Sitting here watching THIN LIZZY play to thousands at REGAL THEATRE HITCHIN on a BBC4 Sight and Sound special. Packed out and rocking !!

It reminded me of the amazing music scene in the UK before the agents and other 10% ers leeched onto the live scene.

Today big bands would miss out HITCHIN and the Regal Theatre is long gone. In the old days town as small as MALVERN would see THIN LIZZY roll up to the WINTER GARDENS and thousands would converge from the villages and towns from around 15 miles.

Today no wonder the bands sell sweet nothing compared to the past. Tours now go to big city venues - all them corporate with no sense of place or loyalty. The bands are brands and there is no real connection with the fans.

Barfly tried to open in some smaller cities like Cambridge and Brighton but failed - perhaps they will try again but what is holding back the live scene in the UK is the need of AGENTS to get money for bands.

As soon as a band is signed the AGENTS are all over it like a rash pushin up the fees for the band from £50 to £500 to £1000 for bands who have never even troubled the charts and for chart bands you are looking at around £10K+

The bands divorce themselves from their audiences and have high ticket prices.

For instance at the new Garage venue some of the shows there for unknown bands are selling for £20 !!! which is astonomical.

Small towns are priced out by the agents.

The music industry in the UK is dead compared to the 70s ( Yes Live music was bigger back then than now in reality ) and we are seeing the festivals now wipe out the last few venues outside the big cities - as for venues for up coming bands - all are losing money and outside the biggest chains no other can afford to keep going.

Live music is wanted by fans more than ever - but they cant get to it locally - and they are being priced out of much it. Now it is a middle class shopping item and festivals more so. It has no connection with society as a whole. This is why there is a massive disconnect with the music industry and why kids download for free and illegally.

The music industry has betrayed its roots and betrayed the very people who made it. It is now in its death throes - living on licensing and lift music and heritage festivals like Glasto - where old people gyrate on stage for middle class types from the BBC.

Even Mr Rotten himself advertises corporate butter on TV.

As one of 90s bands predicted - POP WILL EAT ITSELF - and it is well onto the last course right now.

There are so many groups touring that I want to see but can't reach. Someone said to me in a pub that bands would travel to all the theatres, town halls and clubs even if they were just a few miles from each other.

I seen a rock guitarist called Adam Bomb don't think his established himself in the U.K but his known in the states. He didn't play long but did a good show in front of 7 people and that gig was a £5 then next day saw a poster for unsigned band playing in a pub for £10.

I saw Groupie Girl on DVD which had Opal Butterfly and Broken English playing in a down and out halls which were out of on a middle of no where. When 10cc did there tour they even went to Chatham some other small halls. Andy Fairweather-Low is playing in a venue in Maidstone which only holds 370 odd.

Good points Andrew.

It is hard now to actually make sense of tour pricing and it is good that some artists are still playing small places.

It is such a shame that large venues in small towns dont exist anymore - most closed during the 80s for financial reasons to be turned into shopping centres or bingo or real estate.

We have a good number of small community theatres - but when the agents put their fees on top most well known bands cant survive on 300 or less sell out venues.

In fact there are very few venues between 300 and 1500 now in the UK including London.

We have a small scene - and the big bands with agents. It has polarised the live music business completely. I suppose you could say that there is also the ARENA circuit which did not exist before headed by the O2 with their £60 ticket prices.

The ticket model is now :

£10 and Under New Bands and Unsigned
£11 - £20 Mid Sized Venues and Bands ( very few )
£21 - £40 Large venues often with heritage bands
£41 - £80 Arena Venuues
£50 - £100 Stadium Summer Shows
£110 - £175 Festivals

There is very little of established acts on offer at the sub £20 a ticket these days - unless they are subsidised like the BINGLEY FESTIVAL free Friday event ( see another thread ) which is amazing value - as are their £25 day tickets.

SEE THIS THREAD...

www.kingofhits.co.uk/component/option,co...ew/id,46693/catid,5/

All that for a £25 weekend ticket and a FREE show on the Friday...

we're luckily blessed by a forward thinking council trying to do something right for their people....

and www.middlesbroughmusiclive.co.uk had over 100 bands over 10 stages and attracted 50,000 people through the gates for FREE!

thats £25 weekend tickets!

Day tickets will be £15 and onsale at the end of July...

there are 3 main music businesses

recorded music
songwriting & music publishing
live performances (concerts, touring etc)

The first 2 interest me but the live music model I have no interest in.

Not every artist needs or wants to go live - for many artists the interest is
in making great recordings.

I see the same thing with movies and live theatre.

Many actors would much rather just make movies and never walk the boards
of live theatre.

I really do with this whole push to perform live would go away.

Of course for many big established artists they can make a fortune from live concerts and good for them - me, I have no interest.