Internet and middle-aged fans fuel live music boom

Far from killing live entertainment, the boom in downloading music from the internet also appears to be encouraging ever more people to see their favourite performers in the flesh, according to a new report.

The amount of money being spent on live music, which had been in steep decline just a few years ago, has been revived by a combination of new venues, the festivals boom and networking websites such as YouTube, MySpace and Bebo.

An estimated £743million was spent on live music this year in venues ranging from the back room of pubs to the new 90,000-seat Wembley stadium, where George Michael was the debut performer.

That represents an eight per cent rise on last year.

Hot tickets this year have included Pete Doherty's Babyshambles, Prince's marathon residence at the O2 Arena and the reunion by The Police.

Also drawing the crowds was the BBC's Electric Proms, featuring artists such as Paul Weller and Amy Winehouse. The rising importance of the "gig pound" is also boosted by wealthier, middle-aged pop fans going to big stadium concerts given by the surviving stars of their youth, such as the Rolling Stones and Rod Stewart.

Meanwhile, the corporate entertainment industry is increasingly looking towards pop and rock concerts. The O2 Arena features 96 VIP suites available to hire for more than £100,000 a year.

At the other end of the spectrum there is a thriving music scene aimed at the under-18s with bands playing in clubs and venues earlier in the evening.

Last week, Victoria Park in east London hosted the Underage Festival, aimed exclusively at 14- to 17-year-olds and running from noon to 8pm.

The trend has been bolstered by the closer relationship between fans and 21st century artists such as Lily Allen and the Arctic Monkeys through the musicians' own websites and blogs.

Many up-and-coming bands are bypassing traditional music labels by building a reputation for performing live and via internet sites, according to the Mintel report.

The National Arenas Association said there were 936 concerts at Britain's major venues last year, performing to 5.5 million fans - up 11 per cent.

According to the report, half of adults agree with the statement "you can't beat the atmosphere of a live performance" and a similar proportion have listened to live music in the previous six months.

There were also an estimated 240 festivals, up 20 per cent on 2004. Richard Cope, leisure analyst at Mintel, said: "In recent years there has been a great renaissance of indie bands, such as the Libertines, that depend on doing live performances.

"Also, if you look at the age spectrum, you have got third-agers going to concerts as the baby boomer rock ' n' rol l generation come through. Before, people like that would not have been seen dead at a rock concert."