Bands on the run

Live music ticket prices are rising and state-of-the-art arenas are being built to meet demand. So are gigs just for the rich now - and what does it all mean for acts who are just starting out?

- Dave Simpson

On the face of things, it appears we are living in a golden age for live arena music. In the UK alone, eight new purpose-built large venues – in London, Manchester, Gateshead, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Bristol, Sunderland and Dundee – are currently in various stages of completion or planning. Some, such as Bristol’s, are proposed for areas that have long been underserved. Meanwhile, in December, when Manchester gets the £365m ($440m), 23,500-capacity Co-op Live, it will join London and Birmingham as a two-arena city, its other being the refurbished 21,000-capacity AO Arena. But is there really a demand for all these vast venues?

Neil Warnock, the global head of touring at United Talent Agency, who represents 250 artists, says there is. “Audiences aren’t quite what they were pre-pandemic. But look at the tickets sold for huge shows this year by Guns  N’ Roses, Bruce Springsteen, Pink and Harry Styles – and for festivals. Even in these tough times, people still want to be entertained.”

Equally, the arenas built in the 1980s and 90s are showing signs of age. And the new projects will be more sustainable, using permanent stages and sound systems instead of each new band hauling in their set-up on trucks.

“We will be fully electric and use local produce,” says Andrew Billingham, head of Bristol YTL Arena, conceived as the most carbon-neutral venue in Europe. “So those efficiencies will be passed on in ticket price.” The proposed 19,000-capacity arena will house three venues, rehearsal and TV production rooms, education programmes and community stages for local bands. Billingham is “very excited for the area”, although others express caution.