Today, the live music industry is joining together under #LetTheMusicPlay in order to lobby for government support for grassroots live venues and festival operators, the teams that work behind the scenes in live music, the promoters, tour managers, booking agents, DIY spaces and fans.
We’re not directly involved in live music, but we work with artists and musicians that thrive through their live music scenes and so I want to talk about the importance of their work and direct you to a couple of things you can do to support them.
Live music helps us be better
The live music scene in this country is something unlike those in any other countries - I’m not saying it’s better, it’s just different. It’s so deeply ingrained in our pop music and the output of our industry that you can’t really overstate its usefulness to musicians. Obviously fans enjoy live music and it can break down so many barriers to unify people, but it’s the effect of a healthy live scene on musicians that I want to talk about.
Better Songs
There is no more efficient system of feedback and improvement in any other industry that I can think of. Grassroots venues allow anyone starting out in music to have a suitably sized platform where they can play to their peers, test material, rework it and learn how to connect with audiences. That’s massive. Without that, we are just making music in a void, with no idea what connects with people beyond the listener counts. Without performing our music and engaging an audience, it’s much harder to turn them into fans - people that will market your music for you by trusted word of mouth.
Better Performances
Playing live forces you to play better. If you’re a musician and you struggle to play your songs perfectly in the privacy of the practice room, you don’t have the pressure to get better. Playing live is a risk. You could totally embarrass yourself in front of your peers or you could play a great show and ride off the adrenaline for a week. You learn how to play to entertain, not just muddle through. This all translates when you come to record. You already know what audiences respond to live, so you have a clear task ahead when it comes to how you want to capture a song.
Better People
Touring has also been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life and forged some of the best working relationships I’ve enjoyed. You will always see touring crews refer to themselves as family and it’s true. It’s a huge undertaking to make live events happen even at the smallest levels. It’s an amazing bond that grows from a team working together to put on an event and getting to see it effect the audience in such a powerful way.
Live music inspires us to create. We see amazing gigs and think “I want to do that”. Without visibility for music making, will people still be inspired to create it? We already know that most artists struggle to make any income from music - take away the things that make it feel vital and how many people are actually going to be inspired to begin the journey?
We Need To Keep Being Better
Financial support isn’t a long term solution, but without it, there won’t be a need for long term thinking. Live music will just be a thing of the past.
Until it’s safe to do so, we shouldn’t be cramming together in small spaces, singing along and getting sweaty. Like so much of this pandemic, it feels like things change dramatically even when there’s no actual change in the science. There is still no vaccine or effective treatment and the disease hasn’t died out to infection rates that are low enough to return to normal. That might not happen for a long time. So even with the support that is being asked for, people will still lose their jobs, venues will still close and musicians will still lose sources of income. Supporting this industry through this time is essential because without an industry at scale, touring won’t be viable. It may not be time to re-open the doors on live music, but if we ever want to enjoy it again, we need to give it a lifeline whilst it hibernates.
What you can do (don’t just stop at point 1!)
Amplify - Post photos and videos from your favourite shows with the hashtag #LetTheMusicPlay - it might not directly help, but it will help spread posts like this and raise awareness of the practical steps you can take that will increase the impact of the project.
Write to your MP - They Work For You - Ask them what they’re doing to support venues locally. Venues need to find ways to reduce overheads, pay staff, stay connected to audiences and councils need to play a huge part in supporting that. Demand action from your representative and ask them to support this issue and raise it in parliament.
Donate - Save Our Venues - donate the money you would have spent on gig tickets during the pandemic (or whatever you can afford). Many smaller grassroots venues do not have huge overheads and the difference that even a small grant could make to them could be the difference between them surviving or disappearing forever.
Speak to your local DIY venues - many of them may be multi-use spaces (cafe’s and bars, etc) or they may have merchandise for sale. Ask them what the best way to help them is. They may have schemes to pre-purchase tickets, donate to individual crowdfunding, help them with promotion on the community, etc.
We will all have a part to play as a collective fanbase, but this work needs the government to step in - the most important part of this process will be to apply pressure to your representatives.