Sunbird Records in Blackburn next to Darwin is closing its doors.
The venue had been open for seven years and several factors were cited for its closure, mainly the lifestyle crisis, but declining profits and recent floods led to the venue’s temporary closure last month. .
General Manager Ramsey Lohan said this Lancashire Telegraph That although the venue had its best Halloween and Christmas ever in terms of profits and attendance, the time in between was not as successful.
“We saw that the lack of support for live music was going down, which was driving down profits,” he said. “Attendance at our dance nights also started to decline, eventually DJs and bands were canceling gigs for a variety of reasons, including the resurgence of Covid and train strikes, which affected us greatly. “What?”
On the cost of living crisis, he added that the wider nightlife economy in Darwin had felt the effects of the cost of living crisis, noting that the area’s music scene “seems to have shrunk.” Is”.
“Two or three years ago bands were desperate for bookings and now they all seem to have given up and there’s no one to replace them,” he said.
Elsewhere, floods forced the venue to tear down most of its recording studio, which “too much [reduced] The ability to create and support local artists.”
In a statement Posted on their Facebook page., Sunbird Records said they hope to eventually move forward in some form. “We will continue, we will have to see in what capacity but unfortunately due to building issues and the current climate it does not make sense to have a physical location at this time,” he wrote.
“For now we’ll continue to wrap things up at the venue then focus on online content for a while. With all three music venues in Blackburn closing their doors within a month of each other in Darwin, We need to continue to support grassroots music and we will continue to do our best. If you want to help, feel free to get in touch.”
The Music Venue Trust also released a statement in response to the closure. Sunbird Records were selected to be part of their Own Our Venues campaign, which they are campaigning for to raise money for venue operators to buy their own buildings and secure a long-term future for themselves.
“Economic conditions are very difficult. The cost of keeping this place alive cannot be covered by the activities that take place in its stages,” MVT said. does. A grassroots music venue that is absolutely essential to its local community, does everything the music industry desperately needs, but can’t just make ends meet.
The charity said the Own Our Venues project had raised 50 per cent of the capital it needed to start buying venues. “Maybe we can find a way to buy the building and support the local community to create a new operating organization that will bring music back to Darwin. Bringing it back when a venue closes is incredible. It’s difficult, it’s one of the reasons we fight as hard as we can to prevent it from happening. We honestly don’t know. We know the will of the local community is there and we want to make it happen. Will make every possible effort.
He continued: “It’s painfully ridiculous that Sunbird Records is closing down, unable to pay the bills to keep the lights on, in an industry that turns over £5 billion a year. An industry that plans to open 8 new arenas, but can’t find a way to raise the £10,000 to £20,000 a year it needs to keep an important place like Sunbird open.
“An industry that is paying its top executives multi-million pound sums while the absolutely necessary building blocks needed to keep bringing in the money evaporates beneath it, neglected and neglected. It goes. It’s not good enough and it has to change. If our music industry can’t find a way to keep the lights on at Sunbird Records, it’s not fit for purpose.
gave MVT 2022 Annual Report Published last week it highlighted the sector’s value to both the UK economy and the music industry, as well as the serious threat that venues across the UK face without urgent action. It was tabled in the Houses of Parliament last week, outlining the action required by the government to support the sector.
Locations have also recently reported. NME About the “perfect storm” facing music fans from life crises, Brexit, canceled shows and last-minute decisions
Sunbird Records isn’t the only venue to close its doors recently – just last weekend Ironworks in Inverness closed over the weekend in preparation for demolition, to make way for a new hotel. .
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