“My high hopes are getting low”

EDITORIAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF George Garner george.garner@futurenet.com DIGITAL EDITOR Andre Paine andre.paine@futurenet.com FEATURES EDITOR Ben Homewood ben.homewood@futurenet.com CONTENT EDITOR/PRODUCER Miranda Bardsley miranda.bardsley@futurenet.com ART EDITOR Steve Newman steve.newman@futurenet.com CHARTS & DATA Isabelle Nesmon isabelle.nesmon@futurenet.com

CONTRIBUTORS Yemi Abiade, Adenike Adenitire, Sammy Andrews, Koury Angelo, Calvin Ceile, Mark Davyd, Niall Doherty, Anna Fielding, Charlotte Gunn, James Hanley, Paul Harries, Colleen Harris, James Hickie, Alan Jones, Louise Haywood-Schiefer, Emmanuel Legrand, David McLaughlin, Paul Stokes, Jennyfer J. Walker, Carla Marie Williams, Paul Williams, Coral Williamson, Lisa Wright, Matt Yates COMMERCIAL ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR, MUSIC PORTFOLIO Lara Jaggon lara.jaggon@futurenet.com SENIOR EVENT MANAGER Madelene Andersson madelene.andersson@futurenet.com

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Welcome to

Music Week...

First Blud

It is now only a matter of time before I’m stood in various fields around the UK either soaked to the bone or trying to rub suncream out of my burning eyes while I watch a bunch of amazing gigs. It’s the most wonderful time of the yeeeeear. The anticipated appearance of the UK’s Crap Weather™ aside, we currently look primed for a summer of live music to remember. For one, there are seemingly more headline tours than the UK’s assorted stadia and arenas can possibly handle, with everyone from Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen to Doja Cat, Pink, AC/DC, Liam Gallagher, Pearl Jam, Green Day and Girls Aloud all on the road. That’s to say nothing of the slew of festivals, and not just Glastonbury, Download, Reading And Leeds and BST Hyde Park, but also our many city festivals and boutique operations. Yet the kick-off of the UK festival season also coincides with a turbulent period of discourse surrounding live music. Some headlines are positive, it’s hard not to be excited seeing cities like Liverpool preparing for the Taylor Swift economic boost in grandstanding fashion or the re-opening of the O2 Academy Brixton. Elsewhere, however, stories swell about the plight of grassroots venues, the gender inequality of line-ups, the increasing cost (and lack of availability) of tickets, and more besides. It’s the first time I can remember in which the business of live music is seemingly generating more headlines in the mainstream media than ones celebrating the shows themselves. This is why it made so much sense for Yungblud to appear on our cover as he prepares his very own festival BludFest at Milton Keynes Bowl in August. As you can read on page 24, it was conceived to be an event with ticket prices that are accessible to all, while also keeping its line-up inclusive. Yungblud doesn’t exactly mince his words in our feature about the point he’s trying to prove and it will be interesting to see how the industry responds to his ideas. The story of BludFest is one I’ve been watching carefully for a while, not just for what it represents, but also how it has been received. For months, Yungblud has been engaging with fans on TikTok, not just to promote BludFest but to tackle the questions being asked of him by the public, some of them quite pointed, about ticketing, profits and losses. His TikTok page has turned into an open dialogue where, warts and all, he is essentially demystifying the live music business for a new generation. A lot of people are understandably viewing BludFest as a test model for the future of artist-led festivals. It makes sense. But I think we should also be gauging just how far his level of transparency about the reality of staging live events in a post-Brexit world can go to putting fans’ minds at ease. Consumer frustration has been dictating a lot of the headlines being written in 2024, but the live music sector also has answers, expectations and challenges that aren’t always being factored into mainstream coverage. Perhaps we just need more spaces for these conversations to take place.

George Garner, Editor-In-Chief

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