HOW CAN WE SAVE OUR MUSIC VENUES?

As UK venues continue to close at an alarming rate, we asked you guys what we can all do to buck the trend and help our local scenes. Put short…

I think it’s a difficult issue; property developers buy land near a venue on the cheap because of the noise, then build residential buildings, which leads to noise complaints against the venue so the venue closes, which drives up the price of the residences. There needs to be some sort of regulation to stop this. MATTHEW BROOKS

I think the obvious thing to do is to make sure you attend shows at those small venues. It might not be the big acts that play them, but even by going for an evening to see someone new, you might find someone you like. Even if you’re just there for a support act, it benefits the venue when you attend, buy a drink, that sort of thing. Those places need more support than the giant arenas.

NAOMI SANDERS

I think that YouTube is a major cause for this problem. People are uploading whole shows and

it’s like you’ve already seen it all nowadays. OK, you don’t get the full gig experience from watching a YouTube video, but it doesn’t help.

DANIEL CALAMATTA

having the properties owned by local government looking for a quick buck doesn’t help. Then when they sell them off they don’t help to replace them. Therefore, we need some legislation that protects music venues when they are sold for redevelopment where they are helped in relocating.

ADAM TURNER

On the lines of the role of local government, most are severely struggling for funds, so they ought to be encouraged to make more income from hiring out their town halls – like Islington’s Assembly hall, for example.

MIRIAM FOX

Without a Culture Secretary who gives a shit about the current conflicts between residential properties and venues, I don’t see much that can be done. Also, the high ticket prices for the giant tours and the immediate sell-outs, followed by touting on GetMeIn etc, could be

demotivating the grassroots music fans who can’t afford the high-value tickets, leaving the only attendees as middle-aged people with solid jobs – hardly your target demographic for building a live music fanbase.

GAVIN WILSON What would help is changing the law so that if you move in knowing a loud venue is near you, you’ve no right to demand it shuts or spends more than it can afford on insulation… but that’s not gonna happen. BEN WILLMOTT

help with publicity for small venues. I keep discovering venues by chance in nearby towns that I would have started going to ages ago if I had known they existed. I tend to only find out about them if a band I like happen to announce a gig there. So more promotion over a wider area would be great. ELAINE BETTGER

I saw an international touring band do something clever last year: when they played Cambridge, they put a popular local band on as support – and played before them! More people stuck around and had more drinks, rather than sliding out after the ‘known’ band had played. Ultimately, though, we need to get out and support venues; the more support they get for rock gigs the more they will put on. Take a quick snap on your phone to promote the awesome night you’ve had to your social network! WILL RUSSELL

Stop building city centre flats next to established venues. Boycott any radio station or TV channels that refuses to play acts that aren’t associated with a major label or who don’t write and perform their own songs. Or, just give up, because the sad truth is not enough people care anymore because all the great unwashed really want is hip hop/EDM/talent show shite…

JAMES SOUTHARD NExT MONTH: SOMETHING NEw!