‘The whole ecosystem is collapsing’: inside the crisis in Britain’s live music scene

While giant promoters rake in billions, smaller venues are struggling to make ends meet – even when gigs are selling out. We go on tour to find a glimmer of hope

It’s Sunday evening at the Brudenell Social Club in Leeds and business appears to be booming. There is a blues festival in one of the two 400-capacity rooms and the rising US singer-songwriter Sam Evian in the other. The lounge between is packed with students watching Liverpool beat Chelsea on TV. However, the owner-promoter Nathan Clark is nervous: “The picture isn’t as rosy as it seems.”

Yesterday, for instance, he was all set to put on the Australian psych-rockers Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, who had pulled 1,000 people in Manchester the night before. “Then I got a call saying the singer had been bitten by a dog and the show was cancelled,” he says. “We had already installed a projector screen that cost £600, hired tech people and security and bought the band’s food and drink.” All that outlay cannot be recovered. “It’s like playing roulette.”