Cost of live crisis

Practically every week I seem to find myself writing a post about "the crisis facing live music in Britain" - and this week is no exception.

Dave Simpson's article on the subject for the Guardian is worthy of comment because it considers punters as well as performers. His piece goes beyond flagging up the spiralling costs of touring for artists (which are resulting in the likes of LoneLady having to scale back to being solo performers and rely on merch sales to make ends come close to meeting) and also acknowledges that, inevitably, those costs are being passed on to consumers.

Maybe it's just the nature of the gigs I go to, but my recent experience would corroborate the claim that enjoying live music is increasingly the preserve of the middle aged, with young people either forced to pick and choose what they see or priced out altogether. That can't be healthy.

If, in the light of recent debates centred on the Glastonbury line-up, we're genuinely serious about wanting to encourage the next generation of arena-scale artists and ensure diversity rather than homogeneity, then live music - as an inspiring and energising influence - must be accessible to all.

What's more, there needs to be much more support within the industry itself (as well as from national and local politicians and others) for grassroots music. Mark Davyd of the Music Venue Trust argues: "All new arenas should make a financial contribution towards helping struggling venues and developing artists at grassroots level. If they get it right, they won't make a penny less. If we collectively get it wrong, we'll lose a whole lot more." Not for the first time, he's speaking perfect sense.