First-ever Music Fans’ Voice Survey: We hear from Kate Nash, “We are in crisis”
Introduction
For the first time ever, a Music Fans’ Voice Survey has officially launched and with it, a call to action. A call to action to support and protect our live music spaces across the UK. This survey urges participants to spend only 15 minutes to complete and shape the future of live music. I spoke to singer-songwriter Kate Nash in collaboration with the campaign, & the SMN about the state of grassroots venues, the importance of the survey itself and what they aim to do with the data collected.
Data will be used to help inform decision making within the government, the music industry and various city regions. As you can tell this data will be incredibly important when it comes to the future of the industry.
A large part of the live music scene here in the UK has become unethical and unsustainable; below is a video of a protest led by Kate at various important locations, with more details, and context.
The Interview
TTM: What are the challenges that grassroots venues are facing?
KATE NASH: Massive challenges. I mean, we are in crisis. We’re definitely in crisis. We’re seeing closures of a ton of venues. We’re seeing bands canceling tours. So, that means we’re giving less access to lot’s of areas in the UK to actually see and experience live music, and it also means we’re cutting off who can make music and tour and make a career out of music.
TTM: What can we do to support local venues?
Kate Nash: The most important thing is this survey right now, Music Fans’ Voice UK is where you can take 15 minutes out of your day, fill in a survey. As boring as it sounds, it’s data collection. And as we know, in 2025 data is extremely valuable.
If we can collect this data, there is so much that we can do. This is basically what they did in the football industry, and they made the biggest changes to football in 25 years. So I cannot stress how important this survey is. From getting my ass out and starting an Only Fans and causing a media frenzy to make a point of how much money you actually lose if you go on tour, to like, now handing the microphone over to the fans and saying, for the first time in history, have your say, because you’re also being exploited.
"We're going to implement change. We're going to take this to government. We're going to change legislation."
KATE NASH: You’re being overcharged for tickets, you’re being restricted, you’re not going to be able to see diversity in the arts, and loads of venues are going to close. Fill the survey, Music Fans’ Voice, 15 minutes.
TTM: What are you hoping for the future of the live music scene? What are you hoping will come into place after this survey?
KATE NASH: I want things to be fairer. I want things to be more ethical. I think our industry is so amazing because, it’s soul work, it’s emotion work, it’s fun, it’s like joy. It’s giving people an escape, serious or non serious, and it’s people expressing themselves. That’s one of the most beautiful things that we have in the world, right? Creativity. And the moment that we shut the door on that and say, ‘this is only for a certain group of people’. That’s a devastating moment.
I’m not going to allow that to happen, because I don’t know how ‘Kate Nash’ now, would get started. I find that there’s so much pressure on young people, but there’s also so much talent, so I want to basically make the music industry a bit of a fairer place, because right now, it’s built on total exploitation. I think the music industry has failed. It’s failed artists. And they’re becoming , richer and richer. To the industry, many people, it’s just… we’re pebbles on a beach. You pick one up, you play with it, and you throw it away from for a while… I believe the Head of Interscope said that in like, 2008 or 2009, because my mum read it in a magazine and was, like, really scared about what would happen to me in my career. Understandably so.
"I want young people to feel supported, and I want them to earn more money from the hard work and from their music that they should have more rights over."
TTM: What advice would you pass forward to new artists, just starting out in the industry?
KATE NASH: Don’t give up and have hope, because we are at a point I think, where things are going to break. They have to. They’ve almost gotten so bad that it has to be better. So don’t lose hope, and just know that there is a ton of people fighting to make things better for you. So, like, I’m not here to say everything’s rubbish. We are not allowing them to destroy things that so many people care about so much. So just have some faith and believe in yourself and take risks. Don’t sign crazy contracts! That’s my main advice.
