Now… this may not come as a shock to anyone, but the last few years have been a real low for performing artists. PRS For Music recently released their annual stats for revenue in 2021, and despite being in total lockdown for 5 months of the year, the public performance sector (which includes music used in business premises, shops, cinemas, pubs, clubs, hotels, and restaurants, as well as the live music sector) still bounced back up 59.6% (£51.4m) from 2020. While this is clearly a great sign of a return to stability, there is still a little way to go; total revenues are still down 38.1% (£84.6m) compared to 2019.

We’ve just released our financial results for 2021.

– £777.1 million collected in music royalties
– £677.2m distributed to rightsholders
– 27 trillion ‘performances’ of music processed

See the full details > https://t.co/a4LM00sErK #PRSBigNumbers pic.twitter.com/LRJ91R8U6M

— PRS for Music (@PRSforMusic) April 25, 2022

With years of travel restrictions, social distancing, and all the rest of the stuff we had to deal with, it was practically impossible to tour. If anyone was lucky enough to head to a socially distanced show at one of the more relaxed points of the pandemic, then you may have been grateful to finally be seeing something again… but quite a significant chunk of the concert experience just didn’t work. Sit down, stay still, leave in an orderly fashion – it just wasn’t right. This discomfort was reflected in the numbers too, a decline of another 29.2% (£3.3m) from 2020 means that the sector only pulled in £8m after a number of big earners like Elton John, Dua Lipa, and Eagles were all forced to postpone their tours.

In a concluding statement from the CEO of PRS For Music Andrea Czapary Martin, she says, “The 59.6% uplift in public performance is encouraging as it reflects a marketplace, like the economy, that is getting back to business. Significantly, it underlines the organisation’s ability to adapt to all market sectors to fully monetise and protect the value of the music rights entrusted to us. “. So if you’re comfortable with going to these shows, then chances are they’re back and here to stay.

The live industry today seems to be pretty much back to full strength now. If we’re making predictions of what things may look like in the stats next year; I think 2022 may rake in some significant numbers. 2 years of performing artists being cooped up inside means that now pretty much everyone is starting their touring cycle at the same time. In 2021, the total amount of setlists fell from 124,000 in 2019, to 19,300. Take those 100,000 sets and add them to the 124,000-ish that would have happened this year anyway and you’ve got yourself a busy year as a punter.