33. Pogues Singer’s Trading Wisdom: Shane Macgowan’s Legacy – From left: Santigold; Little Sims and Metronomy’s Mount Joseph. Integrated: Guardian Design; San Francisco Chronicle via Jessica Christian/Getty Images David Wolff-Patrick/Getty Images; Xavi Torrent/Redferns
Rising costs; space limitations; Artists have canceled live dates due to Brexit and the pandemic. Can travel be revived?
33. Pogues Singer’s Trading Wisdom: Shane Macgowan’s Legacy
The wisdom directed at musicians is simple: Does streaming mean you can no longer get paid to record? Do it as you go. If you go out and spin like the old musicians, you’ll be fine. This has been proven to be a myth. In recent months, Several acts announced that they were canceling tours or reducing their commitments because they simply could not play.
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Animal Collective recently put the kibosh on a November tour of the UK and Europe. “From inflation to currency devaluation, to shipping and transportation costs…everything worked out, but we couldn’t budget for this trip without losing money,” he told fans. Santigold canceled a fall US tour, saying, “I’m not going to sacrifice myself for a business that I’m not interested in and can’t work on.” Okkerville River employee Will Sheff estimated he lost $20,000 on a trip to the U.S. and Europe. Metronomy canceled a US tour due to the cost, and earlier this year Little Sims said it didn’t make financial sense to play in the US.
There was no last straw that made Santigold pull the dates for his new album Spirituals. “It’s been a confluence of factors over the last 10 years,” he said. The rise of live streaming is a major problem: a pressure on musicians to find other ways to make money. “Suddenly you have to constantly be marketing yourself, what can you sell, branding and merchandising, doing solo concerts, and constantly doing social media to market yourself,” he says. “Almost impossible.”
Then, as the epidemic grew, the demand for artists to cancel concerts and promote themselves increased. After the restrictions were lifted, the musicians resumed their tours. “You run back and everybody runs,” says Santigold. “So I had an unprofitable turn, and maybe it was my loss, and being in the public eye was the only incentive. That’s every musician’s biggest fear, if you’re not in front of people all the time, you’re not going to last.”
Over the years it has become clear that the pressures in the live music industry need to be addressed. Money is not good for anyone, as there is outrage over ticket prices. Especially with the introduction of dynamic pricing, it has shown that money doesn’t work for anyone, from fans who are taking advantage of it to artists who see tickets as overspending. During the epidemic, Some promoters have said that I expect a break from live shows could lead to discussions about reducing artists’ fees. No one can win.
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The situation has now worsened with the lifting of restrictions and the current economic crisis. British acts face the cost of Brexit on European tours, and Britain, with its low fees and mediocre artist support, is less attractive than ever on international tours. Spectators suffer significantly, and travel service and infrastructure costs rise.
“With so many people out of work during the pandemic, supply is quite limited,” said Sumit Bothra, managing director of ATC Management Europe, which includes PJ Harvey and Cathy Melua. “Also, with a lot of shows closing and a lot of promoters out of a job, there’s a lot of demand there. A 20-day trip can now be a 10-day trip. It takes a talented crew to put on a show, and many crews are out of business during the pandemic. (I can’t tell you how severe the effects of the epidemic have been: I was told earlier this year that there was a real problem with finding bolts of just the right size to build the stage.)
Artists returning to the road make it difficult to continue planning tours. It’s not just about the importance of geography, driving from London to Glasgow via Manchester rather than Southampton, but also ensuring that holidays are kept to a minimum as the artists still need to pay for the crew. Mike Malak Billie Eilish Agent Wasserman Music, who books others including Kelis and Pusha T, says it’s getting harder now when it comes to booking venues. “If you’re trying to plan a trip to Europe, you’re not going to get the beautiful trip you want unless you plan a year in advance. Many artists now have to take a day or two off or travel long distances between shows. That means two drivers—other expenses.
And the artist’s salary is the same. Or worse. Kathryn Ann Davies, who tours and writes as Anchores, has been praised for her 2021 album The Art of Losing, but says she has received offers that are half of pre-pandemic levels. “When I toured my first album, every show was a loss,” he says, “but you build something and think you’re going to do better, and the next year we’re not starting from zero. We’re starting from minus 20.” He said he could do this by making the commodity more difficult; But then he risks catching Covid – which means canceling more shows without insurance to cover the shortage.
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Animal Collective at the 2021 Pitchfork Festival in Chicago. Their UK and European tour has been cancelled. Photo: Annie Lesser/SPACE/REX/Shutterstock
And Covid is always a threat. She could derail a tour in a heartbeat and not only harm the artist. “Short-term cancellations often result in the loss of music venues without any revenue or compensation,” said Mark David of the campaign group Music Venue Trust. “The basic financial model of small fairs cannot absorb these costs. Something has to give, and I’m afraid the immediate consequences will shut down.”
A rootless building must also help. Bothra reported that some landmarks have seen a significant increase in rents since the pandemic began, with most of those interviewed being galleries, market tables, They complained about new fees for micro-galleries and video recordings of performances. Last week, Lancaster indie duo Lovely Eggs went viral after calling out Manchester’s O2 Apollo for taking a 30% cut from the O2 arena’s regular sale price. Earlier this year, A dry cleaner has defied politics by setting up their own pop-up shop outside the O2 Forum Kentish Town.
Davies won the grant to help musicians after launching a £250,000 fund to help performing artists. James Einscoe, the organisation’s chief executive, said: “It was oversubscribed by over £300,000. Their research showed that touring outside the EU was the biggest concern for British musicians, with administrative and financial costs due to increased financial and emotional burdens due to Brexit. Touring is not limited to money, he said: “You have a circuit in Europe where you can gather fans and spread people. And if you can’t do that It will not be possible to build a stable long-term structure. lifespan . lifespan. The result is that many musicians give up and don’t hear great music.”
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Even so, Cathy Jay Pearson, who recently completed a sold-out UK tour, says: “You know you’re touring for exposure.”
Many in the industry suspect that the crisis will be hardest on mid-level artists — those who play in big clubs and small theaters, or who may be at the next stage of their careers. But artists’ trade group chief executive David Martin says that’s not the whole story. “Some of the most famous artists have gone on to have many careers in the industry while struggling to make shows work for them. The idea that 5% to 10% of artists are good is also under threat. According to Martin, We will see the consequences of what is happening now in five to seven years, when artists who should be out now can expect to make a mark.
One solution, Martin suggests, is to end VAT on ticket sales. Money is put directly back into the ecosystem. There is a lot to talk about redirecting with others.
