Music in pubs creates 48% sales uplift at weekends

19-Jul-2012 - Last updated on 23-Jul-2012 at 12:59 GMT

Licensees that offer live and recorded music in their pubs see an increase of £667 in sales at weekends – that’s according to new research from CGA Strategy.

The study, commissioned by royalties collection company PRS for Music, found on average, during the week, music venues will take an extra £306 on wet sales. This equates to an average of of 21% sales uplift during the week and 48.2% on Fridays and Saturdays. A pool of 192 venues were questionned in September last year.

PRS for Music has also launched its Music Makeover 2012 which gives licensees the chance to win £5,000 to create the right space for music in their venue.

Deadline for entries is 30 September. For more information, visit www.prsformusic.com/musicmakeover

Last year’s Music Makeover winner David Pott of the Market Inn in Faversham, Kent, said: “We were extremely pleased to win – pleased for us and for the pub. The prize money will be a great boost for the pub and the community. This will put the Market Inn on the map for music. We’re already receiving demos from local bands who want to play here.”

It comes as the Live Music Act 2012 is due to come into force this October. It means that venues with a capacity below 200 will no longer need permission to host live music event. PRS for Music will be contacting 41,000 pubs with a comprehensive guide to making live music work including tips on genre choice, stage lighting, jukeboxes, gig promotion and ticketing.

PRS for Music’s director for public performance sales Paul Clements said: “The British pub is where many iconic music careers have begun but we wanted to investigate the value of playing live music in pubs all over the country. We understand how much hard work and investment goes into running a venue but the research enabled us to analyse the effect playing music had on customers and the bottom line.

“The results from CGA were significant with an uplift in sales throughout the week. It confirms that pubs and live music are natural partners, which is why we launched Music Makeover 2012. The scheme recognises pubs that are ambitious, creative and play an important role in boosting the local economy.”