Concerti, per i live club italiani ricavi a 24,8 milioni

Italian live club venues generate revenue of 24.8 million euros annually, with 1.16 million attendees across 6,456 events. The top sources of income are food and beverage sales, accounting for 9.9 million euros, followed by ticket sales at 9.1 million euros. Association fees make up 1.7 million euros, while event venue rentals contribute 1.4 million euros.

Government funding adds 1.1 million euros, with sponsorships contributing a small 317,000 euros. Cultural programming is the largest expense, at 7.2 million euros, followed by personnel costs at 6.5 million euros and real estate and space management expenses at 3.5 million euros. The majority of these venues (65%) are associations, often with the social promotion model.

Formalization levels are high, with 97% registered in official records and 74% holding an VAT number. The majority of these venues have a capacity of under 500 people, with an average capacity of 388 attendees and a median of 150 seats. Employment in this sector is complex, with volunteers making up 53% of the workforce but only 36% of total hours worked.

Employees, at 21% of the workforce, account for 33% of the total work. 58% of collaborations involve people under the age of 35. Geographically, the study confirms a strong urban concentration, with 74 clubs in provincial capitals and only 44 in peripheral or non-capital areas. Torino leads with 12 live clubs, followed by Bologna with 11 and Milan and Florence with 8 each.

The study reveals that these live clubs are structured yet fragile realities that receive less than 5% of public funds, far below the European average of 21%, and far from the 50% received by France. Assomusica president Carlo Parodi believes that live clubs are strategic presidiums for musical sector development and community growth, and that strengthening them means investing in culture as a driver of territorial development.

Federico Rasetti, KeepOn Live director, emphasizes that live clubs produce cultural and public value beyond their economic generation capability, and that supporting them should become a priority for the public, artists, and periphery territories. KeepOn Live’s director, Marco Trulli, stresses the need for national and local support policies to recognize these spaces, their ability to animate territories, create nightlife, build sociality, and participation.