New figures suggest much of the UK is becoming a ‘touring desert’
nme.comMusic Radar, artists and musicians are playing roughly 11 shows on average on the grassroots circuit in 2024 versus the 22 that used to be done in 1994.
The statistics come from industry stakeholders, promoters and artists alike.The situation has been described as a “spiralling crisis” for all aside from the biggest artists and promoters by Sam Duckworth – the Noughties singer songwriter Get Cape Wear Cape Fly – who works for the Music Venue Trust.Duckworth also spoke at the Beyond The Music conference in Manchester last week and shared: “My first major tour was 54 dates.
There’s no way I could do a 54-date tour now. What it really means is that fans in certain parts of the country have now either got to travel long distances or hope to be the one non-major city on a tour.“So not only are we seeing a crisis in economics, we’re also seeing a crisis of access.
There are vast swathes of the country where your only option is to travel an hour and a half. Then you factor in that the cost of everything has gone up.
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