I've booked tickets for Towersey. Very sad that they have decided that this will be the final one. Everything seemed quite positive for them since the move to the new site at Claydon House but I suppose in the background they must have been looking at their accounts and worrying about the future.
Interesting article in yesterday Guardian mag about the phenomenon that is Taylor Swift. In relation to money spent on live music in the UK it seems that 50% goes to the big names like Taylor and to festivals. So if increasing numbers of festivals are in financial dire straits then what does that say about the money going to venues, especially smaller ones? And despite the squillions that Ms Swift makes, very little of it trickles down to those lower down the music pyramid.
And if you thought records were for playing...
"In the US, she accounts for six of the top 10 vinyl bestsellers of the modern era and one in 15 vinyl sales in 2023. Remarkably, more than half of vinyl buyers don’t own a turntable, so a majority of Swift’s records are being bought as attractive artefacts rather than vessels for music."
https://www.theguardian.com/music/article/2024/jun/01/its-the-age-of-swiftonomics-but-will-taylor-swifts-phenomenal-success-trickle-down
