Having fun is big business. Without the factories and mills that first drew hundreds of thousands to towns and cities, today’s modern metropolis is expected to sustain itself and its residents through the manufacturing of leisure and the commodification of a good time. The zeitgeist phrasing is telling: the night-time is now its own economy – one worth an estimated £66bn in the UK. Cities are no longer expected to sleep – sleep is wasted consumption time, after all. But from nightclubs to pubs and restaurants, the story being told about British nightlife is clear: it is in deep trouble.
A report published this month by the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) looked into the economic and cultural impact of electronic music in Britain, and found that – while it is thriving on digital platforms, at festivals and in terms of global impact – the bricks-and-mortar world of clubland is in crisis. And what is dance music without any dancefloors?
