This report was produced as part of the Arts and Humanities Council’s (AHRC) Cultural Value project and with the co-operation of UK Music, the Musicians’ Union and PRS for Music.
It aims to contribute to a conversation that looks behind the headline numbers to examine the relationships between venues and provide a qualitative illustration of the live music ecology in three locations – Camden, Glasgow and Leeds.
It also seeks to expand the concept of ‘publicly-funded culture’ to include not simply the subsidy and cultural provision traditionally associated with ‘high culture’ (classical orchestras, opera, etc.) but also provision in areas such as local authority licensing for live entertainment, infrastructure in the form of arenas and other large venues which are majority-owned by city councils, and the role of live music in strategies for urban regeneration