2023

[slystewart]

Playing the last gigs in the next couple of months and was talking to the drummer who takes the bookings for the band about the new year 2023 with cost-of-living fuel prices and gas and electric costs to venues just wondering what the outlook for gigging bands ,This year we have seen a downturn in clubs not so much in pubs of people coming to these venues 

The price of bands going out will go up for sure as their overheads go up and we have seen in some venues that use to have bands now having solo acts or duos   just a thought any views 

[jimmyb625]

Energy prices are going to be a killer. Our gas bill at the little theatre I help run has gone up to over £3k a year, almost double what we were paying. We've held ticket prices at £10, even offering 2 for 1 for the first run of a performance, as we're still struggling to get people through the doors. A lot of folks have found something else to do with their time over the last couple of years, so it's a challenge to get them back.

I think a few venues are going to struggle to stay afloat over the next 12 months. 

[uk_lefty]

We've not got any weddings booked in next year. Three or four a year are very good for boosting the bank balance to buy new gear, pay website fees, etc but none in. I think one venue we were booked in has shut down too. Can see it being a year of doing more pubs just to fill the diary with weddings and private parties looking a lot less likely.

[BassAdder60]

As a local band we have always kept our rates very low as a way of supporting venues.

If they  have a good night we get paid more

We do it fun and payment is a bonus to the joy of gigging.

If we ventured further afield we would have to double our rates to cover fuel etc etc so we try to stay local and limit to one or two gigs per month.

Biggest problem is jam nights, open mic nights and duo acts!! 
Venues are struggling for sure but some don’t do much to encourage people to attend and wonder why they had a quiet night !

[Woodwind]

Trying to book dates for a mini tour around the UK next year to tie in with anew album.

 

Very similar story from many promoters I'm talking to about bad attendance at shows throughout 2022 regardless of genre and they are worried about booking much of anything for next year!!

 

I can see many small venues getting into big trouble.

 

A very sad state of affairs.

 

[EBS_freak]

I have never been so disinterested in gigging. I think covid really took the wind out of my musical sails and got me reevaluating what I want to do with my time. Couple that and dealing with people (music is never the problem, it’s the dealing with people that rips all joy from it) I’m just not excited for 2023 and the headaches it will no doubt bring.

 

[msb]

This pandemic is not over , and there are a lot of people with a reluctance to be in a crowded environment.

So we see the numbers have been down , but things seem to be gaining some momentum. We’ve lost some venues. 
But the last years have been brutal.  

I’m hopeful.

[bassbloke]

2022 has been pretty much a write off anyway as we've been searching for a new singer since March.

 

The malaise and general disinterest is like nothing I have experienced in nearly 20 years.

 

I've been to a few gigs and attendance has been really good, so there's clearly demand.  That said, it depends on the genre, venue and bands.

 

People are going to look to make savings wherever they can.  It might mean deferring a wedding or revising their expectations and booking a DJ rather than a band.

[BigRedX]

One band is currently booking dates for a mini tour in March - we have 4 definite gigs lined up already. The other has nothing finalised, but several potential potential gigs coming up in the new year. So far 2023 doesn't look any different to any other non-lockdown year.

[la bam]

Prices definitely 'should' go up for 2023.

 

I'm willing to bet they dont though, and that venues/agents/bookers will try and squeeze bands even further.

[chris_b]

@jimmyb625 is right, because of the lockdowns many people found new interests and abandoned the old ones.

 

At the moment I'm just happy to be working. I'm on for about 80 gigs this year. Who knows what next year will bring. More of the same would be a good result.

[martthebass]

We've had to put up our fees but even then on some of the longer hauls it's not exactly a big money spinner.  This has meant that we are now looking at more club work than pub work which is a shame as we like a good mix but sadly some of the smaller pubs are struggling to put live music on now.

Despite the above I'd say that the level of work is back at pre-pandemic levels for us, we'll have done about 40 this year (pre-p was about 50) and have 20 in the book so far for 2023.

[Staggering on]

Still a pretty dead scene in my area and no gigs booked yet for 2023 for the seven piece jazz "little big band" which of course has a limited market.

As mentioned above many venues are booking singles and duos instead of bands which saves them a lot of money and they can still offer live entertainment but makes it tough for bigger groups regardless of their genre.  

[uk_lefty]

We've had some good discussions with promoters. For one venue reopening after a refurb they found free entry to be the killer for live music, because if it's free it can't be any good, right? But charging a fiver for the same band nobody bothered to watch for free a few months earlier tends to get in a good crowd. People are strange, aren't they? 

[gjones]

35 minutes ago, la bam said:

Prices definitely 'should' go up for 2023.

 

I'm willing to bet they dont though, and that venues/agents/bookers will try and squeeze bands even further.

Weirdly, fees paid to my band this year have gone up by about 35%.

 

I don't understand it either......

[casapete]

My main work in a tribute band (playing mostly theatres)has been pretty good in 2022 considering

all that’s been going on. Our audience numbers have been what we’d hoped for, but many

of the gigs were booked for before or during the pandemic and rearranged, so we’re under no

illusions that 2023 may be the same.

 

I fear for our industry generally, with energy prices inevitably taking their toll on leisure choices.

Combine this with our band’s overheads rapidly rising and it starts looking pretty grim. Spiralling

costs in fuelling our vehicles and hotel rooms more than 50% up on recent years don’t help.

Theatres have been more willing to look for ways in which to increase their revenue, many at a

price to bands like mine. There does seem to have been a massive effort to recoup revenue lost

during the pandemic in whatever way possible.

All this does make it seem like we may be in for a rough ride - I sincerely hope I’m wrong.

 

To finish on a more optimistic note though - gigs for my acoustic duo are looking good for 2023,

with our regular venues committed to bookings along with a new regular gig looking likely. 🤞

Edited November 8, 2022 by casapete

[Franticsmurf]

We have a club gig booked for Friday. They were estimating 140 ticket sales but so far it's 25. There'll be more sold on the night I expect but it's not a good sign and I wouldn't be surprised if the event is cancelled at short notice. Last time we played there, we had about a hundred or so watching us.

[nilorius]

AI

[neepheid]

Quite a few of our usual venues have given us dates for next year.  Playing some places for the first time before the end of the year so hopefully will get some repeat bookings from that too.  We haven't had a discussion about putting up prices, but it's a weekend warrior type thing, not a money spinner.

[casapete]

54 minutes ago, neepheid said:

Quite a few of our usual venues have given us dates for next year.  Playing some places for the first time before the end of the year so hopefully will get some repeat bookings from that too.  We haven't had a discussion about putting up prices, but it's a weekend warrior type thing, not a money spinner.

We’re trying to maintain our ticket prices to pre-pandemic levels at the moment, but it’s inevitable

that it won’t be sustainable for much longer. We have 11 people who rely on the show as their 

main income, so it has to be feasible in order to continue. I just hope people understand that 

when deciding whether to come to our gigs! 

[mybass]

I book a fair amount of gigs and I've already said to one 'agent' for a 2023 gig, one band I book out won't be doing what would have been a welcome gig, simply because after fuel and a few expenses, each member would have got home after two days driving and a late night gig, with about £80. For older and those closer to being a professional aka earning from music as a living, we are all counting the cost of recent and exorbitant increases and so we should be trying to raise our fees many of which have simply not gone up for well over ten years and more! Maybe a little at a time but it simply has to be done.

  

[BassFace1991]

Yea it's definitely been tough this year. The other thing is with gigs being post poned for the last couple of years there's a lot of gigs every weekend so everyone is fighting for the same audience. Petrol and even worse diesel prices have rocketed. We increased the price of our merch to try and keep up.

[Staggering on]

Just confirmed a booking to play inside a store in downtown North Bay on November 25 as part of the "downtown Christmas walk". I've played there before in a quartet but fitting a seven piece band with keys and drums it that space will be interesting. I think I'll use my Yamaha SLB200 instead of my DB, saves a lot of room and I'll use a small amp instead of our full on Bose PA. Should be easy and relaxed and we are getting paid.👍

Nothing in the book for 2023 yet.

[mrtcat]

Got 62 weddings and 3 corporates in the diary for 2023 at present. That should go up to around 90 gigs by the end of the year. We have put prices up a touch but the problem is that people tend to book us up to 2 years in advance so it can take a long time before we see that price increase take effect. 

 

Not complaining though. Just signed all the contracts for a NYE gig on a beach in the Maldives. 

[cheddatom]

I'm hearing a lot of panic from promoters and the like, and we have had a couple cancelled due to low sales, but every gig I've played seems to be as well attended as I expect. We've got loads in for 2023