Music's energy crisis: the massive bills that could finally kill your local live venue

You may have noticed - it's tough out there. Many businesses, including venues and clubs, only just survived COVID lockdowns and then the resulting supply chain issues and labour shortages that are still very much with us. 

Sadly, of course, many didn't. The UK's Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) recently revealed that 1 in 5 nightclubs in England, Wales and Scotland had permanently closed their doors since March 2020. 

As of now, there are 1,130 nightclubs remaining in the UK, and looking globally, the picture is also challenging, to say the least.

Now, unbelievably, it seems that things are about to get tougher, with the NTIA joining forces with organisations including the Music Venue Trust and the British Beer & Pub Association to publish a frankly bleak open letter calling for support to cope with the "rocketing energy prices" that they said constitute an "existential emergency for businesses in our sector". 

"Hospitality operators face average annual bill increases in the region of 300%+, putting at risk businesses and jobs," the letter asserts. 

"Not all businesses will be able to survive this onslaught, and those that can will be closely considering how they can keep their costs down just to stay afloat.

"We urgently need the Government to outline a support package for the sector," it concludes. "We urge you not to allow the stasis of party politics to stifle the urgent delivery of action on energy. 

"Act Now."

You can read the full letter in the thread below.