UK Grassroots Tours shrink and Ticket revenues fall

The Music Venue Trust has released its 2024 annual report which saw UK grassroot venue tours shrink. Ticket revenue fell 13.5%.

UK Grassroots Tours shrink and Ticket revenues fall

While the Music Venue Trust (MVT) Annual Report 2024 highlights growth in support, grassroots venues continue to face major challenges.

One of the most concerning findings of the survey is the decline in locations on the UK’s primary and secondary touring circuits. In the 30 years between 1994 and 2024, the average UK tour declined from 22 shows to just 11.

The average 1994 UK grassroots tour was spread across a range of 28 different locations. In 2024, just 12 locations, all of them major cities, remained as primary and secondary touring circuit stops. They act as regular hosts to grassroots tours.

MVT released the report before the Scottish Parliament where only Glasgow remains a regular part of the national touring circuit. Even Edinburgh is struggling to be included on the majority of national tours by new and emerging artists.

Fewer Shows and Less Ticket Revenue

Fewer venues has led to a decrease in the total number of live music shows. This fell 8.3% since 2023. There was an even steeper decline in overall ticket revenues, down 13.5%.

“Venues, despite all the very welcome good intentions and acknowledgements they are receiving for their vital work, are still closing, still under extreme and totally unnecessary financial pressures,” said Mark Davyd, CEO of Music Venue Trust. “They are still failing to be recognised, as everyone agrees they should and must be, when government designs policy, taxation, and legislation.” “It isn’t good enough to keep saying how much we all value them. We’ve got to practically do something about it. We need action not words.”

Meanwhile, things are very different at the top end of of the live music market. Live Nation UK & Ireland Chairman Denis Desmond told Pollstar that “2024 was the best year ever for live music in the UK and Ireland, with fantastic sales for Coldplay, Taylor Swift and P!NK.”

US independent venue and promoter trade group NIVA is expected to release a similar survey for the US in late June.

Read and download the full Music Venue Trust (MVT) Annual Report 2024 here.

Bruce Houghton is the Founder and Editor of Hypebot. He is also a Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, a Berklee College Of Music professor, and founder of the Skyline Artists Agency