As Oasis took to the stage earlier this month, I was busy doing radio interviews exploring the differences in the live music experience from the time when the Gallagher brothers first formed the band over thirty years ago.
In a succession of calls with Radio 5 Live, Times Radio, Bauer Radio and a string of BBC local radio stations, I pinpointed ticket pricing, the way we buy tickets and how audience profiles have altered over the years, as well as obvious changes such as the ubiquity of mobile phones, the absence of smoking, and general modern-day ‘gig-etiquette’.
My main conclusion was how the ‘prawn sandwich brigade’ had penetrated rock ‘n’ roll, with increasing corporatism and commercialism, elitism, and gigs as content for ‘look-at-me’ social media accounts. All of which, of course, is covered in Be Here Now.
It’s not entirely the fault of the bands, though. The current dominance of streaming, where artists receive a paltry £0.003 per track, has hit revenue from the days when physical recorded output could generate reasonable margins. Bands have compensated by cranking up the pricing on the simple basis that if people are prepared to pay silly money to see them, they’d be missing a trick not to oblige.
The trouble is, this works for mega-bands at the expense of emerging talent and even established artists who simply can’t afford to make their tours or recordings pay. The rich get richer while the poor get poorer.
Not everything has changed, of course – the music has largely stayed the same (especially in the case of the Oasis tour) while gig-goers are still determined to have it large and enjoy themselves whatever the price tag.
Better or worse than thirty years ago? That’s up to the individual. But definitely different.