Robert Ashcroft, Chief Executive, PRS for Music said, "I am thrilled to see so many cultural centres featured in the analysis, from the newly opened Kings Place in London and The Sage in Gateshead to the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester . These venues have very diverse and exciting programmes that appeal to many different audiences. It is an enormous accomplishment to run a successful live music space and in spite of economic challenges, the British live music scene is still strong."
PRS for Music, the organisation that collects royalties for songwriters and composers, analysed data of more than 10,000 live music events in 2011. In a year where the focus is on sporting venues, the report celebrates the value of all venues and reinforces music is at the heart of Britain 's creative industries. The music business is worth £3.9bn to the UK economy and live music is an essential contributor to growth.
Jude Kelly, artistic director of Southbank Centre, said, "What a marvellous accolade to win this prestigious award for the second year! We are excited by the chance to present all forms of music across our entire 21 acre site and to work with the world's great and emerging musicians. It's a tremendous and exciting challenge - so thanks for this vote of confidence in what we're doing."
The PRS for Music research also shows that: In total, the top 100 venues put on 13,781 concerts last year; The top 5 venues in 2011 put on more than 1,829 concerts between them; London accounted for 30% of the top 100 live music venues. Other top concert locations were: Glasgow (8), Manchester (5); Birmingham (4); and Bristol (3).
The top 10 UK venues are: Southbank Centre, London; The Sage Gateshead , Tynne and Wear; O2 Academy, Birmingham; Stables, Milton Keynes; Ronnie Scotts, London; O2 Academy, Islington; King Tuts Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow ; Kings Place, London.
Olympic Countdown - The Olympic Stadium will be transformed into the 'British countryside' for the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Games on 27 July. A cast of 10,000 volunteers will help recreate country scenes, against a backdrop featuring farmyard animals and landmarks like Glastonbury Tor. The opening scene of the £27m ceremony will be called Green and Pleasant, artistic director Danny Boyle has revealed. He added the show would create "a picture of ourselves as a nation." There have already been 157 cast rehearsals and Boyle added: "I've been astounded by the selfless dedication of the volunteers, they are the pure embodiment of the Olympic spirit and represent the best of who we are as a nation."
The three-hour ceremony will begin at 21:00 BST with "an hour of culture", followed by the athletes parade, then the lighting of the cauldron and a fireworks display to bring down the curtain.
Boyle is collaborating with electronic musical duo Underworld, whose 1990s rave classic Born Slippy featured in Trainspotting. They have already mixed two tracks at Abbey Road Studios.
(Jim Evans)
