The importance of live music at university

Once upon a time you could see your favourite artists at university events.

From Pop Smoke at Leicester University in 2019, to Gwamz due in Loughborough in the coming weeks, live music stays integral to the student experience, as well as keeping artists paid.

Odzmoney from South London is still doing this. He has been touring the midlands relentlessly since the start of the year, ever since his viral hits Impress Me (Wiggle) and Dumpy were released.

Odeal also spoke about the importance of university raves, for listeners and the growth of his OVMBR brand, on the Earn Your Stripes Podcast. He said: “Nobody’s favourite memory was in class.”

He has since gone on to perform sold out shows and amass 3.6m monthly listeners on Spotify.

There has been a lack of these type of performances post-Covid, compared to the shows students studying before this time had access too.

The lack of artists making use of the university circuit is very noticeable, especially at a time where the UK music scene has been thriving in recent years.

This is either in the hands of societies not trying to book artists or the booking fees not being economically viable for students.  

“I find it important as it is currently what is bringing together a community which was lost during Covid.

“All of my uni shows have been intimate, nothing but love from my supporters, energy, electricity, it’s like an incubator for good vibes,” says Odzmoney.  

The local record business Banquet Records works as the largest distributor for live music in the Kingston borough.

Its work over the last few years are proof that public efforts can support an industry which has faced years of cuts and decreases to income for artists, in the wake of streaming.

An artist earns £0.006 per stream, so even if an artist has multiple songs with over 10,000 plays, the money is still not liveable.

Community is needed to keep the scene growing, so utilising numbers at university to book artists for events keeps not just fans happy, but allows talent to keep creating.