There’s No Business For Show Business – Brooke Harwood

The British theatre industry reportedly employs around 290,000 people (as of 2018), making it one of a significant employer within the UK live sector as a whole. With the continuing disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, theatre has undoubtedly taken a substantial financial hit as a result of the virus. LMX research intern, Brooke Harwood, writes here about the efforts made to save a beleaguered theatre industry and the theatre companies’ determination to provide beloved festive shows in 2020.

Rethinking grass roots musicians and the small venue “crisis” – Chris Adams

Last year’s LMX intern Chris Adams (aka self described failed music-maker Piet Haag ), adds to the ongoing discussion over the small venue crisis with an alternative and musician focused perspective.

Paul Latham and Simon Frith (video) – Live Music Exchange, London – Tuesday 14th May 2013

Professor Simon Frith (University of Edinburgh) interviews Paul Latham, Chief Operating Officer of Live Nation UK and Chairman of Creative and Cultural Skills. Together they discuss Paul’s career in live music, the current state of the industry and the future of live music in the UK and globally, the relationship between the live and recording industries, and issues around secondary ticketing.

Gigographies: where popular musicians play – Dave Laing (2009)

Dave Laing maps popular music performance sites to understand the links between performers and their audiences, drawing on case studies including Elton John, and Manchester in the 1960s.

I’m waiting for the band: protraction and provocation at rock concerts – Richard Witts (2005)

An examination of the possible motivations, and practical aspects, of late arrival on stage at rock gigs and the ‘expectant void’ that it leaves for the audience.

Jammin’, improvisin’, groovin’… – Mark Doffman

Our latest guest post features Dr. Mark Doffman, from the University of Oxford, introducing his research on improvised jazz performances – digging beneath the apparent mystery of spontaneous musical group creativity to examine the interactions and gestures that lie beneath and the context in which they operate.

The business of authenticity: a false relation? – Nick Wilson (2011)

A paper considering the aesthetic and commercial success of the ‘early music’ movement during the 1970s and 1980s, paying particular attention to discourses of authenticity and their relationship to the market-driven commercial exploitation of this form of performance.

Live Music 101 # 2 – The political economy of live music: first thoughts – Simon Frith

In the second of the ‘Live Music 101’ series of blog posts detailing the themes and ideas that developed over the course of the initial live music project, Simon Frith examines the political economy of live music, and defines two basic models of performance as a starting point with which to examine the economic transactions between artist, venue, audience, and promoter.

Live Music 101 #1 – The Materialist Approach to Live Music – Simon Frith

The first in a series of posts that detail the themes and ideas developed over the course of research into the history of live music in the UK. Here, Simon Frith takes a materialist approach to live music, examining the factors necessary for a live music event. Simon also offers an initial typology of performance spaces and examines how the venues in which live music events take place have affected the evolution of live music promotion.

Setting the Record Straight. A Material History of Classical Recording – Colin Symes (2004)

A study of the materials that surround LPs and CDs as part of a cultural history of the record, and how the phonograph helped to democratise classical music by enabling it to be heard at home.

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