A new survey conducted by the British government's Live Music Forum shows the UK's live circuit is alive and kicking. The survey, conducted by MORI, revealed that 4500 grass roots gigs take place in England and Wales every day. That means 1.7 million gigs take place each year in pubs, restaurants and clubs - ie that figure does not include gigs that take place in dedicated concert venues.
Commenting on the findings Culture Minister Richard Caborn told reporters: "From the Beatles to Blur, we have a live music heritage to be proud of. This survey shows that heritage is alive and well with a flourishing music scene."
Feargal Sharkey, who heads up the Live Music Forum, said the survey was the first part of his group's work to enhance the live sector in the UK: "I want to see more live music in this country. With a major overhaul of licensing laws just around the corner, we have the best opportunity in a generation to achieve this."
There was a mixed message in the report as to what effect those new licensing rules will have on the number of grass root gigs. At the moment pubs, clubs and restaurants can stage small gigs without a performing licence. New legislation will stop that, a move which led many to fear the UK's vibrant grass roots gig circuit would dwindle. However the survey shows that, while 11% of grass root venues surveyed said new legislation may cause them to reduce the number of gigs they stage, 7% said that once they had applied for whatever licence was necessary they anticipated staging more gigs.
However there was a clear majority - 75% - who felt that they had not been informed properly about the implications of new licensing laws.