But according to Rostar director Marland Barsby, only a small proportion of venues are currently implementing it in a way that delivers clear commercial return.
Rostar has been operating for around three years and programmes live music across a growing network of managed and independent pubs. The business currently works with about 85 solo acoustic performers and around 25 regular bands in London, with new talent networks being built in Edinburgh, Brighton and Manchester.
Barsby said younger consumers now view live music as a core part of a night out rather than an occasional extra.
“Young people especially are starting to associate going to a pub in the evening, having some pints with their mates and singing along to classics as a very specific London centric pub experience,” he said.
CGA’s latest research backs this shift in behaviour, showing that millennials and Gen Z are driving the next wave of live music growth, with insights predicting continued demand for social, music led experiences even through tighter economic cycles.
Barsby added. “The rooms we see now on a Friday night with just one person and an acoustic guitar are better than some 200 capacity gigs I’ve played.”
He also noted that London’s pub culture is increasingly mirroring Dublin’s. “In Ireland, people expect to walk into a pub and find live music. I think London is heading the same way. Tourists absolutely love it and come back two or three nights in a row.”
Barsby pointed to a The Alexandra in Wimbledon. After implementing a live music package with Rostar, The Alexandra “smashed” its single day sales record, which was part of a record-breaking week of sales for the venue. They have since kept the partnership going and now host live music on a weekly basis.
Dwell time and spend
Barsby said the strongest commercial uplift comes from extending the venue’s “drop off time”.
“Most pubs lose people somewhere between 19:00 and 21:00. Live music keeps them in the pub for an extra two or three beers, which is an hour or more longer than usual,” he explained.
CGA research shows the same pattern nationally. Guests who attend live entertainment stay longer, spend more and display stronger loyalty, with music driven occasions over-index on drinks spend compared to standard visits.
Sports pubs also benefit from better retention when live music is properly implemented. “Usually the room empties as soon as the football ends, but if you bring music in straight after the final whistle, people stay another two hours,” Barsby added.
The uplift is visible in student venues too. Barsby pointed to a Kilburn pub where weekly open mics and weekend sets created a reliable habit among local students. “After two years it basically became the student union. Year on year sales just soared.”
He warns that many pubs underperform because they treat live music as a bolt on rather than a core weekly driver.
“The biggest mistake is thinking you can put an artist on once a month and stick a blackboard outside. It doesn’t work. You need consistency every Friday or Saturday and proper advertising. Only about 15 to 20 percent of pubs do this well.”
CGA’s LIVE sector analysis supports this, showing that demand is strongest in areas where programming is frequent, predictable and curated well. Venues with consistent weekly schedules benefit from repeat patterns rather than spontaneous trade.
Barsby stressed that poor curation can undo months of work. “If the act is wrong for the venue, it clears the room even if they’re objectively good. People don’t really remember when it’s amazing, but they absolutely remember when it’s bad.”
All day formats
Full day line ups are becoming more common in larger pubs with food led trade and outside space. “We’ll curate a whole day of music. People can stay for 10 hours and the atmosphere changes throughout,” Barsby said, pointing to The Crabtree in Fulham.
LIVE data found that concert spend grew 12.2% year on year, while festival style, multi-act days continue to outperform single-hour programming in terms of total revenue captured per guest.
Barsby believes the model is effective nationwide. “Anywhere with footfall is a no brainer, but I genuinely believe live music works everywhere if it’s done right. It always creates ROI in the long run. The issue is very few places get it spot on.”
CGA figures show that while London captures the largest share of live music spend, more than half of the UK’s concert and event revenue now comes from towns and smaller cities, showing broad appetite for live experiences beyond metropolitan centres.
For Barsby, the message to operators is simple. “If you treat live music as part of your trading strategy rather than an add on, it pays you back.”
As more venues test structured formats and clearer curation, he expects live music to play a growing role in how pubs differentiate themselves in a competitive market.
With operators looking for dependable revenue drivers going into 2026, he expects live music to move to the mainstream of the pub offer.
