The Music Venue Trust has defended the live music industry after a recent study found that half of Brits felt they’d been ‘priced out’ of seeing live music.
The YouGov survey found that more than three-quarters of Britons (77%) think the price to see live music is expensive, with 44% saying it’s ‘very’ expensive.
But the MVT wants to raise awareness for how affordable live music can be, if fans are willing to let go of the likes of Harry Styles and Taylor Swift (who are, admittedly, very expensive artists to go and see).
The music venue charity described the research as ‘incredibly depressing’ and argued that live music is ‘literally the cheapest, easiest, most accessible cultural experience there is’.
The MVT pointed out that there are ‘brilliant, live affirming, incredible shows’ happening every day of the year with tickets for less than a tenner.
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It stressed that schools, communities and the media need to champion these smaller, grassroots music scenes as much as the gigs with the ‘flying pianos or cartwheeling robots’.
Blossoms at Night & Day. Credit: The Manc GroupBand on the Wall. Credit: Jody HartleyThe Pink Room at YES. Credit: Facebook, Yes ManchesterGrassroots music venues were used as an example of why music isn’t ‘too expensive’
The YouGov survey also found that most people think £40 or less is a fair price for a ticket – but 75% of the gig-going public have paid more than £50.
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It means that even those who are willing to cough up the increasingly high prices for live music are paying what they feel is over the odds.
The full open letter, signed by the Music Venue Trust’s CEO Mark Davyd, is below.
“In a new YouGov survey the UK public says less than £40 is a fair price for a live music ticket. The headline also says that people are being ‘priced out of attending’ live music events.
“There are literally hundreds of brilliant, live affirming, incredible shows happening every single day at local grassroots music venues. The average price of admission is £10.90 a ticket, but there’s almost certainly one near you this week for less than a tenner. They are performed by fantastically talented musicians, just as good as any you’ll see on a huge stage. There won’t be flying pianos or cartwheeling robots, but these days there will be great sound and lighting, delivered by professional technicians. Bar prices are affordable, the staff are welcoming, and the audience in them wants you there as part of the community. And no, Harry Styles isn’t playing, but you know who is? Somebody who deserves an audience just as much, who has written as many songs, is just as passionate about the music they are making, who has something to perform for you that you might fall in love with.
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“This survey says an incredibly depressing number of people didn’t attend a live music show in 2022. About a fifth of people apparently didn’t go because they thought they couldn’t afford it. So there’s something seriously wrong there, because it’s literally the cheapest, easiest, most accessible cultural experience there is.
“Let’s make sure every parent knows that. Let’s get every school teaching their pupils that. Let’s get out into our communities and make sure that every single person in them knows they have access to live music. Let’s ensure our local and national press are reflecting that. Let’s see the incredible music from these fantastic spaces on our TV, talked about on our radio, part of the national discussion of who we are and what we do.
“Let’s find the one third of the public who didn’t attend a show in 2022 and make sure they know what they are missing out on. 14% of people regularly attended a gig in 2022. Let’s double that. Let’s make 2023 the best year of live music ever.
“Let’s never leave anybody in the UK believing that this headline is true ever again.”
Featured image: The Manc Group
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Boyzone to reunite for exclusive New Year’s Eve special on the BBC
Danny Jones
2025 has very much been the year of the comeback – be it Oasis, Britpop fashion in general, or short bobs and pixie cuts – so it’s only fitting that we round off the calendar with one last reunion, as throwback boyband Boyzone are set to feature on a TV special on the BBC this New Year’s Eve.
Turns out ‘All That I Need’ to make a year memorable is a load of 1990s nostalgia.
Now, obviously, despite plenty of other music names enjoying a second renaissance over the past 12 months or so, nothing is ever going to be quite as big as the Oasis Live ’25 reunion tour.
However, if you asked us to guess which group from the era were also going to reunite this year back in January, there’s not a chance we would’ve said Boyzone.
Boyzone are telling us about coming back together for one final run in their most unforgettable concerts yet 🎤
After news first began circulating earlier this week, it has now been confirmed that musician turned presenter Ronan Keating will be getting back together with two of his former bandmates.
Joining the 48-year-old for ‘Ronan & Friends: A New Year’s Eve Party’, ex-Boyzone members Keith Duffy and Shane Lynch are part of an exciting live music lineup.
Other names include actor and singer, Shona McGarty, who recently starred on season 25 of I’m A Celeb, as well as fellow 90s pop artist Louise Redknapp and singer-songwriter Calum Scott.
The exclusive reunion comes after the success of the recently aired Boyzone: No Matter What documentary show.
Spread across three parts on Sky, the docuseries (named after their hit song from 1998) looks back on the career and journey up the charts back in their heyday, all the way up to the present. After seemingly striking a chord with fans and the lads themselves, it looks like they’re not done after all…
Yes, not only is the festive TV special going to see three of the original members performing alongside each other again, but
Here’s hoping that turns into a springboard for something even bigger, and we get a Manchester arena show sometime soon.
As for the programme itself, ‘Ronan & Friends: A New Year’s Eve Party’ will be broadcast on BBC One and made available on BBC iPlayer from Wednesday, 31 December 2025.
A candlelit Queen tribute concert is returning to Manchester
Danny Jones
Yes, you read that right: a candlelit concert dedicated to the one and only Queen, with a spectacular West End Cast and a talented live rock band, is coming to Manchester city centre in January.
In fact, it’s coming home, as this wonderful event started right here in 0161 back in 2021.
Concerts by Candlelight themselves host concerts up and down the country at various points throughout the year, but their much-loved ‘Queen by Candlelight‘ special knows all about lighting up Manc venues.
Having since gone on to become an internationally acclaimed live concert experience, we’re glad we still get to see the ‘Princes of the Universe’ on our doorstep.
Credit: Concerts by Candlelight (supplied)
With the likes of Bridgewater Hall and the magical Manchester Monastery all having played host to the promotion on many ocassions, this time Queen by Candlelight is coming to the legendary Manchester Opera House in the new year.
One of our most historic and legendary theatres, it’s only fitting, really, that they be chosen to welcome a night of equally iconic tunes.
But it’s worth reminding more casual fans that these aren’t just British rock and pop anthems; Queen‘s discography is one that still has global recognition to this day.
That’s why this specific show has been taken to virtually every corner of the world, with the incredibly talented cast of singers and musicians delighting audiences in Dubai, Australia, New Zealand and New York, to domestic crowds here in town and down in London’s West End.
‘Queenies’ or ‘Darlings’, as Freddie Mercury used to call them, can expect all the big hits, from ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and ‘We Are The Champions’, to ‘It’s a Kind of Magic’ and ‘Who Wants to Live Forever’ and plenty more from the back catalogue.
Here’s a glimpse of what’s in store this coming January:
With tickets already flying out fast, we really would recommend securing your seats early before they inevitably sell out.
To quote the promoters themselves, “this spectacular celebration of Queen’s biggest hits is guaranteed to rock you.”
Coming to the Manchester Opera House on Tuesday, 6 January, you can book your tickets for Queen by Candlelight right HERE.
And if you’ve never been to one of their candlelit events before, you only need to see how much of a ball we had at their country event earlier this year to find out how much fun they are…
Daisy Jackson -
28th December 2022 
