals New Media & Society, Transformative Works and Cultures, Participations, Social Semiotics and Continuum.

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In recent years, the widespread use of mobile technology, with inbuilt cameras, video capturing tools and internet connections, has permitted a powerful interjection into behaviour at live music concerts. As The New York Times journalist Neil Strauss first observed at a concert in 1998, “everybody was holding up their hands, and here and there I could see guys holding up their cell phones, playing the music for someone else”. Thus, mobile phones were beginning to replace the traditional lighter, held in the air, capturing and preserving moments and also, most fascinatingly, connecting with non-physically present audiences.

Since 1998, mobile technology has developed even further, with internet and text connections allowing a stronger connection with online audiences, alongside smart phones and tablets permitting audience members to film and capture moments of the concerts, with the prospect of then sharing them online. However, this process, and its impact on the live music experience on musicians and the audience in attendance, can be quite complicated. Whereas some artists, such as U2 and R.E.M, have been known to encourage an occasional wielding of mobile phones from their audiences (for example, to text their support to a cause, or to use the screens as a light effect during songs), other artists actively discourage it. On 7^th April 2013, at a concert in New York City, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs posted the following sign onto the door of the venue asking audience members to refrain from using their phones to film and watch the show:

Please do not watch the show through a screen on your smart device/camera. Put that shit away as a courtesy to the person behind you and to Nick, Karen and Brian. Much love and many thanks! Yeah Yeah Yeahs.  http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/shortcuts/2013/apr/10/yeah-yeah-yeahs-phones-gigs

In response to this, the BBC subsequently posed the question “should music fans stop filming gigs on their smart phones?” (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22113326), concluding that “it is likely that the ‘sea of cameras’ is here to stay”.

Just as some musicians have struggled with this ‘sea’ of technology during live performances, the response within music fandom has been equally as complex. For example, an emerging technological practice within some popular music fan communities relating to artists who change their concert set-lists on a frequent basis has recently become visible: some fans at shows are engaging with individuals who are following the concert “live” from the comfort of their computers or smart phones, rather than being physically at the concert hall itself. In 2012, I conducted a study on the fan cultures of prolific touring artists Tori Amos and U2, unravelling how assigned texters and tweeters at each show would alert the non-physically present fans around the world information about the concert set-list as it happened, and deliver updates about any other news surrounding the show and various photos. These online fans would then gather together to follow the show “live” as it unfolded through the evening. I demonstrate in this work that the use of these online tools is involving individuals who are not physically present at the show, seemingly incorporating them into the real-time “live” experience. My argument is that we should see this practice as an effort by fans to contest and reshape the traditional boundaries of the live music experience. In addition, this process works to re-appropriate ideas of immersion in “liveness” (Auslander 2008), which is “a relationship of simultaneity” (Auslander 2002: 210) that occurs between an audience and a “live” event.

In an effort to explore this practice of texting and tweeting further, during October and November 2012, I conducted an anonymous Tori Amos fan survey (forthcoming, 2014), with the desire to understand and unravel the consequences of this process on the live music experience of those who were physically attending shows.  It received 56 responses, from 17 different countries, with the majority of participants aged between 30 and 45. I examined the responses of those engaged in this activity during concerts, and how non-users perceived and articulated it, in order to ascertain the extent and manner with which use of technological tools and subsequent connections with non-physically present individuals are changing, and can change, an audience member’s engagement within the live listening process. I discovered how these technological practices during live shows are regarded by some fans as a vital element with which to solidify a communal feeling and inclusivity amongst the fan community:

I think it makes the fanbase more solid, cooperative and it works as a feedback to the shows. It keeps people’s excitement high during all the tour, a thing that never happened to me with other bands who always stick to the same setlist night after night, or who’s not really good live. I really enjoy to participate to the setlist frenzy, you actually feel the tour is happening, somewhere (Tori Amos fan survey respondent, 2012).

However, there also appeared to be a conflict for some fans between wanting to engage in these acts of service to the particular online fan community and committing to what is perceived as their own undisrupted engagement in the live concert experience:

I have [texted and tweeted] for a couple concerts, because when I’m not in concert attendance it’s fun to live vicariously through others updating in real time. I don’t think I will continue this in the future, I have begun to abandon photo taking and texting/tweeting during concerts that have a real significance to me… I want to be more present during certain concerts, Tori Amos concerts for sure.  (Tori Amos fan survey respondent, 2012).

This respondent articulates the dual tensions experienced between wanting to keep the non-presents fan informed, while simultaneously remaining focused and engaged in the performances. It also raises questions surrounding understandings of being “present”, and how it may be impacted and complicated by the use of mobile devices, even though the user is physically present and in attendance.

Thus, while some fans are working in an effort to reshape, redefine and contest the traditional boundaries and distinctions of “being” at a show, the use of these technological devices during a performance is also raising complicated decisions. While these services are working as an important, inclusive and pleasurable tool for some online fan communities around the world, for some of those that are physically at the shows, the choice between texting, tweeting, filming, or remaining “in the moment” or “present” is often a conflicting one, which may be rendered even more demanding as technology, and the tools with which we can connect to others, and preserve and capture moments, develops further.

Acknowledgments

I’d like to acknowledge and give thanks to Iñaki Garcia-Blanco for his valuable comments and suggestions during the conducting of the survey and Rachel King for her support and help with its dissemination.

Lucy Bennett

You can email Lucy at: bennettlucyk@gmail.com

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