Audio

Music Venue Trust hits back at claims that gig tickets are too expensive

'There’s something seriously wrong there,' the charity has claimed.

Daisy Jackson - 28th December 2022

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.

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’.

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.

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.

“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.

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“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