Bands and DJs are resorting to inviting huge guest lists to their gigs in order to boost numbers because as many as four in 10 ticket holders are not turning up.
When the government announced the roadmap out of lockdown in February, many shows sold out within hours, and the events that happened straight after things opened up were “bananas”, as one promoter described them.
But as time has gone on, the live music world has got noticeably quieter. Nights that sold out in an hour are nowhere near full, and the dancefloor is feeling unusually empty.
“You always had people that didn’t turn up,” said artist manager Graeme Stewart. “It was around 5% normally, but you’re getting as much as 40% no-shows for some gigs now. It’s an enormous problem, and it’s happening for anything that’s ticketed.”
Dublin-based promoter Will Rolfe agrees. He thinks there is a 40% no-show on average in the UK at the moment. “It’s a big issue and it’s having a real knock-on effect,” he explained.
Sacha Lord, the co-founder of Parklife festival and night-time economy adviser for Greater Manchester, said even the most popular line-ups are being affected. “We’re seeing a big drop-off, even at really hot, sold-out shows. It’s happening every single night, and it’s affecting all artists.”
While Lord puts it down to people being worried about Covid – or actually having it – others say punters are forgetting or simply making other plans. “The first few events were bananas but as time goes on people are not as committed to nights they bought tickets to months in advance,” said Stewart. As a result, he said artists have resorted to making massive guest lists to boost numbers. “Notice how no one’s posting pictures of the crowd? If they did it would be empty.”
Shows that had to be moved due to lockdowns and border closures have been particularly badly affected. Ticketing app Dice said almost 30% of gig-goers, from March 2020 onwards, chose to get a refund when this happened and many acts, such as Bicep, Lianne La Havas and James Bay, had to reschedule on multiple occasions. Phil Hutcheon, founder and CEO of Dice, said that even though a lot of tickets are being sold, and the market feels quite buoyant, people are now far more likely to ask for their money back.
He said: “People are returning tickets a lot more frequently now than pre-pandemic. The pattern we have seen is that each time a show is moved, the person who bought the ticket is a lot less engaged about attending.” DICE say those tickets are then offered to people via its waiting list feature.
Many, however, do not ask for refunds, which makes it hard to gauge how busy it will be. “You cannot message every person to see if they’re still coming, so no one knows what is going to happen. You are still getting money coming in from the tickets, but money is being lost on bar spend and security costs,” said Stewart.
Rolfe said this is a particular issue for smaller venues because they are losing money on food and drink, it affects staffing costs and bands are missing out on merchandise sales. “It’s really hurting small venues that are reliant on every person being in the room.”
Some genres are faring better than others, but Hutcheon thinks venues are likely to be more wary about who they book. “Electronic music is doing a lot better, clubs are busier, but it’s a lot more expensive to bring a live band from a different city than a DJ or hip-hop artist. Promoters and venues are more cautious now.”
Lord said it is not just venues that are struggling: “The knock-on effects of this are phenomenal. It’s decimating the whole industry.”
• This article was amended on 17 December 2021 to clarify that the statistic of almost 30% of gig-goers choosing to get a refund relates to the period from March 2020, and to add details about Dice’s waiting list feature.
