Tell us Doc, will live music pull through?
We check in with venues and programmers
It doesn’t take an expert to tell us that live music is in a bad way
First it was bruised - now it’s confused. In the last 48 hours, the live music industry have had to unstitch how the 10PM curfew affects them. Guidance was so lacking that the Music Venue Trust offered an “official non-statement statement”. Now we know; if a performance starts before 10PM, then play on - just no booze to be served after the curfew.
Meanwhile there’s some good news; London’s mayor Sadiq Kahn has pledged a £450,000 emergency fund to help London grassroots music venues.
“It can't be understated how much individuals and businesses at every level of the industry are in trouble”, says Ruari Frew, head booker for The Jazz Cafe. “New rules coming in all the time have understandably left guests, musicians and agents confused about what’s allowed to go ahead”. The Camden institution reopened this weekend with Dele Sosimi (pictured below, credit: Justin De Souza), and have Children of Zeus and Yuroba Women Choir coming up later this year. “The experience is slightly different for guests with capacity down to less than a third”, says Ruari “but having live music back on stage is an incredible feeling and every night has been sold out with a party atmosphere”.
Not everyone, of course, has been able to resume with a live audience. Whilst JAZZ RE:FEST 2020 went ahead as an online festival, Exec Director Yvette Griffith knows that “going into hibernation isn't viable for anybody, long term”. Not only have Jazz re:freshed been forced to pause their weekly shows for the first time in more than fifteen years - they’ve also been suffering the harshest brunt of COVID 19:
“As a Black-led organisation with highly diverse audiences and bands - and considering the increased risk of Covid to Black communities - we’re taking an extra beat, having already lost a member of our JRF family to Covid [Mercury Prize nominated rapper, TY]. We’re working to find creative ways to exist in the digital/virtual world until it truly feels safer for us to hold live to audience events again”.
Meanwhile, the Southbank Centre have just announced Inside Out - a three month season of broadcasted multi-arts events.
“While we work to safeguard the future of this global industry”, says Bengi Unsal, Southbank Centre’s Head of Contemporary Music, “we’ve been seeing a burst of innovation in the live music industry that could answer many of the challenges that pre-date COVID-19. Whether it’s Travis Scott performing five sets on Fortnite and attracting 27.7 million unique players, major festivals bringing out VR experiences in the absence of live events, or the increasing move towards hybrid events, we’ve been exposed to countless new possibilities for bringing in new audiences and democratising concert attendance”.
The Southbank Centre isn’t alone in finding reasons to be positive. “There's a lot of ingenuity and resilience that gives us hope”, says Ruari of The Jazz Cafe. “The live sector is getting a taste of what the recorded music sector went through with downloading and streaming twenty years ago”.
And what a great point that is. Restriction = innovation.
Ronnie Scott’s, one of the oldest Jazz clubs in the world, found that their audience was incredibly adaptable to live streaming. On the first night of lockdown, a streamed performance of Ashley Henry Trio brought in 100,000 views and thousands of pounds in donations to the musicians - and Ronnie’s have continued to stream performances twice a week since. Its success is undoubtable. Much like Boiler Room’s global Streaming From Isolation series, it brings in the moolah; in the case of BR, large donations went to food banks and Black Lives Matter related causes.
Here’s the thing; streaming provides scaleable income. There’s always been a maximum number of tickets that can be sold for a show, but if audiences are adapting to viewing quality content at home in their pyjamas, then that’s a lead worth following, right?
“Going forward, streaming has to be at least a part of any venue’s future”, says Ronnie Scott’s Head of Music, Nick Lewis. Much like Ruari’s comparison of downloads VS physical copies, Nick is optimistic about the future; “Are we moving towards a ‘hybrid’ model whereby the customer can choose whether to buy a ticket to be part of a live audience OR watch the stream at home? Almost certainly yes”.
Record of the Week: Boom Boom, Horatio Luna
Quickly following Yes Doctor is Horatio Luna’s second album for 2020, Boom Boom. The Melbourne composer, bassist and producer is a main staple of the city’s genre-challenging habits. His penchant for Jazz-ish dancefloor bumpers and take-no-shit attitude (hello, Fuck The System) is spirit-lifting. Australia’s answer to Kamaal Williams? Boom Boom is out now on Jitwam’s label, The Jazz Diaries.
What I’m consuming this week:
Nubya Garcia’s boat-set was one of the best Tiny Desk Concerts I’ve seen so far. I’ve been enjoying the Jazz-ish hip-hop goodness of Sly5thAve’s new album, What It Is, and put plenty of new releases on display for September’s Universal Sanctuary show on Worldwide FM, which featured the mighty Tomorrow’s Warriors - who got a special mention in Issue 01 - and Berlin’s Toy Tonics.
EZH is covering significant topics in Jazz and its offshoots, from socio-economical stories to new release highlights.
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Thank you, Tina x