FEATURE: Harmonic Infrequencies: Artists Unable to Afford Touring and Small Festivals Closing Is a Truly Worrying Sign of Things to Come

FEATURE:

 

 

Harmonic Infrequencies

IN THIS PHOTO: Elkka/PHOTO CREDIT: Alex Lambert 

 

Artists Unable to Afford Touring and Small Festivals Closing Is a Truly Worrying Sign of Things to Come

_________

ONE of the saving graces…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Wendy Wei via Pexels

of modern society is live music Maybe ‘saving graces’ is the wrong term: perhaps something more appropriate would be ‘uplifting factors’. It sounds less poetic and important, but the truth is that live music provides escape, release, community, discovery and passion. It is a forum in which people can come together and witness something truly special. Whether that is a small gig or a major festival, the post-pandemic desire for live music seems vital! We went nearly two years without easy access to gigs. Since then, there has been a real catharsis. Many have said how live music returning was a lifeline of sorts; a way of getting back to normal and making up for lost time. Certainly, the physicality and human connection you get with gigs has been a very welcome return – the pandemic Zoom/streamed gigs were okay, yet nothing can replace the feel and sensation of being in the same space as an artist. Even if there is that desire from people to see live music, worrying trends and statistics suggest that many artists cannot afford to tour. Indeed, some smaller festivals are reigning themselves in or packing up for good. The high cost of touring – Brexit’s strictures and uncertainty has definitely not helped at all – means many artists are choosy about where and when they play. Gig-goers are still out there, yet a younger demographic is struggling to find money for gigs. An article in The Guardian highlighted the fact that things are in a pretty worrying place right now:

“Musicians are dropping out of festivals because huge rises in the cost of performing are outstripping their fees. Artists told the Observer they have had to turn down offers to play or cut out elements of their live shows, while others have revealed they have lost as much as £17,000 for a single performance.

Although ticket prices have risen by 15% on average, the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) warned that the costs of staging a show are up by 30%, and that gap is costing both artists and promoters.

More than 100 UK festivals – one in six – have closed permanently since the start of the Covid pandemic, three in the last week alone, due to staffing shortages and the high costs of energy and equipment such as fencing, toilets and stages.

Maxïmo Park were due to play Chagstock in Devon this month but the organisers cancelled it, blaming escalating costs and lower than expected ticket sales.

“It’s a real shame,” said Paul Smith, Maxïmo Park’s lead singer. “I think a lot of festivals are wondering whether it’s worth putting it on, and a lot of smaller acts are wondering if it’s worth the small fees to get there.” The indie rock band are known for their lively stage shows and were unable to tour with their 2020 album, Nature Always Wins, because of lockdown. This summer they have just a handful of dates planned, including Hartlepool’s Tall Ships festival.

“We’ve stripped back because of the costs – we didn’t take a lighting engineer on our recent European tour,” Smith said. Brexit rules have also made touring more expensive due to the cost of visas and cabotage rules on tour buses.

The Newcastle singer is also part of Unthank : Smith, a collaboration with folk singer Rachel Unthank. “We put a record out this year,” he said. “We looked at a few logistical things. It would have cost us a lot of money to do festival dates, and our fees would have been minimal. So we didn’t.”

Elkka, the electronic artist whose 2021 club hit Burnt Orange helped get her a Radio 1 residency, played a DJ set at this year’s Glastonbury. “I have to be really, really selective about what I do and whether it’s possible financially,” said the musician, whose real name is Emma Kirby. “I’m a DJ as well, so sometimes I look at something and think that I can’t afford to take a show because it’s too expensive to take my show there. So I DJ instead – but I’m lucky to have that option.”

John Rostron, the AIF’s chief executive, said the Hideaway festival in Essex, Tokyo World in Bristol and Doune the Rabbit Hole in Stirling had all been forced to abandon this year’s plans since the AIF had published research showing that there were 482 festivals left, down from 600 in 2019.

“I’m very nervous about the state of the market,” he said. Independent festivals had struggled through Covid with bounce-back loans, but many had sold tickets at 2019 prices for festivals that were delivered at 2022 prices. “You had events that sold out but lost money. So there was no cushion.”

At the other end is a lack of demand from young music fans. Data from AIF members shows that 20% of ticket sales are now paid for in instalments, up from 4% in 2019, but very few people under 24 are even taking payment plans, Rostron said”.

This is not a new thing at all. Things were worrying pre-pandemic but, with the rising cost of living coupled with the dropping demand, and money artists and festivals are losing, the essential live sphere is dwindling. If major festivals like Glastonbury showed that many thousands supported the arts and wanted to be there, other festivals were not so lucky. I do wonder how many of the smaller acts who played Glastonbury made any money. Maybe it was the honour of being there. Outside of that festival, can many really take the hit of breaking even or losing money by touring? The fabulous Elkka (Emma Kirby) has said, as  a Queer artist, she wants to place in spaces with her tribe. A space where she feels heard and seen. It can be costly to get there and play those venues. Taking a big loss at times, there is so much working against artists. They want to see people and please their fans but, touring relentless as they can, it is impacted their mental health and finances. Many smaller festivals sold tickets at 2019 prices, the pandemic put things on hold, and they operate at 2022 prices. Rising costs and inflation means that they are losing out. These smaller festivals are crucial when it comes to showcasing new talent and giving people options regarding artists and genres. If they dwindle and we loss many of these wonderful festivals, it impacts the entire industry! Many artists will quit or find it hard to sustain a career. Between the cost of touring, fans having less disposal income, and the mental health of those in the industry being hit, it is a very troubling moment right now.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Pixabay via Pexels

It is not only the U.K. which is seeing struggle. Breaking America and touring there is a privilege that few can afford. Still a nation where you can get huge exposure and opportunities, the complexities of getting there and being able to afford to play there is meaning many stay at home. This article from last month highlighted how many Irish artists are not travelling to the U.S. to play because of the costs and difficulty in securing a visa for an affordable cost:

“For many musicians, the price may simply be too high to pay. Already, God Is An Astronaut, an internationally successful live band from Wicklow, who have toured in places as far-flung as Russia, Ukraine, India and Australia, as well as across the US and Canada – and whose 2023 schedule currently includes gigs in Italy, Romania, Hungary and Peru – have decided against touring the US in 2024.

“The proposed hike in visa fees,” band leader Torsten Kinsella says matter-of-factly, “will put touring out of reach for all new, upcoming European artists. And even for established independent artists.”

For a touring party of six, the additional upfront costs amount to in the region of $7,000. And that money has to be paid in advance, along with the legal fees that a visa application almost inevitably entails. Torsten stresses the anti-competitive nature of the US plans.

“American bands who come to tour in Ireland and Europe do not face the same costs,” he says. “They pay a fraction of what we already have to pay – giving the US music industry an unfair advantage.”

So far, he suggests, the official Irish response has been defined by a desire to avoid ruffling feathers.

“The Irish government will not intervene on this matter,” he says bluntly, “as they are fearful of upsetting their US counterparts.”

“These increases could have a serious impact on the ability of our members to work in the United States,” the general secretary of Equity, Paul W. Fleming, complained to US magazine, Variety. “Equity would echo the concerns of other trade unions and engagers across the industry who have called for them to be reconsidered.”

While Equity does not support a tit for tat response, there are others – including musicians – who think that's the only thing that will focus minds.

One industry insider suggested that the UK – and potentially Europe – should reciprocate by imposing similar work tariffs, putting an equivalent squeeze on American artists and bands coming to Europe. It is part of a wider, recent drift towards trade protectionism – which is inherently contrary to the spirit of cultural exchange.

In relation to the UK, as it happens, there is already potential trouble ahead for Irish artists.

“The problem with touring in the UK, post-Brexit, is the possible requirement for an ATA carnet,” Torsten Kinsella explains. “This has not yet been fully enforced between Ireland and the UK, but if it is, it will mean putting up thousands of euros as a bond to import/ export your musical equipment – which most bands simply cannot afford to do.”

Irish band Modernlove. are a young outfit on the rise. They have been making significant progress internationally, touring widely – including in the US.

“We recently completed our debut 16-date US tour on a P1 visa,” they told Hot Press. “We can totally appreciate the concern around this proposed fee increase and the impact it would have on artists at a similar level to ourselves.

“Gig fees won’t necessarily increase just because the costs of securing a visa have,” they observe. “And securing a visa can be a lengthy and expensive process anyway – so touring becomes even more precarious financially”.

I will round off with some further thoughts…proposing or hoping for some sort of recovery and growth. Last year, an article caught my eye that made me sad. The Guardian spoke with artists about their experiences post-pandemic. The industry was hard hit between 2020 and 2022, and when things reopened and we all emerged, it was a hard transition. So much damage had already been done. The article featured Australian artists such as Sampa the Great, Gang of Youths and Santigold. Being so far away from nations like the U.K. and U.S., the costs of flights and touring were proving impossible. Also, when the climate crisis is in the spotlight, many are trying to be responsible but finding that less damaging and polluting forms of transportation are not feasible and realistic:

“As the industry attempts to recover, a wealth of issues continue to wreak havoc on touring – and many of them are financial.

As a musician myself, I can say from experience that Australia has always been difficult to tour profitably. Starting out, you might be offered an opening slot on the national tour of a bigger artist – a vital way to expose your music to a wider audience, but not one that pays well (many support artists are paid as low as $100 a show). And to hit all the major cities, it’s virtually impossible to tour Australia by road – meaning you’ll need to buy flights for yourself, your band and in some cases your team and crew.

“There’s so much money that goes into it – and unless you have the means to fund a tour, and then potentially lose all that money, there’s no hope,” says Heather Riley, one half of Melbourne-based punk duo Cry Club. “Flights are so expensive at the moment. We can only do half tours if we get support slots, because we can’t afford to go to Perth.” 

Festivals, too, are not immune to soaring costs, staffing issues, and low consumer confidence – not to mention the destruction wrought by climate change over the past few years.

PHOTO CREDIT: user6702303 via Freepik

Extreme weather events have caused the cancellations or postponements of at least nine major Australian music festivals in 2022, according to Sydney Morning Herald. This list includes Splendour in the Grass, This That and Strawberry Fields, resulting in loss of income not just for promoters but for thousands of artists, crew, stall holders and other personnel relying on the weekend of work.

And for artists, it’s not just about the loss of fees (which can be anything from a few hundred dollars to tens or hundreds of thousands); they also lose the audience reach a festival set can bring.

A cashflow problem – and a confidence problem too

While costs are rising, artist fees are not – and tickets to regular shows are harder to move than ever. Many fans aren’t ready to return to the crowded, sweaty mosh; others are dealing with the cost of living crisis. And with the exception of blockbuster shows, people who do buy tickets are tending to buy them last-minute – creating a cashflow problem for artists, and a confidence problem too.

“Because we don’t have as many people buying pre-sale tickets, we don’t have a clear understanding of how a show is going to perform,” says Shannen Egan, a Melbourne-based artist manager. “We’re looking at the numbers, we’re looking at the inflation of touring costs, and asking if this is really sustainable.”

‘Don’t shame them for their honesty’

In May, the Swinburne University of Technology released a study surveying 1,300 people working in live performance and music. More than half of respondents had experienced suicidal thoughts – over four-and-a-half times the proportion of the general population – and more than one in ten of them had acted on them.

Nearly two in three reported high or very high levels of psychological distress, making it four times as common as in the general population. Among vulnerable groups, the proportion of highly stressed respondents was even worse: 83% of non-binary people, 72% of women, 75% of people under 35, 81% of people with a disability or long-term health condition and 81% of people on a very low income”.

 PHOTO CREDIT: jcomp via Freepik

 The findings and statistics are alarming: “More than 100 UK festivals – one in six – have closed permanently since the start of the Covid pandemic, three in the last week alone, due to staffing shortages and the high costs of energy and equipment such as fencing, toilets and stages”. That is what we learn from that first article in The Guardian; a new study that spotlights how so many artists are losing a big amount by playing live. Many bands are not taking a whole crew on the road. Unbale to afford the fees and extra costs, that stripped-back set means that so many who relied on income from touring are going without. Look at Billy Nomates’ performance at Glastonbury. She (Tor Maries) played without a band. Not that she needed one to wow the crowd, but I feel that the cost of getting them there would have made her a real loss. Performing solo, the fact so many criticised her meant that she asked the BBC to remove footage of her playing from their social media and page – as the comments and attacks were making her feel very hurt and vulnerable. Because of that, she has said that there would be no more touring after the summer. It is hard enough for artists to survive and flourish on the road. They need to think about their pockets and mental health. If both of these are strained and endangered, that has a big impact on the whole industry – and it is a troubling picture for artists coming through that are excited about the prospect of touring. There does need to be a plan and committee put together worldwide that ensures that there are fewer losses in the future. Perhaps there are no easy solutions and quick fixes. It may be a long-term recovery, yet every article that highlights the fact that the live music scene is in trouble is met with anxiety about the future. After such a tough past few years, live music has been something that has provided essential contact and nourishment! Now more than ever, it is something that we…

CAN’T afford to lose.

Sam Liddicott