The DOWNLOAD: Where To Next?

Introduction

When it comes to clubbing, most people can remember that ‘best night out ever’ and many spend the rest of their lives chasing an experience that can match or exceed that level of joy and belonging. These spaces help to create vivid memories and can define a town, city or neighbourhood’s cultural identity.

Historically, port cities and mining towns have thrived off of the comings and goings of people from any and everywhere as they’re usually the first places migrants will settle. Sailors, shiphands, factory workers, tradespeople, immigrants looking for new lives and almost anyone who has resided in a big town or city in the UK have contributed to the local cultures that have allowed music to become the country’s most impactful export.

Britain’s largest towns and cities are traditionally and historically enclaves mostly built for trade and commerce; London, Cardiff, Bristol, Glasgow, Liverpool, Hull & Sheffield for example. In the 19th century, these towns and cities expanded as Britain’s economy grew from goods and trade imported from colonial exploits. Working-class folk were the majority, often living in tenements near factory districts and ports. In her book Terraformed, Dr Joy White wrote about the old King George V Dock in East London once the first entry point and last encounter with Britain for goods, ships and people arriving and leaving.

These towns and cities transformed at night as people ventured to entertainment districts, historically in Soho and the more central parts of East London. Centuries later, the DNA of these regions has been cultivated by the cultures brought by people from all over the world who left an indelible mark on nightlife and music.

In 2015, writer Dave Haslam published his book Life After Dark: A History of British Nightclubs & Music Venues. In this, Haslam took readers on a journey across the UK, beginning with Victorian dance halls which later became converted into Mecca Bingos and the megachurches we now see on high streets today, as well as lamenting iconic venues such as The Roxy and Hacienda. The crux of Haslam’s deep dive is that without these venues, the culture of British music exported globally wouldn’t exist today. Live music venues have allowed homegrown acts such as The Beatles, Sex Pistols, Oasis, Amy Winehouse, Goldie, Skepta and Adele (to name a few) to engage with local audiences at various points within their careers in a way that has woven them into the rich tapestry of British culture.

Everyone can recall the first gig they ever attended. For me, it was attending the Anger Management tour in Milton Keynes where 50 Cent, Eminem, D12, Cypress Hill and Xzibit all performed. As a teenager deeply invested in hip-hop at the time, attending the concert was a pivotal moment that would inspire my career working in music and journalism. The landscape of live music was different back then, clubs often provided U18s clubbing experiences such as Choice FM Junior Jam which brought major hip-hop and R&B acts to perform at the now-closed Hammersmith Palais. These experiences were crucial in providing entertainment for young people, introducing them to the mystic world of nightlife.

The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly reshaped nightlife across the globe, and there’s no doubt that the industry has changed forever. Not only did it decimate the careers and livelihoods of those working within nightlife, but the pandemic and rising living costs contributed to venues' closure as they struggled to maintain revenue during the lockdown.

When the media reports on falling high street sales and the closure of retailers, there’s little acknowledgement of the cultural and monetary value the nighttime economy provides. The value of nighttime spaces extends far beyond revenue and sales. They contribute to forming core experiences with music that help create lifelong memories as individuals and friendship groups. Culture creates these moments based on how we relate to sound and how they provide respite from daily life and speak to our wider experiences.

Sounds of the underground

Plastic People
Rhythm Factory
Nest
Destiny
Liquid Envy
Watford Oceania
The Coronet
Alibi
Hammersmith Palais
Birthdays
Visions
The Cause (The OG Spot)
Canavan’s
Mau Mau Bar
Eros

And all the rest I was far too inebriated to remember walking into. RIP *Sheds tear*. Those are just a few clubs and bars where I spent most of my teens and twenties before each permanently closed and became something new, usually a more commercially viable venue or residential development.

At the beginning of the year, The Music Venue Trust (MVT), which helps to nurture grassroots establishments with an average capacity of 300 people, published its latest annual report. In 2023, it had registered the loss of 125 venues, which had either gone out of business or stopped hosting gigs. These spaces are vital for underground genres to thrive with nationwide venues decreasing yearly.

It begs the question over the last decade whether the underground exists anymore but it’s a multilayered, complex issue. The proliferation of streaming culture, online radio communities and social media homogenising subcultural tribes has changed how underground scenes operate. It used to be that goths would go to one venue, rudeboys would be in another, skaters somewhere else and so on. And these would be identified by what people wore. Nowadays, the fashion lines between these tribes have all eroded, with styles bleeding into one another. When these tribes become harder to identify and distinguish from one another, it almost makes it harder to cater to their musical interests and promoters will often take a one-size-fits-all approach to curating events.

How Policy Impacts Nightlife

The fabric of our cities and towns is changing, with councils across England going bankrupt and increasingly cutting funding towards the arts and culture – much more than they already have done – nightlife is at further risk of being siloed into two columns; independent events that struggle to break even and promotions backed by venture capital and hedge funds.

In Tottenham, where I live, there has been a concerted effort in recent years to transform the area into a destination following the opening of the Spurs’ stadium in 2019. The Cause closed during the pandemic to make way for residential developments before moving to east London in 2022. Since then, Moko (sister venue to Jumbi and The Colour Factory) and the 1,600 capacity Archives have opened in Tottenham Hale combatting the changing skyline of high-rises in the area.

People are spending less on frequent moments and more on meaningful ones. During the winter months, once you’ve managed to get people to go outside, the likelihood of them taking a punt on any specific event at the hundreds that occur on any given Thursday, Friday and Saturday is slim.

According to a survey by dance platform Keep Hush, 25% of Gen-Z respondents and 13% of millennials reported being less interested in clubbing than before the pandemic. Choice anxiety, lingering collective PTSD from the pandemic, government austerity and profit-driven landlords and developers are all symptoms that have exacerbated the wider nightlife economy, hindering those who work independently within the scene. Additionally, 24% of Gen-Z and 31% of millennials were less likely to buy tickets to events before the day of the event, compared to before the pandemic. Surprise events have become an antidote to this shift but not everyone can take this risk and last-minute promotions still need recognisable acts who can draw crowds in.

Licensing restrictions also pose a significant barrier for most people working in nightlife venues. Only 1,130 nightclubs remain in the UK, following a 31% loss between June 2020 and June 2023. While this feature focuses primarily on the state of London’s nightlife, the Midlands, North and South-West are disproportionately affected by the rising nightlife costs. Regional nightlife allows for diversity in sounds and styles. Grime and UKG are products of London council estates despite going global. Bassline remains hugely popular in the North, due to Leeds-born producer T2’s ‘Heartbroken’ which went to No.2 in the UK Singles Chart in 2007. Bristol was pivotal in kickstarting the drum & bass and trip-hop scenes in the 1990s with artists such as Tricky and Massive Attack.

These regional pockets of sound are why DJs, artists and audiences from all over travel to the UK but it goes beyond that. The influence of the UK’s sound system culture on the world is ever-expansive. With grime emerging from UK sound systems various cultural symbols such as tracksuits and Air Max trainers have influenced global streetwear culture, across the world you can see the impact of London’s nightlife and urban streetwear if you follow the thread.

Are brands doing enough?

For a long time, brands have understood the value of live music within activations. Activations allow audiences to connect and engage with the brand without the commitment of purchasing a product.

Audiences seek more meaningful moments and experiences beyond the standard branded events that provide free drinks upon entry. Whilst these activations and experiences are often free, the downside is that it can be hard to ascertain whether audiences are attending for the artists and music offering, the brand itself or because it’s a free event that doesn’t require buying a ticket. Besides, how many branded events have you been to that you can recall so viscerally compared to those spontaneous nights out with friends? “My favourite night out was definitely when we went to Snoop Dogg & Dr. Dre's Gin & Juice launch party,” says 18-year-old Riyadh, “The energy was just incredible and everyone was so in sync with the music it felt like one big, unified vibe.”

Following the pandemic, there have been increased feelings of apathy towards branded events by young people. Collaborations between brands and music collectives often lack long-lasting impact beyond a free drinks token and a tote bag. When I was starting as a music journalist, being at branded events was a way to network and connect with peers in the industry. But it didn’t take long for me to realise that often the only factors that separated each of these events were the artists performing and the name of the brand sponsoring.

It’s hard to reach descend to Fyre Fest levels of atrocious, however, attending an event where the main drinks sponsor runs out of bottles thirty minutes after it begins is shoddyness in action. In 2015, Red Bull hosted a live event at The Garage (Islington) featuring DJ Semtex, Pusha T and Jay Prince on the lineup as part of Red Bull Music Academy’s UK Tour across London, Bristol, Manchester and Glasgow. With Pusha T on the lineup, I assumed that it would be a memorable event – it wasn’t. Without Red Bull promoting the event, it would have been just another Pusha T show with a supporting act and DJ. Perhaps, on the other hand, some could describe that as a successful branded event where the name isn’t remembered. However, neither were the performances.

In an ideal world, collaborations and partnerships are meant to be just that – mutually beneficial. However, for most brands, the value of their involvement often comes in cultural extraction. Whereas for the promoters of the events, production costs and increased visibility help relieve the pressures and anxieties that come with organising. There are no guarantees with ticketed events but with branded events, many hope the name sells itself. The difficulty is that these events often require big-name, recognisable acts whose audiences are seen as potential customers to brands. Over the past decade, agencies specialising in music and culture activations have grown exponentially, each looking to service brands with a cultural and financial stake in nightlife.

Successful, alternative approaches to nightlife are still few and far between

Community co-operatives offer an alternative approach to London’s strained nightlife but success stories are far and few between with rising rent costs, bills and draconian licensing policies. Sister Midnight, a community co-op based in Lewisham, raised over £350,000 through community investments including £10,000 from Beggars Music Group. Labels owning stakes in music venues isn’t a new phenomenon, however, Beggers Music Group’s contribution isn’t just about the size of the donation but how they’ve helped a community embrace and, more importantly, own a sustainable approach to creating a music venue.

Shubeens were popular in the 1980s as Black promoters struggled to find venues due to racist and discriminatory policies, relying on houses, basements and backrooms. Nowadays, trying to organise a house party in London often means dealing with complaints from neighbours and landlords. In 2002, Yoyo began as a club night in Notting Hill Arts Club started by Seb Chew and Leo Greenslade and continued for over a decade before taking a pause. Twenty years after its inception, YOYO’s returned as a weekly secret pop-up street party across London during summer and has revitalised the spontaneity of Thursday nights. More substantially, it’s brought together a new generation of YOYO ravers and those who came up during its early years. However, not every platform, club night or venue can make a comeback.

In the past fourteen years under the Tory government, the cutting of public funding saw a rise in brands providing financial support for nightlife spaces and promoters. While brands aren’t responsible for nurturing and fostering nightlife, there are still too few examples of multinational companies keeping sustainability at the heart of their approach. For years, it seemed Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) would live on forever with its guest lectures, editorial platform and events when it first launched in 1998. When Red Bull announced in 2019 that it would part ways with consultancy firm Yadastar, which helped bring RBMA to life from inception, it sent a shockwave throughout the wider industry.

Critics argued that while it was important for RBMA’s archives to remain accessible, a brand as influential and successful as Red Bull needn’t have shuttered the platform. The 21-year relationship between Yadastar and Red Bull was unusually long but the cost-cutting strategy would’ve likely occurred at some point during the pandemic which soon followed RBMA’s closure on October 31st, 2019. In its early days, Red Bull was less focused on data-driven results, however, in the last decade of RBMA’s existence, there was increasing pressure internally to deliver content that provided a clear return on investment.

On one hand, long-form storytelling across various mediums appealed to consumers and musicians alike. “When you’re looking at the academy itself, the intention is basically fostering creativity,” Yadastar co-founder Many Ameri said in a Pitchfork interview. “When we leave, there is a new structure that has grown from these people collaborating that would usually not work together. And they continue doing that afterwards.”

Red Bull studios are still in use and accessible, however, the vacuum RBMA left has yet to be filled, which speaks to the narrative-led tastemaking and music curation that built its identity and audience.

While Spotify is in the business of driving subscriptions and data in the same way Red Bull’s remit is to sell energy drinks, it would be difficult to see the brand enter a space where it facilitates storytelling over consumption. In 2022, Spotify launched an IRL activation in São Paulo celebrating one of its flagship playlists creme through an exhibition dedicated to Brazilian trap and funk. Audiences could interact with the brand much more meaningfully beyond their routine, daily experiences with the Spotify app. Activations such as these indicate that audiences will continue to seek deeper experiences with brands they know and love – the challenge is giving them something they will remember for years.

What does the future look like?

The UK’s nightlife still has a strong gravitational pull despite the widespread changes to the industry over the last decade. London has grown exponentially as a port city since the 19th century and remains the first encounter many have had with British culture. With the festival season beginning to wind down for 2024, thinking about how nightlife spaces can be used in the future is paramount. Brands often get it right with event partnerships when they hand the decision-making over to cultural tastemakers and curators and treat the relationship as just that. Power balances will remain but going in with the focus that independent collectives and artists get to decide the programming and production for an event minimises that imbalance.

Imagining new futures of nightlife where sustainability is the focus allows us to remain optimistic when there’s so much uncertainty in global and local affairs. Speaking to the next generation about what they look for in clubbing experiences has allowed us to think about tomorrow. This is particularly important for Gen Z and Alpha audiences who look to older generations and it’s worth pondering on the culture of nightlife we leave for them.