A Band’s Path to Success is Still There….. but

“Commercially, great music comes from adversity and people having to struggle and work hard. Artists should be inspired by the struggle.From a practical point of view, it is more difficult for promoters, though the opportunities are still there to get bands noticed. Managing a band and getting them to that level is a lot of work. The big step up is when the audience stops being your brother, sister, cousin or friends. It’s a big difference when you see you’re playing to people you don’t know, but who still like you.

The challenge, more than ever, is building something sustainable for the benefit of both artistes and promoters.There are probably more bands now than there ever and the main thing for them to understand is that they need to promote themselves and bring their own audience.

Head of Academy Music Group (AMG) promoting division Academy Events is Carl Bathgate, who believes that the best new bands are as likely to succeed as they ever were.

You’ve got the internet - and bands who find their own way. Then you’ve got artists who have played gig after gig after gig before becoming known. There’s still a path there and people with talent will always succeed.”

“The industry is struggling and that’s noticeable in ticket sales, and sometimes it’s hard for people to get into a band they haven’t heard anything about. So at that level, we try to keep ticket prices down and make the shows more accessible,” adds Bathgate.

Focus on talent

Most majors are signing bands that have an established touring platform and fanbase. Majors can then get involved in something they are good at, which is marketing, If you look across the board and take into account acts like Rihanna and Bon Jovi the live music industry as a whole is doing quite well. But the reality is you’re running a loss for all your shows until you’re acts are playing larger venues with the capacity to hold 2,000 + people.

What we need to be concentrating on as an industry is the grassroots level, so we have the great headliners of the future.

Everyone’s budget is squashed, and especially in the independent sector. If you have a band like The Black Keys or The Foo Fighters, you are selling records to sustain the live side. But real, genuine fans aren’t buying music anymore, so as a result it’s unsustainable.

The people who are in it for the wrong reasons will be pushed out, because there’s not the money there. It will hit a level - and maybe that’ll be a smaller industry working hard and working collectively.