February saw the 37th edition of ILMC (International Live Music Conference) bring together more than 2,000 international delegates from more than 60 countries including agents, promoters, venues, suppliers and touring staff. PSA Treasurer, Keith Wood was one of the delegates.
The conference began with an opening speech by UK Government Culture Minister, Chris Bryant MP, who praised the number of shows coming to the UK and artists and crew who tour the globe. He promised further work to secure improved EU touring arrangements and highlighted such work as the Live Trust with the £1.00 ticket levy as a means to support smaller grassroots venues.
ILMC always covers a vast range of industry topics through presentations and discussion panels. Key topics this year included:
- Sustainability – the impact of the greener rider, reducing waste at festivals, lowering tour emissions amongst others
- Ticketing – the great ‘dynamic ticketing’ debate, ticket touts and other key issues
- Residencies – is this the new touring? Coldplay/Adele/Taylor Swift/Ed Sheeran have all embraced the concept
- The Middle East growth – new venues and pushing the boundaries
- India – the next new emerging market
- South America – new venues, better infrastructure and a surge in new and established artists touring the world
A couple of sessions were dedicated to production. The first being crew welfare. This has been a long-standing topic on the agenda and schedules don’t appear to feature adequate breaks for crew when touring. Routing is still very much governed by availability of venues, often leading to demanding and relentless schedule. It’s not just touring where individuals fail to take adequate breaks between roles. Many freelancers feel the need to fill diaries when they can to make up for the quieter times in the year. A number of years ago, former council member, James Cobb, shared a report that concluded that severe lack of sleep was unsafe and had the same effect as drunk driving. Not ideal for those working at height or driving overnight to the next load-in without a double driver. A questionnaire was sent out to PSA members at the time, and we are looking to do the same again, so please look out for this and take the time to give your feedback. There was also positive news from some of the major promoters as they now include extra cover for reps onsite, who no longer have to work 20-hour shifts.
The other production session was chaired by industry veteran, Mickey Curbishley from Solotech. This discussion was to address the rising costs of touring and whether ticket prices need to increase to cover the costs or whether artists need to tour more efficiently. Key discussion points included:
- More realistic scheduling to better manage the logistics and working hours
- Production design – taking into account the time available to load in and build shows rather than crews just having to make it work. Designers and production managers talking much earlier in the process to see what is realistic
- Sharing infrastructure – some of the stadiums are sharing trackway, stages, plant and caterers between incoming shows – this works for some tours but not others with bespoke shows
ILMC used to have a day dedicated to production but for a number of years now this has been reduced to a couple of sessions which is a real shame considering just how important production is to our industry. It is more important than ever to make each and every session and conversation count.