Coldplay appear to be teasing details of some huge stadium shows for summer 2025, with 10 per cent of all band proceeds seemingly set to go to the Music Venue Trust.
The Glastonbury 2024 headliners seem to be on the verge of announcing massive gigs for next summer in support of their upcoming 10th album ‘Moon Music‘. Posters advertising the band’s very first gig as then ‘The Coldplay’ from 1998 at the Dublin Castle reappeared at the London venue today (Sunday September 15) – but with new handwritten notes added.
The band posted a video to their Instagram Stories showing the posters throughout the Camden venue, while Music Venue Trust COO Beverley Whitrick took to social media to highlight “the coolest poster”.
Along with some sketches pointing to ‘Moon Music’, the handwritten notes also suggest that Chris Martin and co will be playing Craven Park in Hull and London’s Wembley Stadium next August, with the shows not only being 100 per cent solar, wind and kinetically powered, but will also be in support of Music Venue Trust with 10 per cent of all proceeds going to “small venues and upcoming acts”.
The band’s ‘Music Of The Spheres’ tour recently became the biggest rock tour of all time, grossing $945.7million and selling 8.8million tickets since it began in March 2022. The shows have been praised for “setting a new standard” when it comes to an eco-conscious approach to live music, thanks to a slew of sustainable initiatives introduced by the band.
In June, it was revealed to have already produced 59 per cent less CO2e emissions than their previous stadium tour in 2016 and 2017. This already beats the original target that Coldplay had set to ensure they beat those of previous tours by 50 per cent.
It has also been revealed that 7million trees have been planted globally thanks to the success of the live shows. This comes as a result of the band promising to have one tree planted for every person who attends the tour.
Coldplay at Glastonbury 2024. Credit: Andy Ford for NME
Music Venue Trust have been calling for a ticket levy on all gigs arena sized and above, with the money paying back into the grassroots just as The Premiere League does with football. This comes after a report was shared earlier this year, showing the state of the sector for 2023 and revealing a “disaster” facing live music, with venues closing at a rate of around two per week.
Presented at Westminster, the MVT’s levy proposals and for major labels and larger venues back into the grassroots scene argued that “the big companies are now going to have to answer for this”.
Back in May, the cross-party Culture, Media and Sport Committee shared a report highlighting the importance of grassroots venues, calling for immediate financial help through “a levy-funded support fund and a targeted temporary VAT cut to help stem the tide of closures“, as well as calling for “a comprehensive fan-led review of live and electronic music” to “examine the long-term challenges to the wider live music ecosystem”.
The economic impact of losing 125 music venues means that artists have lost around 16 per cent of all opportunities to perform across the UK (around 30,000 shows) – as well a loss of around 4000 jobs in total. The Music Venue Trust also argued that there was a “very significant blockage” in the talent pipeline as a result – leading to the “concern about whether the UK is going to continue to bring up the exceptional talent that we’ve dominated the world with for the last seven decades.”
DCMS’ report also said that “given the urgency of the crisis, a voluntary levy on arena and stadium concert tickets would be the most feasible way to have an immediate impact, creating a support fund for venues, artists and promoters administered by a trust led by a sector umbrella body”.
The report added that the industry must also ensure that the levy cost is not passed on to music fans – with Enter Shikari proving that this can be done with their own system last year – and that “if there is no agreement by September or if it fails to collect enough income to support the sector, the Government should step in an introduce a statutory levy”.
Coldplay live at Glastonbury 2024. Credit: Andy Ford for NME
MVT also recently made headlines by reminding fans that just 11 of the 34 grassroots venues played by Oasis on their first UK tour remain open. The Britpop heroes’ reunion tour has caused controversy due to employing dynamic surge pricing, leading to an investigation by the Competition And Markets Authority.
Coldplay release ‘Moon Music’ on October 4. Martin spoke to NME in 2021 about the “intense” pressure of releasing new music. “We’re going to make 12 albums. Because it’s a lot to pour everything into making them,” he explained at the time.
“I love it and it’s amazing, but it’s very intense too. I feel like because I know that challenge is finite, making this music doesn’t feel difficult, it feels like, ‘This is what we’re supposed to be doing’.”
Later, the singer said that the plan to only make three more Coldplay records “feels right to us”. Martin added: “I think we’ll keep touring, and we’ll always be together as a group of musicians and friends. But I think the story of our albums ends then.”
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