Are free gigs sustainable for the industry?
If you have heard of Will Varley, the English folk musician and singer-songwriter, you’ll be familiar with the satirical humour and stark political commentary that sail through his strong acoustic melodies and distinctive vocals. He is a popular artist amongst British folk enthusiasts and will begin a tour of UK independent venues in late March, so I was pleasantly surprised to see him announce two free solo shows on his Instagram story early last December.
‘SOLO SHOWS IN A TINY BAR, JUST LIKE THE OLD DAYS…COMMENT WITH REQUESTS AND SEE YOU THERE…XXX’ was the playful comment that followed all the key information plastered in upper-case text over a selfie of him in a kebab shop. From this post alone, I could tell that shows like this are important to him — the intimate shows where the living, breathing relationship between the musician, the music and the audience is all that matters. It felt like a homecoming.
But what about the newer artists and bands that are playing free gigs? What do these kinds of shows mean to them? I started to notice them pop up all over London and, while myself and my gig-obsessed friends loved witnessing ‘art for the sake of art’ and were ecstatic to see new music made accessible to everyone, I couldn’t help but worry about the financial impact that this could have on the industry as a whole.
‘They’re trying to get their name out there so they’re playing a bunch of free gigs,’ my friend, Andrea Zatvarnicka, told me. Andrea is a producer who works with theatre and music venues, and she is a musician herself, as well as a frequent gig-goer. She recently went to The Finsbury Pub in North London to see the band Can’t Stop Talking, who describe themselves as ‘The Spice Girls of Rock ‘n’ Roll’ in their Instagram bio. They were playing for free alongside other bands of the same genre, and have played multiple gigs like this before. The audience was roughly thirty people strong, swaying and engaged. ‘Either you like gigs and you’ll listen to anything that’s being played or you’re going for that specific genre… it was like a bit of both,’ she commented when I asked her about the audience.
From a producer’s perspective, however, she recognises the toll that free shows can take on the venues, as well as the artists and bands. There are so many costs that come with running a venue, especially as the cost of living increases. ‘At places like The George Tavern…the promoters are very selective nowadays,’ Andrea says. ‘It is hard to get invited back unless you do a first show and you sell out and you bring in good revenue.’ In this case, I can see how beneficial building an audience through free shows can be to a band or artist’s future success. By growing their audience, they increase their chances of performing well financially and therefore being invited back by renowned venues. I look forward to seeing bands like Can’t Stop Talking thrive and hope to see artists like Will Varley get to enjoy the intimacy of more ‘solo shows in a tiny bar’ in the near future.
WORDS TALLULAH STEPHENS SKEETE
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