It seems that 90% of US music venues
are set to close, due to the lockdown. In response, someone has raised money to
buy up the failing concerns, creating an organisation called SaveLive,
which will take a 51% stake in each.
This must
be a big gamble, for any investor.
However, what seems likely, in practice, is common ownership may mean the venues all become part of a national chain. This may create a national US circuit for music acts - effectively, one chain controlling nearly all live music. On the one hand, this could mean some acts find it much easier to get a series of gigs; on the other hand, music could become a lot more controlled, restricted, filtered, commodified, making it much harder for anything new and different to be heard. Musicians may also have to deal with a monopoly. (Anyone remember TOBA? Pre-WWII, it forced down black musicians' wages - Tough On Black Acts.)
The lockdown seems likely to change the future of music and there are a few different ways this could go.
In the US, it appears a large capital investor has decided this is a good moment to launch a long-term project in live music, and has backed a particular individual to organise the investment/ acquisition for them.
However, Britain might not even be that lucky - instead, we might simply see most independent music venues close forever.
The US example shows that an initiative by one or two individuals could be decisive to what happens.
Nathan Allonby
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