Building a sustainable future
Music venues give artists somewhere to develop, audiences somewhere to connect and cities a reason for people to visit. But changing spending habits, rising costs and practical barriers are putting pressure on the businesses behind those experiences.
Hosted by Liverpool City Region Music Board in April 2026, this consultation brought venue operators and promoters together to explore those pressures. It gathered their experiences and ideas to help inform future policy, funding and support for the region’s live music sector.
Listening to the people running live music
The consultation involved 55 venue operators and promoters in a series of facilitated roundtable discussions. Six themes covered audience behaviour, venue costs and touring, transport and regulation, staffing, innovation, and the use of data. Researchers analysed the discussions to identify shared challenges and potential responses.
Participants described audiences buying tickets later, spending less inside venues and sometimes not attending despite having bought a ticket. These patterns made income harder to predict and complicated decisions about staffing, stock and programming. Rising costs also made taking a chance on emerging artists more difficult.
Transport, parking, licensing and planning added further pressures. Limited late-night travel could discourage attendance or prompt early departures, while parking arrangements created difficulties for touring artists and crews. Participants also highlighted staffing and training needs, alongside opportunities to share resources and improve access to information.
Turning shared experience into practical priorities
The consultation gave venue operators and promoters a space to explain what was affecting their businesses and contribute ideas for the sector’s future.
venue operators and promoters took part
core themes explored through the consultation
roundtable discussion sessions held
Findings reflect participants’ experiences and suggestions, rather than a representative survey of every venue in the region.
Moving from survival towards sustainability
The report sets out ideas for strengthening venue businesses, including membership models, daytime uses and more diverse income streams. It also proposes clearer communication with audiences about event timings and the importance of advance ticket purchases.
Other suggestions include a regional touring resource directory, practical venue quality and accessibility tools, and closer collaboration on staff development. Better use of shared data could help venues understand attendance patterns and support a clearer case for investment.
The report invites the Music Board, MusicFutures, local authorities and the sector itself to consider these proposals. It provides a basis for developing and testing support, with the aim of helping venues become more sustainable while continuing to nurture artists and audiences.
Consultation hosted by Liverpool City Region Music Board. Report authored by Richard Anderson of the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Popular Music and MusicFutures.
