There’s a huge imbalance in the concert industry: mega-shows are booming while small venues are dying. “A third of our members are in the red,” says Alexander Bücheli, media spokesperson for the Bar & Club Commission Zurich, speaking to Negative White. At the same time, the number of concerts with capacities above 50,000—and the number of people attending them—rose by 50 percent from 2023 to 2024 in Germany, according to GEMA. Unfortunately, SUISA was unable to provide comparable data for Switzerland because they could not be reached.
“It’s not a crisis of demand. Live music as an ecosystem is in a structural crisis,” says Diego Dahinden, head of Petzi, the Swiss Federation of Venues and Festivals.
What would Ed Sheeran be without pub shows? Adriatique without their longtime home base, Zukunft (RIP)? The music industry’s ecosystem needs small venues to thrive. “We are all connected. Without small clubs, youth centres, and run-down bars, there’s no big-stage talent. That’s true even for Hecht or similar acts,” says Daniel Kissling of Kiff Aarau to Negative White.
German Industry Unites in Solidarity (Without the Big Three)
Before more clubs and venues are forced to close—or to change their programming to cater to financial rather than creative needs—German concert and festival promoters are taking action. Starting 1 January 2026, they will launch the Live Music Fund, described as “the solidarity contribution for the vitality of tomorrow’s culture.”
The fund aims to step in where “live music is most vulnerable” and will offer club funding, underutilisation fees for newcomer shows, and support for projects focused on inclusion, sustainability, training, and visibility.
The fund is based solely on solidarity and rests on three pillars of income, with 50 percent of the money remaining within the region:
- Donations at the point of ticket purchase
- Ticket surcharges by organisers and artists
- Micro-funding within the industry
Several industry institutions have already committed to the cause, including Reeperbahn Festival, Uebel & Gefährlich, Delta Konzerte, and alternative ticket sellers ticket.io and deinetickets.de. However, Live Nation Germany, FKP Scorpio, and DEAG Entertainment—none of the “big three” of the German concert business—are on board.
Switzerland: 99 Problems, Talent Ain’t One
With movement in Germany, attention turns to the Swiss scene: its health and its plans to tackle the ongoing crisis.
Most of the problems clubs, venues, and promoters are facing can be traced back to the COVID-19 pandemic, which left the creative side of the industry with a heavy cocktail of side effects. The most influential include:
- “The guest revenue has decreased by up to 40% since 2018. People don’t drink as much anymore and in general the purchasing power has declined due to rising living costs. Even Feldschlösschen talks about a year-on-year sales decline of around 10 percent in recent years,” says Alexander Bücheli. Zurich’s nightlife scene and Switzerland’s largest beer producer are not alone—Petzi and Kiff report similar figures.
- Gen Z is going out less. Daniel Kissling of Kiff describes it as one or two generations of young people missing from the mix. “Through COVID, we lost something—the older brother or friend who shows you music or takes you to a concert. Gen Z never had that.”
- “Higher fixed costs, rising salaries and artist fees while funding stagnates make things more complicated,” says Diego Dahinden of Petzi. Just in May, for example, SONART released new artist fee recommendations of CHF 600 (minimum) or CHF 800 (fair) per person. While a fair demand, the added financial pressure has bookers joking—only half-seriously—about scaling down band sizes.
The Kicker: The Money Is Flowing Upwards
“Imagine going to a Deftones or similar show and paying 85 Swiss francs. You’re not done there—you’ve also paid for public transport, a few beers, and a band shirt, so the whole night costs you CHF 150 or more,” says Daniel Kissling. That eats away at any teenager’s budget for going out—and it does so very effectively.
The Swiss Music Promoters Association (SMPA), whose members include Live Nation, Gadget, and almost all major festivals, increased total attendance from 4.6 to 5.5 million in 2024 and raised its margins from CHF 478 million to CHF 492 million. “There’s a clear monopoly on profits being skimmed off,” states Diego Dahinden.
That leaves everyone else struggling over what remains. “Clubbing now focuses on individual days,” says Alexander Bücheli. “Saturday has to do the trick.” Venues like Kiff must book shows very deliberately—and often exclusively—on Saturdays. Daniel Kissling wonders who this will ultimately hurt: “Those who don’t put in the effort and just copy the next trend? Or the underground and niche cultures that push boundaries?”
A Live Music Fund for Switzerland?
As things stand, all experts warn that change is necessary—or the scene will suffer in the long term. The German Live Music Fund (and its UK predecessor) is therefore viewed very positively.
“I think it’s great to do something independently of the state. We would be self-determined and free from political shifts,” says Daniel Kissling of Kiff. The Bar & Club Commission Zurich and Petzi also see it as a valuable addition to existing public funding, but they caution against sending the wrong message. “For us, the most important thing is that the state is not relieved of its responsibility,” says Diego Dahinden.
Fortunately, not all clubs and concert venues are in immediate need of a new initiative like the Live Music Fund, thanks to already functioning funding structures. Daniel Fontana of Bad Bonn tells Negative White: “We are doing well and can focus on what we like.” For the famed remote venue, funding is less of a struggle than a matter of patience. Still, Fontana notes that a new fund would not go amiss because even their situation can change fast. “Today, politicians are questioning cultural funding a lot.”
