Touring has become increasingly financially precarious for grassroots artists, pinched by issues including the cost of living crisis and increasing fuel costs. But a growing number of UK music venues are attempting a simple but potentially transformative fix: giving bands somewhere to sleep.
This month, the Music Venue Trust charity announced a new wave of funding initiatives to rebuild infrastructure for touring musicians, including schemes focused on artist accommodation: unused spaces in venues could be converted into rooms for touring musicians, in an effort to cut costs and make smaller tours more viable. “Accommodation costs are limiting touring options and venues, especially in rural locations where there may not be lots of accommodation choices,” says Mark Davyd, the charity’s chief executive.
One of the first venues involved is Voodoo Daddy’s in Norwich: the site is currently being refreshed throughout, with new shower facilities and triple-stack bunk beds installed for touring artists. Owner Ben Street says the project emerged from conversations with musicians who were struggling to make the numbers work. “There’s so many times that we’d have international artists discussing the fee and trying to get over here, and one of the big issues was they were trying to cover the cost of accommodation,” he says. With a tour party of six or seven, “the cost of that was just really difficult”. Rather than charging separately for rooms, Street says accommodation costs are currently being folded into performance deals: artists may accept a slightly lower guaranteed fee in exchange for staying at the venue, but avoid paying far higher hotel costs elsewhere in the city.
Previously, he said, artists would often rush off after shows: “They’d stay at a Travelodge on a motorway, or a Premier Inn way out, because it’s cheaper. That means they finish the show, have to really quickly pack up and just disappear. It just wasn’t a nice experience for anyone.”
Now, he hopes artists will be able to stay on site, spend more time with audiences and reduce travel costs at the same time. “They can sign some merch, we can have a drink with them after. It just makes the whole experience way nicer and financially viable.”
The idea is being greeted with enthusiasm by artists. “Accommodation is an amazing perk that helps international acts survive on the road,” say the Jump Cuts, a Florida-based indie rock band who are due to stay at Voodoo Daddy’s later this year. “Everyone’s touring on razor-thin margins. This setup helps keep the dream alive for smaller bands to still go on tour despite the rising costs of pretty much everything.”
Street says the idea is also informed by his own years spent touring in bands. He remembers touring in Europe “where smaller grassroots or independent venues would have accommodation included and have amazing catering as well,” he says.
Is he worried about someone launching a TV through a window in time-honoured style? “Bands on tour can cause havoc,” he admits. “But I feel confident that most artists will appreciate what we’re doing and look after our little band hotel.”
Other venues see the move as a way of strengthening local live scenes and competing for touring acts who are forced to streamline their routes to save money. The Cornish Bank in Falmouth has allowed artists to stay in residencies where they create new work, and at Leicester venue Firebug, owner Matt Kirk believes offering accommodation could help attract artists who might otherwise bypass the city altogether. “If we have the infrastructure to go, ‘Don’t go to Nottingham, come to Leicester,’ that’s huge,” he says.
Kirk also argues that lowering venue costs could benefit audiences as much as promoters. Because accommodation costs aren’t factored in to the deal between venues, promoters and artists, “we can reduce the ticket price to make it more affordable. Twenty quid is actually quite a lot of money for people nowadays.”
As grassroots venues continue to fight rising costs and shrinking margins, MVT hopes these projects can offer something more sustainable than short-term emergency support. Davyd says the trust is already in conversations with 27 venues about developing accommodation facilities, with roughly half of MVT’s member venues having potentially usable space. “Not all of them will house all the bands on tour, and not all of them can be available all the time,” he says. “But if we can significantly drop the cost of accommodation as a factor for touring for the grassroots, it’s going to result in a lot more touring.”
