Top 100 UK music venues revealed
Southbank Centre tops list of leading concert venues
PRS for Music analysis highlights healthy growth in live shows
Southbank Centre in London is the leading music venue in the UK, according to new figures released by PRS for Music. During 2011, Southbank Centre, which consists of the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and the Hayward Gallery, held 422 musical events - attended by over a million people.
I am thrilled to see so many cultural centres featured in the analysis, from the newly opened Kings Place in London and The Sage in Gateshead to the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. These venues have very diverse and exciting programmes that appeal to many different audiences. It is an enormous accomplishment to run a successful live music space and in spite of economic challenges, the British live music scene is still strong.
PRS for Music, the organisation that collects royalties for songwriters and composers, analysed data of more than 10,000 live music events in 2011. In a year where the focus is on sporting venues, the report celebrates the value of all venues and reinforces music is at the heart of Britain’s creative industries. The music business is worth £3.9bn to the UK economy and live music is an essential contributor to growth.
What a marvellous accolade to win this prestigious award for the second year! We are excited by the chance to present all forms of music across our entire 21 acre site and to work with the world’s great and emerging musicians. It’s a tremendous and exciting challenge - so thanks for this vote of confidence in what we're doing.
The PRS for Music research also shows that:
- In total, the top 100 venues put on 13,781 concerts last year
- The top 5 venues in 2011, put on more than 1,829 concerts between them.
- London accounted for 30% of the top 100 live music venues
- Other top concert locations were: Glasgow (8), Manchester (5); Birmingham (4); and Bristol (3)
The top 10 UK venues are:
- Southbank Centre, London
- The Sage Gateshead, Tynne and Wear
- O2 Academy, Birmingham
- Stables, Milton Keynes
- Ronnie Scotts, London
- O2 Academy, Islington
- Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester
- 02 Academy, Newcastle Upon Tyne
- King Tuts Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow
- Kings Place, London
The full top 100 is attached at the end of this press release listed in order of live performances.
About PRS for Music
PRS for Music represents the rights of 100,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers in the UK. As a membership organisation it ensures creators are paid whenever their music is played, performed or reproduced, championing the importance of copyright to protect and support the UK music industry. The UK has a proud tradition of creating wonderful music that is enjoyed the world over and PRS for Music has been supporting the creators of that music since 1914.
PRS for Music provides business and community groups with easy access to over 10m songs through its music licences. In an industry worth over £3.5bn PRS for Music is uniquely placed to be a voice for music and music creators. Collecting £665.7m in 2013, PRS for Music is one of the world’s most efficient combined rights organisations. With over 100 representation agreements in place globally, PRS for Music’s network represents over two million music creators.
About PRS for Music data
PRS for Music licenses live performances at 7000 venues in the UK and is able to track music and live trends. PRS for Music collect set-lists directly from the venues or attends concerts at these spaces to collect set lists, to ensure that members who created the music are paid their royalties.
About Southbank Centre
Southbank Centre is the UK’s largest arts centre, occupying a 21-acre site that sits in the midst of London’s most vibrant cultural quarter on the South Bank of the Thames. The site has an extraordinary creative and architectural history stretching back to the 1951 Festival of Britain. Southbank Centre is home to the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and The Hayward as well as The Saison Poetry Library and the Arts Council Collection. The Royal Festival Hall reopened in June 2007 following the major refurbishment of the Hall and redevelopment of the surrounding area and facilities. Southbank Centre is home to Resident Orchestras, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. For further information please visit southbankcentre.co.uk
- Southbank Centre - London
- The Sage Gateshead - Gateshead
- O2 Academy Birmingham - Birmingham
- Stables - Milton Keynes
- Ronnie Scotts Club - London
- O2 Academy Islington - London
- Royal Northern College Of Music - Manchester
- O2 Academy Newcastle - Newcastle upon Tyne
- King Tuts Wah Wah Hut - Glasgow
- Kings Place - London
- Royal Albert Hall - London
- Wigmore Hall - London
- Robin R'N'B Club 2 - Bilston
- Glasgow ABC - Glasgow
- Spa Complex - Scarborough
- Philharmonic Hall - Liverpool
- Borderline - London
- Bridgewater Hall - Manchester
- St Martin-In-The Fields - London
- O2 Academy Oxford - Oxford
- Jazz Cafe - London
- Underworld - London
- Norwich Arts Centre - Norwich
- Colston Hall - Bristol
- HMV Institute - Birmingham
- Garage - London
- Royal Conservatoire of Scotland - Glasgow
- Symphony Hall - Birmingham
- O2 Academy Shepherds Bush Empire - London
- O2 Academy Bristol - Bristol
- Barbican Centre - London
- O2 Academy Liverpool - Liverpool
- Glasgow Royal Concert Hall - Glasgow
- O2 Academy Sheffield - Sheffield
- Cadogan Hall - London
- Anvil - Basingstoke
- The Square - Harlow
- Band On The Wall - Manchester
- The Met - Bury
- The Brook - Southampton
- Ruby Lounge - Manchester
- St Davids Hall - Cardiff
- City Halls - Glasgow
- Komedia Cabaret Bar - Brighton
- Bush Hall - London
- Birmingham Town Hall - Birmingham
- The Slade Rooms - Wolverhampton
- St George's Bristol - Bristol
- Colchester Arts Centre - Colchester
- Sands Venue - Blackpool
- Koko - London
- The Venue - London
- Concorde 2 - Brighton
- O2 Arena - London
- Queen's Hall - Edinburgh
- Royal College Of Music - London
- O2 Manchester Apollo - Manchester
- St Johns (Main Hall) - London
- Customs House - South Shields
- Royal Academy Of Music - London
- Barfly Club - London
- St James's Church - London
- Scala - London
- Brighton Dome - Brighton
- Pavilion Theatre - Bournemouth
- Seafront Bandstand - Eastbourne
- Usher Hall - Edinburgh
- Gordon Craig Theatre Cinema - Stevenage
- Scottish Exhibition & Conference Centre (Live) - Glasgow
- Dartington Hall - Great Hall - Totnes
- HMV Hammersmith Apollo - London
- Fairfield Halls - Croydon
- Music Hall - Aberdeen
- O2 Academy Brixton - London
- Buxton Opera House - Buxton
- Corporation - Sheffield
- O2 Academy Leeds - Leeds
- Eden Court Theatre and Cinema - Inverness
- The Apex - Bury St. Edmunds
- Darlington Arts Centre - Darlington
- Union Chapel - London
- Wharf Arts Centre - Tavistock
- Farnham Maltings - Farnham
- Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum - Glasgow
- The Masque a.k.a. Barfly Club - Liverpool
- Pavilion Theatre - Worthing
- Cox's Yard - Stratford-upon-Avon
- Hawth Theatre Complex - Crawley
- Huntingdon Hall - Worcester
- Queens Theatre - Barnstaple
- Forge - London
- Market Place Theatre - Armagh
- The Junction - Cambridge
- The Roundhouse - London
- O2 Academy Glasgow - Glasgow
- Cambridge Corn Exchange - Cambridge
- Snape Maltings Concert Hall - Saxmundham
- De Montfort Hall - Leicester
- 21 South Street - Reading
- Rock City - Nottingham
