Tour manager speaks of the unprecedented crisis in live events sector
Due to the sudden and total cessation of concerts, gigs, festivals, theatrical gatherings and performances on March 12, EPIC is raising awareness of the challenges facing those employed in the live events industry
While other sectors begin their recovery, the 35,000 people employed in live events, which is worth €3.5 billion to the economy each year, have no indication on when their work can recommence. It’s estimated that each euro spent on a ticket generates €6 for the surrounding economy, in the hotels, bars and restaurants.
“Whatever way you look at this, there’s a good reason to support this,” says Mullingar based tour and stage manager Ronan Murphy (pictured above).
He is calling on everyone to get behind EPIC’s pre-budget submission, which calls for support of the skilled professionals in the industry.
Ronan does ‘advancing’ for bands – the logistical work such as speaking with venues, arranging transport, accommodation, visas – all the work before the tour commences, as well as tour and stage managing.
This year, his calendar was full of work until December, and as he explains, the majority of the work is seasonal. Usually, he would earn 75% of his annual income in the summer months.
Starting in May, Ronan was scheduled to production manage Bon Iver in the 3Arena, followed by work at back-to-back event including Westport’s Saltwater Festival, where he was due to manage the main stage for the Coronas and Johnny Marr, followed by St Anne’s Park in Dublin the following week for Duran Duran.
Then there was the Sunstroke, the Irish Independent Park, All Together Now, Longitude, Electric Picnic, followed by Ryan Sheridan’s tour in October, and that of The Stunning in November.
But once the announcement was made in March, everything was cancelled.
“It’s a huge loss of income. In this industry, you make hay while you can, because it’s seasonal. You can guarantee that December will be good because of Christmas, and the summer because of the festivals.
“But you can also guarantee that January and February will be dead, unless you’re lucky.”
Likening it to a “bear who hibernates in winter but knows he’s going to eat in the summer”, Ronan explains the importance of having enough for the lean months.
“Right now though, it’s like the bear is waking up to a barren wasteland with nothing to eat,” is how Ronan describes it.
Above: David McGlynn, Kim O'Callaghan, Epic, and Ronan Murphy.
Returning to normal
“Even if a vaccine is produced and distributed, it takes a year to 18 months to take effect in a population. A timescale for when things can return to normal is not guaranteed,” said Ronan.
“I understand people feeling the need to want to try something, because that’s the essence of our industry. I can understand those wanting to do drive-in gigs, and socially distanced theatre, but that isn’t financially viable in the long-term. The production costs and expenses are the same, but income and revenue are slashed.
“Long term there is no sustainable recovery for the industry. I don’t mean to be bleak or pessimistic, but that’s the reality of it. There is no industry worse affected than live events.”
While Ronan feels for the likes of owners of traditional pubs, there is hope for them, and he says the music industry by its nature will not reopen until the world gets over the virus.
“We don’t want to put people in harm’s way, we’re not going to force the issue because it’s just not the right thing to do, so we’re really on our own in that sense.
“I can’t think of any other industry that is doomed to wait until this thing is completely over before we can start work again.”
He feels too, he says, for the government. “I find it hard to be too critical because they are doing their best in a difficult situation. But at the same time, I don’t think the needs and requests of EPIC and all the other groups working for our industry are excessive.
“I work as a tour manager and a stage manager, so I see myself as a crew person. I don’t have a business with assets, I don’t have equipment, or equipment with repayments, but people like Nolan Sound out in Castlepollard do, and EPIC represents so many different branches, promoters and venues, crew specifically, and the contractors such as PA, lighting companies, staging companies...
“That’s why their requests are not that excessive. They need the government just to sustain the industry, to keep it propped up until a time where we can start again.”
The main request is for the government to reinstate the PUP payment to what it was originally.
“The PUP is on a descending sliding scale, going from €350 to €300 at a time when mortgage breaks are ending. I don’t understand how people can survive with their income being reduced, when they can barely survive as is.
“There’s massive unemployment anyway, and you’re dumping more people into that situation.”
Re-framing
“I’m on the PUP and like others, I’m looking at ‘re-framing’ my CV, but wondering at the same time what I could move into. Submitting CVs and going for job interviews is not the norm for people like us. It’s a world we in the industry are not used to negotiating.
“The music industry is a networked world, you get phone calls based on your work and people knowing you to be reliable. You progress on that scale of doing good work, you get bumped up to a better or higher position.
“But I’ve dedicated two decades to this job, this life, and I’ve got to a place where you’re beginning to reap the rewards – international tours and the bigger stages, the big tents, that hold 10,000 people. So after decades of sacrifice and reaching this position, the rug is pulled out from under you.
“I’ve heard the term ‘hobby job’ bandied about, and others saying ‘just go and get another job’. Look, you’re never going to change the minds of people who think that way. I’d love for them to come and join us on a Thursday before a festival, at 6am for a load-in, finishing at 3am the next morning, and do that for three days in a row. Maybe they’d have a better appreciation of the type of work we do.
“It’s like any other self-employed person, I’d happily pay higher contributions in PRSI, because of all the benefits that come with it, but if that’s going to happen, do people want to pay €200 for a ticket into the 3Arena? Are they willing to pay double for what they pay now for any festival or any theatre show or any gig that they want to see, to ensure that people working in that industry have that security?
“So imagine the prices the prices went up, and the music industry became unionised, there would be people on phone lines complaining about that, so you can’t really win with people like that, but it’s only because they don’t really understand our industry.”
Mental health
Ronan was involved earlier this year in Songs From An Empty Room, the TV event presented by RTÉ in conjunction with EPIC, that supported two industry initiatives – Minding Creative Minds and the Association of Irish Stage Technicians (AIST) Hardship Fund.
He says that while everyone in the industry is in the same boat, and there is camaraderie, he worries about his mental health, and that of others.
“With the summer festival season there’s a lot of job satisfaction, even though you’re exhausted. And I can’t emphasise enough to people the length of the days and the type of hard work people do – it is astounding. And when September comes around, you’re shattered, but there’s satisfaction.
“I’m sure for artists, they remember great performances or the incredible crowd. But for the crew, it’s the changeovers; you’ve got a short time to fully reset a stage and the adrenalin rush of getting it done, advancing tours for bands, so there’s job satisfaction – which is now gone.
“People are now coming out into this time of year already on a low, and it takes energy to remain positive through this. To remain positive for yourself, and for your friends and family – that takes energy. I’d be afraid for the winter.
“That’s why we need the government to meet these demands. If anyone was to take the time to look at the EPIC submissions, they’re modest, well thought out.
“Irish people are proud of the arts, they love their music. They’re proud of U2, Clannad, The Cranberries, Rory Gallagher, Hozier, whoever. And Mullingar, which has produced Joe Dolan, Niall Horan, The Academic, Foster and Allen – the town has a long history. They wear it on their sleeve proudly, and rightly so.
“This industry and its artists have brought so much joy and pride to Mullingar, and Ireland. And it was an industry that was always able to look after itself, no one ever looked for anything.
“There’s a clear differentiation between the funded arts sector and the music industry, which has always sustained itself, up until this point.
“Now we are looking for modest supports, so now maybe the people of Ireland, the people of Mullingar who love their music, who love the arts, can say they need to contact our local TD about this. EPIC have a link on their site that will automatically send the TDs in your area an email about it. If you’re happy to proclaim it and profess it, are you equally willing to back it up and go to bat for them.
Stark warning
Before he concludes, Ronan offers a stark warning if the supports aren’t put in place for the live events industry.
“When this is all over, people are going to want to go out and celebrate. They’re going to want a big gig rig on their street, or go to a big music festival and blow off a load of steam that’s been suppressed during this pandemic.
“When the time comes, when this is all over, if the situation continues as it is, there’s not going to be a PA company there to supply the sound system, there’s not going to be a crew there to build a stage, to rig the PAs. Everyone is going to have to be quiet to try to hear the band playing acoustic, that’s even if there are any of them musicians left!
“I don’t think people grasp how serious this is. They’re looking forward to this thing ending, when they can celebrate again, but the infrastructure won’t be there to do that.
“My fear is that promoters will be forced, out of necessity, to bring UK crew personnel in to do the shows here, though they’re as devastated by this as we are.
“The people who put on these events won’t be there any more. It’s taken 30 years to build the industry to where it is at the minute, and it might take another 30 years to recover from this if something is not done to stem the flow.”