BS HDIP LESSON FIVE

LIVE MUSIC AND TOURS

DISCUSSION1. How many of you are currently in

Bands?2. How many of you have bands that

play live?3. If not why not? What are

constraints/issues?4. If you do it why do you do it?5. Do you make any money?6. Can you see yourself making a

living from it in the future?

PLAYING LIVE• Live gigs are important for you as a band,

musician or vocalist.

• They can be your bread and butter, in the same way Remixes or DJ’ing is to producers. Or sessions are to a Musician.

• Especially as a student it is important for you to build these up and understand this area of the Music Industry.

LIVE MUSIC AND TOURS• Live music is the life blood of the music

industry and the commercial live music scene is varied and vibrant. Unlike the record industry, it is not threatened by piracy and associated technology.

• The Licensing Act 2003 has as its objectives the prevention of crime and disorder, the promotion of public safety, the prevention of public nuisance and the protection of children from harm.

• Any venue that plays music or sells alcohol needs a license.

VENUES• Festivals, stadiums, conference centres,

theatres, hotels, restaurants, pubs and clubs will all have to be licensed for live entertainment.

• It is now easier to get an Alcohol & Live Music License and there has been an increase in Live Music as a Result.

THE LIVE SCENE• The live scene is a fragmented market, it can

be hard to calculate precise figures.

• Counting The Notes, published by the National Music Council, estimated consumer spending on non-classical music in 2000 at £487 million. Opera, classical music and musical theatre together accounted for £360 million.

• This high market share of 42 per cent contrasts dramatically with the classical music share of record sales at around 6 per cent. i.e. There are a lot of people who go to Classical concerts but do not buy the Music

Live Figures• Almost half 47% of pubs, clubs, student unions

and restaurants featured at least one live act in the past year.

• In 2004 an estimated 1.7 Million took place.

• MU says this signals an increase.

• This is why you have more Live Opportunities in Guildford.

• If you want to play Live you just have to speak to BDC and submit a demo.

Figures• PRS Showed £13m in Live Music Ticket

Sales in 2004 up 16%.

• In the US Revenue from concert ticket sales reached $2.8 Billion.

• Selling 37.6 Million Tickets in the US.

GROWTH• Live Music has been the fastest

growing sector of the Music Industry in the last few years.

• It is now the biggest employer in the Music Industry.

• This has been significantly helped by Sponsorship.

Live Music Sponsorship • Carling, 02 (Wireless Festival), Vodaphone

(Live Music Awards), T-Mobile, Tennants (T in the Park).

• TV Coverage of these events help. Channel 4 has been particularly involved.

• 02 spent £2m on Music sponsorship in 2006 and plans to spend £7m in 2007.

Festivals• T in the Park: 75,000 People.

• Hyde Park Calling organised by the UK’s Biggest promoter Live nation: 80,000.

• Glastonbury next year: 175,000 people.

• There is a huge demand and a real opportunity for you as live artists to get involved.

THE LIVE SCENE• For the first time in many years, live music

is providing music publishers with a higher level of royalties than the record industry.

• The top end of the market has driven this growth as major organisations such as Clear Channel and Mean Fiddler Group have invested heavily in larger venues, major festivals and large-scale, one-off events.

The Change• Even popular acts are occasionally being asked by

bookers, promoters and agents to take a lower fee in exchange for a share of box office. Each operator in the live music scene is now looking to shift the profit risk towards the artist.

• Corporate gigs for product launches, entertaining customers and Christmas parties remain profitable opportunities for acts and musicians.

• You need to start establishing contacts at the grassroots level.

• Guildford remains an excellent place to start, and will allow you to cut your teeth and gain experience before tackling London and then abroad.

THE WHO’S WHO OF THE LIVE SCENE

• There are many operators in the live scene. Some take on several roles and some stick specifically to what they are best at.

• It is often difficult to define what role someone is carrying out when they talk to you about a possible performance – so ask.

THE VENUE OPERATOR• The venue operator runs the venue and decides

what sort of acts it can make profit from. The venue can be a pub, club, restaurant, theatre, village hall, church, shop, field and no doubt many others.

• The smaller venues tend to earn their income from non-music activities, such as alcohol sales or dinners. For these, music is a way of drawing in an audience and is an operating cost subordinate to their main business.

• Venue operators are responsible for licensing issues, health, safety and security. They may well provide the stage and PA system, but check first.

THE BOOKER

• The task of booking an act for a venue is that of the booker. The booker is usually employed by the venue for a salary or project fee and aims to attract acts that will sell 100 per cent of the tickets at the highest price.

• If you are selling yourself to a venue, then you need to talk to the booker. Not the venue operator – although in smaller venues they may well be the same person.

THE AGENT• The agent is the person in the middle who takes a

cut – often without either side knowing how much.

• The agent’s task is to find venues for acts and acts for venues. Some agents find work for individual musicians.

• Agents trade on their networks and their thorough understanding of the value of the product. They are not the most loved operators in the industry and both sides would like to cut out the agent.

• However, they would have to build and maintain the equivalent network and knowledge. Venues and musicians are probably better concentrating on what they do best.

PROMOTER & TOUR MANAGER THE PROMOTER

• The promoter is responsible for marketing the gig or event and guarantees a fixed or minimum income for the act and the venue, thereby taking the profit risk. The promoter works closely with an agent where one is appointed.

THE TOUR MANAGER• The tour manager’s role is to ensure that the act turns up

on time.• Is properly rehearsed and is kitted out and sound checked. • The tour manager also ensures that those involved in a

tour are looked after between sets and gigs. • This may mean booking hotels, transport and meals as

well as maintaining the wardrobe and the technical kit.

LICENSING• There are two licences that have are important in live

music. Generally the venue operator is responsible for both, but you may have a special interest in one of them if you are performing your own songs.

Licences issued by the local authority• Any venue supplying live music entertainment must apply

to the local authority (the council) for one of the following:

A premises licence A club premises certificate A temporary event notice. • There is an exemption for something described as

incidental music, and this covers live music that accompanies other activities such as eating in restaurants. This exemption only applies where the capacity is less than 200 persons.

PERFORMING RIGHTS LICENCE• The Performing Right Society collects money on behalf

of writers, from all venues playing live or recorded music.

• Some of these venues are asked to supply PRS with a play list so that PRS can distribute the licence fees to its members.

• Small venues do not have to comply with this requirement.

• If you are a member of PRS and you are playing your own songs to a capacity audience of 500 or more, then you should make sure you complete a PRS play list form, which can be obtained from the venue operator.

SUMMARY• Look at the live music scene as a number of different

markets. See how playing background music in a restaurant is a very different experience from playing a large-scale event with a featured band.

• Recognise that the commercial backdrop is just as different in each sector.

• The bigger the gig, the more complex the contractual arrangements and the inter-relationship between venue operator, booker, agent and artist.

• Ensure that you fully understand the risks taken by each member and how the money flows from the consumer to the various participants. Do not expect others in the profit chain to help you earn your share.

VIDEO: TOUR ADVICE FROM THE INDUSTRY

VIDEO QUESTIONS1. Why is Touring Important?2. What do you need to Tour?3. Have any of you actually been on Tour?4. In what ways is it different to the studio

experience?5. What do vocalists have to do?6. What was Stewart Copeland’s advice?7. What does Sting say?8. What key piece of advice does Sharon

Osbourne give?9. What other reasons other than money are

there for doing a Tour?10. Is Touring easy?