But the organisation, which collects royalties on behalf of songwriters, said this year's revenues were likely to bounce back thanks to Take That's record-breaking stadium shows and tours by Rihanna, Westlife and Justin Bieber. The report says, "It would be very tempting to look at these numbers and jump towards a knee jerk reaction that the live music bubble has burst. We should not."
Festivals "performed strongly" in 2010, while arenas and mid-sized venues "held up", it said. But there was a "striking decline" in the number of stadium gigs compared with the previous year. "In 2010, a number of stadium- and arena-filling bands were not on tour and many of those that did tour opted to play smaller venues in order to limit their risk," the report said. "This risk-averse behaviour is rational in the current economic climate. This summer, Take That played to 1.8m people in the UK, and that tour is likely to make a noticeable difference to the figures for 2011, the report adds.
Northern Heights - Edinburgh's festival season has begun with the official opening of the Fringe and the Royal Military Tattoo. The Edinburgh Fringe is the world's largest arts festival, with 2,542 shows in 258 venues over three weeks. The Royal Military Tattoo is celebrating its 61st year with the opening of a new purpose-built grandstand on the castle esplanade. The festival season also includes the Edinburgh International Festival, which begins on 12 August.
Australian Awards - The musical production of Mary Poppins dominated this year's Helpmann Awards, winning eight of the 12 categories it was nominated in. The show's stars, Matt Lee and Verity Hunt-Ballard, both won acting prizes. The Walt Disney production also took the coveted best musical award. Geoffrey Rush and Cate Blanchett each won a prize and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Love Never Dies won three. The awards took place at the Sydney Opera House, were hosted by actor and director Jonathan Biggins and featured performances by the casts of Dr Zhivago, Hairspray and Mary Poppins.
Special Offer - A private box at the Royal Albert Hall has been put up for sale for £550,000.The box, which can seat five people, is located on the second tier of the Grade I listed building in Kensington, central London. The private box is the only remaining one in the hall to retain the original timber veneer and mirrored panels, estate agent Harrods Estates said. Earl Spencer and the Duke of Devonshire have previously owned the box, but the current owner has not been revealed. The box is located on the eastern side of the auditorium and has about 865 years remaining on the lease.
Jazz Notes - Four Latin jazz musicians are suing the organisers of the Grammy Awards over axing their genre as an award category. Grammy nominees Bobby Sanabria and Mark Levine are among those accusing the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of devaluing their music. The legal claim calls for the best Latin jazz album category to be reinstated at the annual ceremony. In a statement, the academy said it "believes this frivolous lawsuit is without merit". "They shouldn't have done this," said Roger Maldonado, a lawyer representing the musicians which also includes Ben Lapidus and Eugene Marlow. It was announced in April that the number of award categories was being cut from 109 to 78.
Rained Off - The final day of the inaugural <
