LIVE report identifies UK freelancers’ concerns
UK trade body LIVE (Live music Industry Venues & Entertainment) has revealed the findings of a comprehensive survey of freelance professionals working in the UK live music sector.
In partnership with Handle Freelance Solutions, The Back Lounge and UK Live Event Freelancers Forum, Powered by Freelancers – The Live Music Edition 2024 was commissioned to help understand and identify the changes required to improve the experiences of freelancers.
A total of 1,281 live music freelancers contributed to the survey, with 87% of respondents stating that “freelance work provides my primary income.”
“Freelancers are crucial to the success of the live music ecosystem and our industry relies on them to deliver unforgettable experiences for fans,. That is why LIVE was delighted to partner with Handle Freelance Solutions, The Back Lounge and UK Live Event Freelancers Forum to produce this groundbreaking report, the first of its kind, and in doing so deliver invaluable insight into the freelance experience,” says Jon Collins CEO of LIVE, which represents 16 live music industry organisations.
“Much in the report is great to see, not least the resoundingly positive response from people when asked if ours is a great industry to be in. Of course, reports like this will always highlight opportunities for improvement and we will be taking all of these learnings and funnelling them into the work of our LIVE Workforce group, where industry experts alongside ED&I and workforce specialists work towards objectives that positively impact the current and future workforce of our industry.”
“The research mirrors the conversations that we have daily”
The report identifies a core positivity but with key concerns and suggestions for improvement. A key finding was that 73% of respondents agreed that live music is a great industry for freelancers to work in, with over 60% feeling ‘optimistic’ about the next 12 months. However, the report also highlights areas where changes are required to improve the experience of freelancers, including financial security, better pay, flexibility and work-life balance.
In addition, 59% of respondents agreed that enough freelance jobs were available, but 56% said that they found it difficult to access or secure those roles. This also raised issues among younger people and non-male respondents with some expressing less optimism about job security and more difficulty finding work.
“The research mirrors the conversations that we have daily,” says Darren Woolnough, MD at Handle Freelance Solutions said. “It highlights a significant concern where late payments and a lack of formal contracts can often be normalised within the freelance community. Instead of pointing fingers, our commitment is to provide the guidance and solutions to help companies understand how they can deliver an exceptional freelancer experience and this research is invaluable to helping us do exactly that.”
The cancellation of work by event organisers at short notice also emerged as a key concern. With less than half of respondents (49%) having signed contracts in the last 12 months before agreeing roles, a similar percentage have experienced cancellation of work in the same period with 48% having jobs cancelled with less than one week’s notice.
“We now have an invaluable temperature check of where we as an industry, powered predominantly by freelancers, are at, right now”
“Having worked on this since July last year when the idea came to life, I feel both privileged and very proud to be part of an amazing team who have given their all to dive deep into the freelance world and then see the remarkable responses,” Paul Jones, director of event production specialist Ethix Management.
“Taking this survey data forward to help professional freelancers in the live sector become better supported is now one of the priorities. Having previewed to audiences, we have seen some very positive reactions and hope they become a main topic of conversation on improving an industry that so many are incredibly passionate about.”
A link to the full report can be found here.
“Thanks to everyone who took the time to fill in the survey, we now have an invaluable temperature check of where we as an industry, powered predominantly by freelancers, are at, right now,” adds Suzi Green, founder of The Back Lounge. “Hopefully it will spark conversations, provoke reactions, and ultimately help influence positive change in some of the areas where change is much needed.”
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IQ 108 out now: 10 things we learned from the pandemic
IQ 108, the latest issue of the international live music industry’s favourite monthly magazine, is available to read online now.
In the February 2022 edition, IQ talks to a number of business leaders to identify ten key lessons that the pandemic has taught us.
Elsewhere, IQ editor Gordon Masson talks to the recipient of the 2022 Gaffer Award, Phay ‘Phaymous’ Mac Mahon, about his 40-year career and how he became one of the go-to production managers in the international touring business.
This issue also sees Masson talk to experts about the evolving world of virus mitigation and profile ten products and services that are helping to get businesses up and rolling again.
For this edition’s columns and comments, tour manager Suzi Green explains how music industry support group The Back Lounge is helping the community through a new series of timely and topical free workshops and Driift’s Ric Salmon relives the success of The Smile’s live-stream triple header.
In this month’s Your Shout, execs including Marc Geiger (SaveLive), Georg Leitner (Georg Leitner Productions) and Nick Hobbs (Charmenko) reveal the best showcase they’ve ever seen.
As always, the majority of the magazine’s content will appear online in some form in the next four weeks.
However, if you can’t wait for your fix of essential live music industry features, opinion and analysis, click here to subscribe to IQ for just £5.99 a month – or check out what you’re missing out on with the limited preview below:
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TM Suzi Green launches free workshops ahead of touring return
Tour manager and health and wellbeing specialist Suzi Green has commissioned a series of resilience workshops for the international live music industry as the touring sector begins its transition back into the demands of event production.
The three free sessions, Mindfulness for Touring with Craig Ali, Healthy Boundaries with Laura Ferguson and Sleep & Jet Lag with Matt Kansy, take place on Monday 21 June, Wednesday 14 July and Wednesday 4 August, respectively. The workshops will explore a range of topics, from coping strategies for dealing with ‘heated’ moments in high-pressure situations to how to wind down naturally at the end of an intense day, rate negotiation, managing workload and effective communication, maximising the quality of your sleep and techniques to combat jet lag and shift work.
The workshops were made possible through the Culture Recovery Fund and are designed for freelance touring community, though they are open to all music professionals.
The sessions are presented by The Back Lounge, an online support group for out-of-work touring professionals Green, the founder of Healthy Touring, created during the height of the pandemic.
“We will all need to take our health seriously to survive long periods during busy touring schedules in the future”
A seasoned tour manager, having worked with clients including Placebo, PJ Harvey, Katie Melua and Wolf Alice, Green experienced her own debilitating episode of burn-out and left touring for a decade. “I thought my touring days were over. The industry simply didn’t work for me,” she recalls.
Since retraining in various modalities, she later returned to touring with new skills in wellbeing to the benefit of artists and crew.
“People now have the opportunity to learn how to develop better coping strategies,” says Green. “We will all need to take our health seriously to survive long periods during busy touring schedules in the future.”
To book a place on the free workshops, visit the following links: Mindfulness for Touring, Healthy Boundaries, Sleep & Jet Lag.
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