Olivia PowellA new report says that Brexit uncertainty is causing concert ticket sales with a longer sales cycle to move slower.
The Birmingham Live Music Project, produced by researchers at Aston University, Birmingham City University and Newcastle University, shared a number of concerns from UK industry figures during the one-day event.
One of the key challenges identified at a national level for live music was uncertainty with regards to Brexit. The report found that this uncertainity is leading to a drop in consumer confidence.
Ticket sales phases are suffering, especially those with cycles that begin several months before show dates, due to the ‘ongoing uncertainty that participants felt is a contributing factor in people being less willing to spend money on future events’.
The report notes that this issue, it is ‘felt keenly’ by less well-known and up-and-coming acts, whilst larger profile musicians may not be as affected.
The report stated: “This issue is compounded by the responses of artist managers and agents, who have reacted to the broader climate of uncertainty by becoming increasingly risk-averse (and are now much more likely to ask for fixed fees over a percentage of sales).”
Another key point marked as high-priority at The Birmingham Live Music Project was the potential operational strain and high costs of the upcoming 2020 festival season due to Brexit.
The report draws attention to the concern that the festival season could be affected by the possibility of disrupted supply chains, with fears that these potential costs could then lead to large losses.
The report read: “Given the uncertainty around Brexit, it is hard to predict what the potential costs of running events of such scale may be in order to plan for any potential losses linked to those costs. Resolving the issue of costs is not a difficult one for the sector, since there are mechanisms in place to mitigate known costs. Yet the uncertainty around Brexit makes these costs unknown.”
Other anxieties included cultural pushback effects from Brexit, a decrease in music tourism, and the future of the high number of production companies in the Birmingham area, among others.