With Royal Blood set to headline some of the first festivals to take place as live music returns, the duo announced a run of intimate warm-up shows. As expected all these shows sold out instantly including tonight at the UEA LCR in Norwich.
With an enormous sense of anticipation surrounding the venue, fans were first treated to a short and intense support slot from Tigercub. The band preview their latest album, ‘As Blue as Indigo’ with ‘Stop Beating on My Heart (Like A Bass Drum)’ and ‘In the Autumn of My Years’ going down particularly well with the already packed audience.
Sometimes with such a high level of expectation for the headline act, support bands can fall short, but tonight Tigercub prove their own credibility and win over some new fans in the process.
Soon enough it’s time for Royal Blood to take to the elevated stage. Kicking off with ‘Typhoons’ and ‘Boilermaker’ the band are backed by a subtle yet highly effective light show that helps to bring this new material to life.
Yes, Royal Blood are another band to release a new album during the absence of live music. Absence clearly making the heart grow fonder for both band and audience, as the UEA dancefloor descends into chaos from the opening note to the very last.
Material from ‘Typhoons’ garners great reactions from an eager audience who are ready and willing to lap up whatever the band can offer. Well, with three albums behind them now, the band can offer an endless stream of fan favourites.
Tonight sees a mix from across their catalogue with ‘Lights Out’, ‘Come On Over’, ‘Little Monster’ and ‘How Did We Get So Dark?’ filling the first half of the show with memorable moments.
Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher always have had a knack for creating magic both on record and on stage but tonight has that extra special feel. Perhaps it’s the atmosphere flamed by the return of live music or perhaps the duo have spent their downtime perfecting their craft. Whatever it is it’s very clear that Royal Blood are simply on another level.
‘Trouble’s Coming’, ‘Oblivion’ and ‘Loose Change’ sound absolutely huge before ‘Ten Tonne Skeleton’ and ‘Limbo’ cause pandemonium in Norwich. The encore of ‘Out of the Black’ and ‘Figure It Out’ bring it all home, remind us of what we’ve all been missing and demonstrate just why Royal Blood are now festival headliners.
Album release shows would normally happen around the time that a new album is released. We all know why this isn’t the case for any artist releasing new music over the past 18 months but finally for IDLES the time has arrived to play these special intimate shows. With two hometown Bristol shows and an Oxford gig in the bank, the band arrive in Kingston for their opportunity to grace the PRYZM stage.
‘Ultra Mono’ was released in September 2020, so these release shows happen almost a year on from the album’s arrival. For some acts this could cause issues, but not for IDLES. If the euphoria for fans seeing the band after the last year or so isn’t enough, they have also waited patiently to hear these new songs live.
It actually feels wrong to call them new songs, as they’ve helped many a fan through a difficult period in all our lives. These songs are now part of our lives, but IDLES songs always seem to grow wings in the live setting. So as the clock strikes half past nine, it’s time to let these track soar.
Straight out the bat fans are treated to ‘War’, ‘Grounds’, ‘Mr. Motivator’ and ‘Anxiety’ as ‘Ultra Mono’ comes to life for a sold out Kingston crowd. With so much pent up frustration there is immediately a cathartic release of energy with the audience and the band clearly up for it tonight.
As the evening continues and the setlist weaves between the bands three albums, it becomes clear that the new(er) tracks more than hold their own live. ‘The Lover’, ‘Kill Them With Kindness’ and in particular ‘Reigns’ all sound monstrous tonight.
When you add these tracks to a set that includes ‘Mother’, ‘1049 Gotho’, ‘Samaritans’ and ‘Divide and Conquer’ you come to realise how formidable a back catalogue IDLES have amassed over a relatively short period of time.
The band has always been ferocious yet incredibly tight live and they have lost none of this innate ability during their enforced time away from the stage. Finishing with ‘Never Fight a Man With a Perm’ and ‘Danke’ you know that opportunities to catch this band in venues this size are going to be few and far between.
It may be an overcast summers evening, but for tonight all is right with the world. That’s because there is a queue waiting outside The Waterfront, Norwich for the first time in around 18 months.
On offer this evening for the venues first main room show since the beginning of the pandemic is a special Music Venue Trust & National Lottery #ReviveLive show featuring Twin Atlantic!
There is a late change of support act for the evening with Lucia & The Best Boys unable to attend. Step up local band The Islas who recently featured on our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist!
This is quite the result as The Islas deliver a great set to a receptive audience. With the likes of recent single ‘The Absence of You’ joining older tracks ‘Back of Your Neck’, ‘Aileen’ and ‘Close’ the band are building an impressive live set. And with performances such as tonight’s they will also be building an impressive fan base, with many in the venue won over.
Tonight, though is all about our headliners Twin Atlantic who just released a new single, ‘Bang On The Gong’, and what better way to kick off their set. If the band think their new track is well received, those in attendance continue to build their appreciation throughout the night.
We recently caught the band at the Download Pilot Festival so know that they are an incredible live act. But, put the band in a sweaty little venue with a full set and they are up there with the best.
The rest of the setlist is a carefully crafted selection from across their albums with fan favourite ‘Free’ getting the lions share. The title track, ‘Make a Beast of Myself’, ‘Edit Me’, ‘Yes, I Was Drunk’ and an emotive ‘Crash Land’ sing-a-long showcase the albums quality.
There is quality across their catalogue however and ‘No Sleep’, ‘Hold On’, ‘Brothers & Sisters’ and ‘The Chaser’ all naturally receive big reactions from the crowd.
Perhaps somewhat surprisingly though, some of the best tracks of the evening and most warmly welcomed come from their 2020 release ‘Power’. Coming weeks before the first lockdown, now represents the first real chance for the band to embed the tracks into their show.
The likes of ‘Volcano’, ‘Oh! Euphoria!’, ‘Novocaine’ and ‘Barcelona’ all slot in seamlessly as Twin Atlantic blow off the cobwebs and begin their latest era.
With their anthem ‘Heart and Soul’ seeing the night out, the fans are left to wander out into the now slightly chilly Norwich night. As they do so they will be reflecting on the return of live music, and also on just how great a live band Twin Atlantic have become!
The Killers truly are a one of a kind, unique, beast of band. One that has reached a level whereby they can pretty much do whatever they want. So why on earth wouldn’t they write and release a concept album based on singer Brandon Flowers’ childhood in rural Utah?
Yes this album isn’t your typical Killers album – if there is such a thing? A band not afraid to experiment and always able to capture their mood; The Killers are always evolving. This record is brought on by the pandemic both creatively and due to scheduling (the band are yet to tour their previous album, ‘Imploding the Mirage’).
‘Pressure Machine’ is the signature of a band comfortable in their skin. It features snippets of the bands past whilst evolving further their more restrained and mature sound. If you are a fan of the band than this is another great addition to their catalogue; if you have been living under a rock and are new to the band then its appeal would diminish. Not due to poor quality (it’s very good!) but a lack of hit like material would turn off fickle newcomers.
You could say that with a concept album such as this that is a compliment. This record certainly feels like it needs to be heard as a whole, from start to finish. It tells us a story, and to just cherry pick tracks from it makes it lose its charm somewhat.
WATCH ‘QUIET TOWN’ ON YOUTUBE
The Killers – ‘Quiet Town’
A simple fact is that The Killers have more than their fair share of hits, including one of the most iconic tracks of all time in ‘Mr. Brightside’. ‘Quiet Town’, ‘Runaway Horses’ and ‘In Another Life’ may not top any singles charts but they will certainly win hearts.
‘Pressure Machine’ is a connoisseur’s album, but let’s face it, the odds are the album itself will top the charts!
TRASH BOAT – DON’T YOU FEEL AMAZING? – ALBUM REVIEW
St. Albans rockers Trash Boat have been growing steadily since their inception in 2014. ‘Don’t You Feel Amazing?’ is the third studio album from the band and from the moment you hit play it feels like a statement from them to the world.
This album is a band taking the next step up and growing into something much bigger. Trash Boat are certainly a band that have earned their stripes and paid their dues. Many, many live shows have built a solid reputation and dedicated fanbase for the band.
That reputation and fanbase will almost definitely be growing significantly with this record providing a highly accessible yet punchy sound for listeners to sink their teeth into. ‘Don’t You Feel Amazing?’, ‘Silence Is Golden’ and ‘Bad Entertainment’ do exactly what you want an opening trio to do and suck you right in.
The album progresses and continues to display the bands knack for writing seriously catchy songs. ‘Love Without Needing’, ‘He’s So Good’ and ‘Vertigo’ continuing the momentum before ‘Alpha Omega’ ramps up the intensity.
WATCH ‘HE’S SO GOOD‘ ON YOUTUBE
Trash Boat – ‘He’s So Good’
You almost wait for the quality to drop, but that doesn’t happen. Songs such as ‘Cannibal’, ‘Synthetic Sympathy’ and closer ‘Maladaptive Daydreaming’ ensure the second half of the album parallels the quality of the first.
With ‘Don’t You Feel Amazing?’ Trash Boat have delivered their best work yet and they appear ready to lead the charge for British rock.
Having already attended and reviewed the Download Pilot Festival and Seasick Steve since the reopening of the live music sector, we want to stop referencing the pandemic. The problem is that nights like the two that Frank Turner serves up at Coda in Colchester simply act a reminder of what has been missing for the past almost 18 months.
Thankfully, mercifully, cautiously, live music is back. For two consecutive evenings, fans cram into the awesome independent venue in Colchester known as Coda. The reason? If any opportunity for a gig isn’t excuse enough, the one and only Mr. Turner is introducing himself to an area of the country he now calls home.
Whilst more likely to be found in much larger venues these days, Turner still has the grassroots familiarity to instigate a hot, sweaty drunken sing-a-long session. Everybody packed into this bar knows every word to every song and passionately sings them back in unison. It’s like live music never went away.
Playing the two shows in the same venue, Turner mixes his set list each night. Realistically the man has enough in his arsenal to cover many more nights here, as he demonstrated with his Independent Venue Love series during Lockdown.
All the fan favourites are on tap for those in the bar with ‘Long Live The Queen’, ‘1933’, ‘The Road’, ‘The Way I Tend To Be’, ‘The Ballad of Me and My Friends’, ‘Be More Kind’, ‘The Next Storm’, ‘Photosynthesis’, ‘Recovery’, ‘Get Better’ and set closer ‘I Still Believe’ amongst the songs available both nights.
The guest ales such as ‘Polaroid Picture’ and ‘If Ever I Stray’ on Tuesday and ‘I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous’, ‘I Am Disappeared’ and ‘Four Simple Words’ on Wednesday help to differentiate the shows for those in attendance both nights.
Having started out his solo career on his own (and still performing solo regularly), Turner is now often accompanied by The Sleeping Souls. In recent times solo shows have been billed as duo shows and see Turner joined by Sleeping Soul member Matt Nasir. This dynamic works extremely well both for musical accompaniment and also for onstage banter.
As mentioned, Turner now resides in Essex. He has a song called ‘Wessex Boy’. Yes, he did the obvious switch, which for every other artist would have been incredibly tacky, but somehow for Turner here it works and elicits a proudly fierce reaction from the crowd.
A new album is on the horizon for Turner and over the two nights fans are treated to glimpses of the record in the shape of ‘The Work’, ‘Muhammad Ali’, ‘Little Life’, ‘Fatherless’ and new single ‘The Gathering’. There certainly appears to be plenty more to come from an artist for whom their next album will be their ninth solo effort.
The future appears bright. Over two nights the stage was graced by four support acts with bright futures with Wilswood Buoys and Jess Guise on Tuesday and Gin Twins and Josiah Mortimer on Wednesday all impressing the packed audience.
So, yes, the future does indeed appear bright. Bright for Turner, bright for a great new venue, bright for young musicians, and bright for live music! There really isn’t anything better.
As Blossoms strode onto stage in Liverpool’s Sefton Park in front of 5,000 non-socially distanced fans, the UK was reminded of just what it had been missing. The music loving island that has played a key role in the formation of the music industry as we know it, was shown again just what was at stake!
The aim of the gig which also saw The Lathums and Zuzu play to an audience starved of live music for over a year was to establish a safe route back for the music industry. Now, let’s consider something. We all love music, we all love live music and by default we all love the music industry. We naturally want to see it return as we remember it. You know from before the c-word, before the world stood still.
Where is improvement needed?
Here however is what we need to consider. Should the industry be allowed to return just as it was? Again, we all love music, that’s no doubt why you are reading this article! But, if we take even a cursory glance back then it should be clear that the industry was far from perfect. There were and still are many issues within the industry that need to be addressed. Thankfully there are many great groups and organisations working to advocate change and force improvement.
The most important step that we all must take now is the realisation that the industry isn’t perfect and that only by all aspects of the industry working together can positive change be installed. We want to do a small but important thing with this article, and that is raise awareness.
Since the inception of Full Pelt Music at the turn of the year, we have already written about a handful of subjects. We spoke early on about the relationship between music and our mental health in our blog ‘Mental Health, Music and Me’.
As we said, there are many aspects of the industry that need to be improved. Whilst the pandemic has had ruinous effects on the industry it has provided an opportunity to make these changes. If not now, then when?
As we return to music, we also need to rebuild the music industry. We need to actively embrace diversity and equality. This goes deeper than simply the percentage of female performers on a festival bill, although of course that is a metric which highlights the current disparity well. This requires more than social media campaigns highlighting racial inequality and abuse.
The work needs to happen at the grassroots level but needs the mainstream to lead by example. Youth programmes that aim to educate and nurture are vital, but action from the top is essential; one example being the need for tough action from social media companies.
The Government and the various regulatory authorities need to up their game as well. Actions speak louder than words, and if the pandemic has taught us anything it’s that the financial support for the industry and from the top of the industry has been too little and too late. Any support has also often bypassed those most in need.
Yes, we have faced an unprecedented situation that has devastated many industries, but the music industry has had a unique opportunity to improve. Let’s look at accessibility. With music venues closed, what better time has there been for remedial work to take place which provides greater access for deaf and disabled people to live music.
The problem has again been the lack of support and funding from those with the power to facilitate this change. With music venues, particularly independent ones, on their financial knees they can’t be vilified for not taking action. Better foresight and ambition from Government however could have seized an unwanted but ideal opportunity.
What’s the answer?
In writing this article we certainly don’t purport to have all the answers. We don’t even assume to know all the barriers to change. All we want to do is continue many conversations that are being held by organisations and individuals far more knowledgeable and industrious than us.
It is time for change. Because if not now, when? Thankfully there are many groups actively striving for this change and making a difference now. What they need is our support. With that in mind, we want to draw your attention to just a handful of these organisations. There are many more out there doing fantastic work.
Now is the time to speak up, help advocate the change required for our beloved industry to return better than ever. To return with a safe and positive environment for all!
Music Venue Trust is a UK registered charity which acts to protect, secure and improve Grassroots Music Venues.
Created in January 2014, we aim to secure the long-term future of iconic Grassroots Music Venues such as Hull Adelphi, Exeter Cavern, Southampton Joiners, The 100 Club, Band on the Wall, Tunbridge Wells Forum etc.
These venues have played a crucial role in the development of British music over the last 40 years, nurturing local talent, providing a platform for artists to build their careers and develop their music and their performance skills.
We work to gain recognition of the essential role these venues fulfil, not only for artist development but also for the cultural and music industries, the economy and local communities. We aim to preserve and improve venues, making them more efficient and improving the experience for performers and audiences. Long-term we plan to acquire the freeholds of as many of these vital venues as possible.
Safe gigs for women is an initiative established by regular gig goers with the aim of creating a safer environment for women at gigs. Our aims are:
Gig goers Work with gig goers to spread the word that it is not okay to grope, threaten or harass others. Encourage victims to speak out, and supporters to advocate that this behaviour will not be tolerated
Venues Work with venues to ensure they take reports of sexual harassment and other threats to women seriously. We will work with venues to create a standard in the industry for safe venues. We will then campaign to get the standard adopted nationwide.
Bands Getting bands on board to recognise our standards, talk about our work and get their audiences recognising and spreading what is acceptable.
The Nick Alexander Memorial Trust award grants for musical equipment to community groups and small charities across the UK, particularly those representing the most disadvantaged and marginalised sectors of society, be that through poverty, physical or mental illness, disability, ethnicity or age.
Our mission is to provide opportunities to musicians and support to projects around the world that create empowerment through music.
Our objectives are specifically:
The prevention or relief of poverty, particularly of young people, anywhere in the world by providing: grants, items and services to individuals in need and/or charities, or other organisations working to prevent or relieve poverty.
To promote, improve, develop and maintain the education of the public in the art, culture and science of music in all its aspects for the public benefit, in particular young musicians, including by the provision of funds for the purchase of musical instruments and studio rehearsal.
To promote, improve and advance the arts, including music, for the public benefit including by the presentation of exhibitions, public events and concerts.
We are Hummingbird is a non-profit Mental Health awareness organisation. We are a community of music lovers who have united to spread awareness of mental health by using music as a platform to encourage people to open up and engage in conversation.
The above are just a very small selection of charities, organisations, groups and individuals that are fighting the good fight. Take some time out to research causes close to your heart and get involved to make our industry a better place.
A necessary but shocking side-effect of the first lockdown and beyond is the impact on the live music industry. An industry that revolves around bringing people together in confined spaces to celebrate life and art. Music and particularly live music is vital to the mental health and wellbeing of millions of people, and the loss of that medication has added to the already scary situation we have all found ourselves in.
When the world ground to a screeching halt in March 2020, the primary concern for all of civilisation was rightly to fight the devastating coronavirus and to protect against loss of life. Alternatively as the government put it – “Stay Home, Protect the NHS, Save Lives”.
The music industry and the incredibly talented people that make up the sector is by its very nature creative and innovative. As we all searched for new ways to connect with our loved ones and our passions, musicians had the answer. Welcome to the world the music livestream!
One man seemingly ahead of the curve on this front was Frank Turner. Turner is known to be “always on tour” as it were, and was in fact mid-tour as the pandemic hit. Turner was quick to hastily ready a special livestream event from his own home raising money for his touring family.
At the same time, the reality was dawning on the live music ecosystem of the potentially fatal impact caused by the pandemic countermeasures. In particular the Music Venue Trust, who do amazing work year round even in non-pandemic times, were busy mobilising. The MVT were well positioned to see the threat to the grassroots music venues of the country.
We have gone into depth on the subject in our blog – ‘Why We Need To #SaveOurVenues’, but ultimately the venues that foster and cultivate the entire music industry were in trouble. Sadly many face the threat of closure due to non-pandemic related issues. The events of March 2020 onwards however threatened these venues, the lifeblood of live music, to the point of extinction.
The perfect storm called for urgent action and one man taking notice and standing tall was that man Frank Turner. Soon we were all introduced to a new concept from Turner, Independent Venue Love. A series of livestream concerts taking place every Thursday during lockdown to raise desperately needed funds for at risk music venues.
A different venue would be supported each week and each week would see a unique set list. In creating this series Turner raised much needed awareness and financial support for venues. By doing so he helped to safeguard the future of live music; perhaps most importantly though, Turner also provided an escape from the terrifying realities of pandemic life. The Independent Venue Love series will have played a powerfully positive role in raising spirits and safeguarding mental health for music fans desperate for a distraction.
In our first ever End of Year Awards, we picked Turner as our ‘Artist of the Year’. You can read what we wrote about this decision in our ‘2020 Year in Review’. Basically we feel Turner deserves a medal for his efforts in arranging and performing these fantastic events. Turner has raised a phenomenal amount of money and has helped countless people through horrifying times either directly or indirectly.
That is why we thought it would be fitting to celebrate and remember the Independent Venue Love series here. You can peruse the posters for each event in the gallery below.
Independent Venue Love Posters
Now let’s get started in documenting the series.
Early Facebook Days
As we all adapted to pandemic life, we strived for the best communications technology. Many discovered the wonders of Zoom meetings for example. When debuting the IVL series, Turner took to Facebook Live. A learning experience for all, some early streams were impacted by connectively issues and eventually led to a change of internet provider for Turner and a move to Youtube.
The first five events featured on Facebook Live (and a dabble on Instagram!) saw Turner begin a career retrospective; with each week featuring another release in chronological order.
Vol.1 – ‘Sleep is for the Week’ for Nambucca, London
From Volume 6 onwards Turner would move the weekly series across to Youtube with better connectivity results. Turner would continue to progress through his career retrospective to the delight of his fans. A drinking game would also emerge for fans at home based initially on apologies to either his wife Jess or his mother.
As Turner’s gameplan to play his back catalogue continued, fans were treated to rare song outings. These outings occasionally would see the odd forgotten lyric, and the terming of the phrase to Varley in ode to fellow musician Will Varley. Eventually each Varley would be incorporated into the drinking game!
Vol. 6 – ‘Rarities and B-Sides 2011-2014’ for The Parish, Huddersfield
With his released back catalogue now exhausted and lockdown one (known back then, simply as lockdown!) still persisting, Turner needed to explore different avenues for set list material. A demand for a ‘Disney Set’ initially failed to materialise until a special shortened bonus set one night.
Turner however would push on with additional themes to continue his herculean effort (Joe Wicks eat your heart out!). Volume 13 would also take place from inside the venue Turner was raising funds for as signs of normality began to appear. Volume 14 would be titled ‘The Final Stream’… little did we know what the future had in store.
No we are not doing Whitesnake Karaoke! A brief return to real life saw some socially distanced music possible. Turner in fact was able to play numerous shows including our ‘Gig of the Year’ as awarded in our ‘2020 Year in Review’.
Sadly the pandemic took a horrific turn for the worst. With venues still at risk and people desperate for escape, Turner and IVL would make their triumphant return in January (otherwise known as Lockdown three!). This time around Turner’s wife, Guise, would move to an important mediator role as fans got to pick the setlist!
We all hope and pray that a return to normality is on the horizon. That the incredible work of scientists and our key workers will save lives and allow life to resume. Volume 21 closes the IVL series with a request set from Jess Guise herself.
Turner has achieved amazing results from the IVL series. The fact is that he didn’t have to do this, and for that he deserves recognition.
The Music Venue Trust, Independent Venue Week and all organisations and groups working to protect our culture deserve special praise also.
Sadly the end of the pandemic and the return to relative normality won’t remove the threat posed to our grassroots music venues. Please when safe to do so, support these venues, support your favourite bands, support new bands, support music!
We look at why we need to fix our #BrokenRecord Industry to ensure fair payment of artists from music streaming platforms.
What makes a #BrokenRecord Industry?
The music industry has been changing greatly in recent years and that evolution has now been exasperated by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. With the industry shaken to its core by the restrictions resulting from the virus, there is perhaps no better time than now to take action to secure a healthy and prosperous future for this vital industry.
Music is of course vital to so many; both those that work within the industry and the customers that rely on the industry. I recently wrote about the relationship between music and my mental health in my blog ‘Mental Health, Music and Me’, and it’s true that for many people this industry is essential to their happiness and positive mental health. It is therefore imperative that this industry is allowed to thrive.
The industry however is far from perfect and many existing issues have been highlighted further by the pandemic. I have always split the music industry in two. I have written about the struggles of the Live Music Industry in my blog ‘Why We Need To #SaveOurVenues’, so in this feature I’ll be focusing on the other side, the Record Industry.
The coronavirus pandemic has of course been a horrific and sobering time for everyone and every industry. The collapse of the live music industry due to various restrictions has had many disastrous consequences on the overall music industry.
I have also written however about the few positives that have arisen from this unprecedented situation. In a creative and innovative industry, many have turned to livestreaming to reach their audiences. I explored the positives and negatives of this evolution in my blog ‘Livestreams: Good or Bad for the Music Industry’.
Another positive to come from everybody having to stay at home, is that they have had more time to listen to music. The resurrection of Vinyl continued with sales growing for a 13th consecutive year and music streaming continuing to rise in popularity. It is the negative side of this positive however that has given rise to the #BrokenRecord movement and that is what we will explore in this article.
The way that we consume music has changed drastically over the past decade or so. The beginnings of the digital age saw the rise of illegal file-sharing where fans found they were able to swap and share digital versions of the music that they loved.
The problem with this activity was that it completely eliminated the artist from the process of music consumption by the end user, and of course the price point of zero meant that artists saw no profit from this medium.
The knock-on effect of this was the drastic decline in the purchase of physical media such as CD’s. Of course the sales of Vinyl had already almost completely diminished, and the less said about Mini-Disks the better!
In order to combat illegal free downloading of music, the industry reluctantly brought into the concept of legal paid downloads; iTunes being the go to name at the beginning. Over the pursuant years we would see many contenders emerge for both downloading music and a new concept – streaming music.
Interestingly we would also see a kick back against digital music with the resurrection and continued resurgence of Vinyl!
A global leader in the streaming of music is Spotify. This is a company that initially felt like a swear word, their platform felt too good to be true and many will have questioned the legality of it, because if something feels too good to be true, usually it is!
Fast forward to now and Spotify is accepted into homes across the world and is for millions of the people the platform of choice for music consumption.
The benefits of streaming are numerous for both fans and artists. Having entire libraries of music at the touch of a button helps fans find new acts and helps artists reach new audiences. There is however one major downside that needs to be addressed.
So, with the ongoing pandemic allowing more people more time to listen to their favourite artist, or perhaps find their new favourite artist, let’s ask a few questions regarding music streaming. Picture this – you are sat working from home and have been listening to your favourite new album on repeat, how much money do you think that said artist has just earned?
#BrokenRecord campaign founder Tom Gray shared the below table showing the rates of pay by the various streaming platforms.
Streaming payout data shared by #BrokenRecord founder Tom Gray
So, if that album you listened to has 10 tracks and you listen to it 5 times today on Spotify. Your consumption will pay 14p. Now consider that if you brought that album on CD you’d probably have spent roughly £8.
My next question is where do you think this money goes? How much would you expect the artist who wrote, performed and recorded the music to receive? Let’s explore the issues that exist when paying streaming royalties.
Physical Terms in a Digital World
Let’s consider that the artist in question is signed to a large record company. Their standard deal which they signed will likely be a Recoupment Deal. With this deal the artist will effectively have to repay all costs and expenses associated with the making of the album. Realistically this means they cannot earn royalties until they have repaid the overall cost of the album, until then all profits go to the record company.
Remember that this debt is repaid only from the artist’s percentage of the royalty. It can therefore take years for a relatively successful artist to see any earnings from their own music. You may ask why would artists sign such deals, but ask yourself how many artists have a degree in economics? Consider that even if they have three deals in front of them to choose from, they will likely all include this clause, and the alternative is no deal and likely no album.
Now consider that 14p that the band just earned from your days binge listening. It may take years before the actual artist starts earning that 14p once all recoupment is complete; and when they do there are other issues!
The biggest issue being that the record company owns the rights to the music and therefore the band will only get on average 20% of that 14p. So 2.8p. This band happens to be a standard four-piece band and therefore that 2.8p needs to be split between the singer, guitarist, bassist and drummer. Oh and the producer.
Not to mention other possible deductions. It may shock you to know that under the terms of many contracts artists still have to pay a 10% deduction for breakages! That’s literal physically broken albums… even when digital!
Clearly these old contracts don’t fit with the digital age and it’s always going to be the artist that loses out. That is why Tom Gray founded the #Broken Record campaign to challenge these inequalities. It should be said that nobody is arguing that Mick Jagger needs another house or Paul McCartney another car.
This campaign is designed to fight for justice and equality for the acts of the future. Hopefully you have been surprised at how little your favourite artist earns from you listening to their music on streaming platforms. You’d probably be shocked to find out that many musicians that you follow are likely living very close to the breadline. Many artists you picture living lavish lifestyles are actually struggling to pay their rent this month.
This situation has only been intensified by the coronavirus pandemic.
Reliance on Live Music
Many artists these days rely heavily on the live side of the music industry. Playing gigs, tours and festivals is how most acts will now earn the majority of their money. This is a complete 180 switch from yesteryear. Before the digital revolution of the record industry, artists toured to raise awareness of their new albums. Nowadays artists release albums to raise awareness of their tours!
Then 2020 hit and removed that income stream, leaving many artists to survive solely on income from physical and digital sales. But whilst the vinyl renaissance may help a little, the fact is CD sales continue to fall off a cliff edge and many artists are left to survive on streaming alone. Therein lies the huge problem facing the music industry right now – how, when and perhaps if it will recover.
Even if we ignore the unfairness in the discussion around streaming revenue, what we have right now are artists and crew that can’t afford to live, to pay rent or perhaps buy food. Again I don’t envisage Elton John looking down the back of the sofa for spare change, we are talking about the emerging talent of the future, the acts of years gone by who have seen dwindling success and importantly those considering starting their careers. These are the individuals having to change course, take jobs in other sectors to pay the rent and support their families. These are the individuals that may never return to the music industry!
Even when the pandemic finally goes away and life can resume, we have the looming shadow of Brexit. Whilst that is another blog topic altogether, bands are going to struggle to afford to tour beyond the UK due to new restrictions and costs.
So, for the music industry we love and rely on to emerge from this pandemic intact we need to take action.
What needs to be done?
In reality there isn’t a lot the average music fan can do. We need action from the industry and likely that will need intervention from Government. Fans can of course support their favourite artists, buying music, merchandise and tickets. Fans can also sign relevant petitions and highlight the issue by supporting the #BrokenRecord campaign.
The changes being requested by artists aren’t necessarily ground breaking. What they are asking for in basic terms is just equal pay for equal work. To be treated with respect, decency and fairness; for their efforts and their art to be valued reasonably.
That shouldn’t be hard for fans to accept. Imagine a shop worker only being given 20% of their days wage, with their manager, supervisor and company all taking the rest. Imagine they are then further deducted the costs of their uniform and the equipment they use. That wouldn’t be fair would it?
As already mentioned, a high level thorough review and restructure of artist’s payments from streaming is required. Options that may provide possible solutions include the likes of Equitable Remuneration (ER for short!) and User-Centric Models.
Part of this discussion will form around the question of how streaming of music should be classified. Is the music purchased, rented, or is it equitable to radio airplay? Artists currently are paid via ER for radio airplay and this method is split 50/50 and therefore can be fairly summarised as equal pay for equal work.
One of the most common ways to consume music from the likes of Spotify is to use Playlists such as our own ‘Hot List’. Spotify even label these as radio such as their Artist Radio functions. So would it be reasonable to class streams in the same category as radio airplay?
As we come to a close, I want you to once again go back to our earlier analogy. Having binged that new album whilst working from home, how would you like your money to be distributed. If this month that artist was the only artist you listened to, and you pay for your Spotify, who do you think your subscription money should go to?
At present it would be added to the overall pot and divided between all artists on the platform. Would you think it would be fairer if all your subscription money was divided just between the artists that you personally listened to this month, in our case just that one band? This would be the case if streaming platforms moved to a User-Centric Model.
There are many questions here and I won’t pretend to have all the answers. What is clear is that something needs to change and that change has never been more necessary. With the combined wreckage of the pandemic and Brexit upon us, artists can’t rely solely on the Live side of the music industry. The Record Industry must act now.
The light has been shone on this issue and all stakeholders must step up and take action to fix our #BrokenRecord Industry!
Be sure to help spread the word and raise awareness of the #BrokenRecord campaign. You can share this article by clicking the icons below!
The #BrokenRecord campaign is the creation of Tom Gray, be sure to follow Tom on Twitter for the latest updates on the campaign! When discussing the subject remember to use the hashtag #BrokenRecord.
Full Pelt Music looks back on 2020 for our Year in Review
What a year to pick to review. It’s been a year like no other and not for good reasons.
On a personal level as detailed within my first blog, ‘The Reluctant Blogger’, I was made redundant from a job I loved, just before Christmas and during a global pandemic! Not nice, but realistically I wouldn’t be writing this blog on this website if that hadn’t happened! The decision to return to writing about music also allowed me to take a look at the relationship between music and my mental health in ‘Mental Health, Music and Me’.
For the world it has been a year of pain, struggle and despair. From the fires of Australia to the flooding of the UK early in the year and now again just before Christmas; there has been no restpite in the year of the coronavirus. Unprecedented is the word of the year, but with Brexit and the ongoing pandemic looming large, the word for next year is probably uncertain.
Everybody has struggled this year, personally and professionally. This struggle is not limited to the music industry but our industry has struggled greatly. The live side of the industry is built on bringing people together and of course that has not been possible since March. The recorded side of the industry has also struggled with delays in recording, producing and distributing.
Recovery for the grassroots of the industry is far from guaranteed. The stark and sad reality is that many musicians and hard working crew members will have needed to have sought alternative employment and the actuality here is that many will never return to the music industry. The fact is many government schemes setup to alleviate the financial pressures on individuals and businesses simply bypassed these people.
Unfortunately the pandemic has also hastened the plight of many grassroots, independent music venues. We have sadly already lost many venues and there are still many more at imminent risk of permanent closure. We have written extensively about the issues surrounding our industry in our blog ‘Why We Need To #SaveOurVenues’, and we encourage you to get involved in the initiatives highlighted.
This is of course a creative and innovative industry and through struggle we evolve. Much like the loss of my own job bred this website, the loss of touring and live shows has seen the evolution of the livestream. Many musicians have embraced technology and sought new ways to engage with their audiences. We have looked at the rise of this phenomenon in our blog ‘Livestreams: Good or Bad for the Music Industry’.
When looking back on 2020 in the future, the memories will fill everybody with dread. There has however been some fantastic musical highlights despite everything else. We recently revealed our Album of the Year in our ‘2020 Album of the Year’ blog; and the Top 20 list was highly competitive.
2020 has produced some incredible music and that’s where we are going to focus this end of year review. In order to celebrate the successes of a very difficult year we going to look at the following awards – Album of the Year, Single of the Year, Gig of the Year, Festival of the Year and Artist of the Year!
Album of the Year
As mentioned we recently listed our Top 20 Albums of the Year here. This was a highly competitive list as 2020 saw some truly phenomenal releases.
Full Pelt Music’s Top 20 Albums of 2020
We said “It has been a crazy year, and this list has been heavily influenced by that. As mentioned the top of this list is massively impacted by new music I heard during the height of the initial lockdown. ‘Ultra Mono’ was an album that I was already extremely excited to hear; and the stream of songs released during Lockdown only served to raise that excitement to a fever pitch.
Thankfully IDLES didn’t disappoint and when the album arrived it was a pure masterpiece. It shows a natural progression on the bands first two records and grows the bands sound. It still captures what made us all fall in love with the band but by incorporating new elements into the bands sound the album shows that IDLES are no one trick pony.
Above all other releases this year and those that feature in this list, this was the album that we needed this year. In a year where we have all been knocked down one way or another, IDLES and ‘Ultra Mono’ has been a call to arms, to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves down and keep going.”
WINNER:‘Ultra Mono’ by IDLES
The Contenders:‘A Hero’s Death’ by Fontaines D.C., ‘Post Human: Survival Horror’ by Bring Me The Horizon, ‘Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible’ by Enter Shikari, ‘A Celebration of Endings’ by Biffy Clyro, and ‘Sex, Death & the Infinite Void’ by Creeper
Single of the Year
It’s been a good year for both Bring Me The Horizon and Yungblud, with both releasing stunning new records. Yungblud recently hit the number one spot with ‘weird!’ which we reviewed here, and Bring Me The Horizon silenced their doubters with ‘Post Human: Survival Horror’ which we reviewed here.
It shouldn’t therefore be so much of a surprise that their collaboration together is our standout single of the year. Accompanied by an over the top video, ‘Obey’ is a rip roaring tale of corruption and brainwashing, so perfectly fitting for 2020!
WINNER:‘Obey’ by Bring Me The Horizon feat. Yungblud
‘Obey’ – Bring Me The Horizon feat. Yungblud
The Contenders:‘Model Village’ by IDLES, ‘Space’ by Biffy Clyro, ‘Trouble’s Coming’ by Royal Blood, and ‘Protect The Land’ by System Of A Down
Gig of the Year
I was lucky enough to catch some fantastic shows early in the year, you know BC (before Covid!), and Stereophonics, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, Kaiser Chiefs and Fontaines D.C. all deserve special mention.
For my Gig of the Year however I’m again looking to the Covid era.
When life has drastically changed and you’ve been deprived of the opportunity to do something you love, you learn to savour those moments more. For me, as somebody that in 2019 attended some 93 gigs, the loss of live music was devastating. Of course, many people have endured much worse in 2020, particularly at the height of the initial national lockdown; for me however, I was just desperate for live music.
The opportunity to watch real, live music again thankfully emerged (if only for a short time) at the end of summer. Frank Turner lives by the moto “Always on Tour”, and he wasn’t going to let a global pandemic get in the way. An innovative location for a socially distanced gig was Nottingham Arboretum, basically a bandstand in a park. The result was a stunning if unusual setting for a gig which came to life when night fell and Turner serenaded the sold out crowd with his biggest hits.
A great supporting cast including Tash Bird, Holly Carter and Beans On Toast helped to make this show one to remember. The musicianship on show was fantastic, as was the togetherness and gratefulness of an audience desperate to once again forget life’s stresses and enjoy an evening of music. It was a powerful evening that brought tears to many an eye, and that’s why it wins our Gig of the Year award.
WINNER: Frank Turner @ Nottingham Arboretum (20/09)
Nottingham Arboretum
The Contenders: Stereophonics @ Kentish Town Forum (21/01), Kaiser Chiefs @ Brighton Centre (30/01), Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes @ Alexandra Palace (15/02), and Fontaines D.C. @ Norwich UEA (24/02)
Festival of the Year
The coronavirus pandemic completely obliterated the 2020 festival season, as early optimism that some festivals would survive was eventually swallowed whole by this horrible virus. With social distancing in place, festivals just were not possible. But didn’t I say that the music industry is the most creative and innovative industry? Whilst some promoters attempted to arrange socially distant shows, tours and festivals, few succeeded; with even Live Nation cancelling a huge programme of drive in shows.
I was lucky enough however to venture to two such festivals at the Norfolk Showground near Norwich. A mixture of entertainment was laid on in a specially designed arena with socially distanced ‘pods’ maintaining the necessary safety measures. Brickfest was a one day festival focussing on covers band with a handful of original acts like headliners Bad Touch thrown in. The day was a huge success given the circumstances, as was our 2020 Festival of the Year – Wild Fields Festival!
Wild Paths Festival debuted in Norwich last year with acts gracing venues across the fine city. This year the event embraced the outside arena and rebranded as Wild Fields Festival over two days was an eclectic line-up on offer. The first day featured great sets from many young artists including Lauran Hibberd, Indoor Pets, Another Sky and headliners Gengahr.
Even through the greatest adversity the power of the arts shines through and Wild Paths was a shining example of how to put on a safe, fun and thoroughly entertaining festival during a global pandemic.
WINNER: Wild Fields Festival
Brickfest at the Norfolk Showground, also host of Wild Fields Festival
The Contenders: Brickfest
Artist of the Year
Our final award is for Artist of the Year. In a such an unprecedented and difficult year this award is going to an act that has considerably contributed to making the year better. Fantastic new music has played a hugely positive role in improving a hard year. With this in mind that means that IDLES, Biffy Clyro, Enter Shikari, Bring Me The Horizon, Fontaines D.C. and Yungblud are all in the running for this award.
Beyond that however real live music when possible has been an even greater high than normal. As such Frank Turner enters the running as an act I somehow managed to catch live this year some four times including the aforementioned Gig of the Year.
But this year is different, new albums and live shows whilst normally the lifeblood of our industry almost feel insignificant when you look at the horrors witnessed across society, both inside and outside the music industry. One saving grace for many this year has been the arrival of the music livestream. A number of those already mentioned have dabbled if not excelled in this activity.
Our winner however has taken this new outlet to heart. They have provided joy and distraction to thousands of people during what must be a record setting number of livestreams. More than that, they have managed to raise an amazing amount of money for a cause I have already championed in this blog. That cause is of course the Save Our Venues campaign and our Artist of the Year is clearly that man again, Frank Turner!
In 2020, Frank Turner has probably played more real shows and more livestreams than anybody else. He has recorded and released new music including collaborations with NOFX and Jon Snodgrass. He has produced the fantastic new Beans On Toast record. He has thoroughly entertained and provided much needed distraction from the real world to thousands; and he has raised an incredible amount of money for charity.
In reality Turner deserves a medal, but what we can give him is our Artist of the Year award!
WINNER: Frank Turner
Artist of the Year – Frank Turner
The Contenders: IDLES, Biffy Clyro, Enter Shikari, Bring Me The Horizon, Fontaines D.C., and Yungblud
2020, a year we will all be hoping to forget very quickly, but there has been some great music released. All focus now however is on 2021 and those vaccinations. We hope that sooner rather than later we will be able to safely gather again in those venues and fields to watch our favourite artists in the flesh.
There will also likely be an avalanche of new music coming our way with artists having been isolated with their creatively for company. Let’s just hope that not every song is about lockdown!
