Nathanael Williams, owner of the East London club Colour Factory, scanned the dance floor. It was March 2022 and the place was packed. Ahadadream was at the controls. This wasn't a scene Williams could have imagined when he opened with a sit-down event in 2020.

But a new set of problems were bubbling beneath the surface. Weeks earlier, the cost of oil, gas, metals and food commodities had surged on the day Russia invaded Ukraine. A spike in the price of transporting drinks meant additional costs Williams had never seen before, increasing drink prices by 10-14 percent. In addition, his landlord had just imposed a 250 percent rent hike.

Fortunately, Williams had locked Colour Factory into a fixed-rate energy contract until later in 2023. "We're not sure how we'll be affected from that point, but it will be a significant amount," he said.

Right now in the UK, rising inflation and soaring bills are taking a toll on most people, including music lovers, industry workers, promoters and venue owners. The annual bill for one undisclosed grassroots venue soared from £10,000 to £144,000. Sheffield's Code was almost forced to close following a 500 percent energy bill spike until it reached a new deal with its landlord for reduced rent. According to the Nighttime Industries Association (NTIA), one venue closed every two days between December 2021 and September 2022.

The government has done little to help. The Warm Home Discount Scheme was slammed for leaving the most vulnerable people out in the cold, while the Music Venues Trust said the recently unveiled and scaled-back Energy Bills Discount Scheme for businesses isn't enough.

Launched in September 2022, the current scheme was allocated £18 billion until March 2023. The next stage of the scheme starts on April 1st, but this time the government has pledged just £5.5 billion for the next six months. The NTIA's Michael Kill doesn't think the government is doing enough.

"The price of gas and oil is lower than before the Russo-Ukraine war yet we still haven't seen rates drop," he said. Service and operating costs are being charged by energy companies to ramp up the cost per unit, he added. "We're faced with a 300 percent rise in direct energy bills, increased taxation, a 40 percent increase in operating costs and around 20 percent downturn in trade from consumers with less disposable income."

Mike Grieve, who runs Glasgow's Sub Club, has seen the venue's bills double. "It seems someone is making a killing and no doubt shareholders in big energy companies are doing very well out of this crisis which is crippling so many independent businesses—surprise, surprise," he said. He believes the government should get tougher on energy companies and impose a maximum threshold on their service and operating costs. "Any profits should be reinvested into infrastructure," he added.

Meanwhile in Westminster, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's tax increases and spending cuts dynamic has incensed critics who say we're looking at rising unemployment, stagnating wages and a looming recession—not the most enticing conditions for going out clubbing. For many this winter, it's a case of eat or heat.

As well as Williams, Kill and Grieve, we spoke to people working in nightlife across the UK to get a sense for how the energy crisis is impacting their lives.

Colour Factory's landlord imposed a 250 percent rent hike early last year.

Rising Prices Impact Patron Behaviour

Prity, who preferred to be mentioned by first name only, stared at the barman in disbelief. A dub reggae sound system crew were spitting conscious lyrics on stage and here she was emptying the entire contents of her wallet to buy four small beers, costing a total of £30. Before the pandemic, she would have paid around £20.

"One round sucked up my entire spend for the night," she said. "It's pretty dire dealing with low wages and rising bills. But some of us who do manage to come out, are still finding it hard."

Prity said she's highly frustrated with the current situation. "I feel outraged yet helpless at being forced to pay ridiculous prices to support music that means so much to me. Going to a venue to hear music I love is more than just a fun party. It's a way of life and it feels like some of us are literally being deprived of living."

It's one of the reasons that she's now inclined to spend more time than usual at illegal raves where drinks are affordable. "Respect to the resilient squatter scenes. We digressed and almost abandoned them for a while, but we're definitely going back to them again."

Stu, an artist, has been a veteran of London's underground squat party scene for several decades and continues to work behind the scenes, creating and collaborating. "I find the security so harsh in commercial clubs, it's not worth going and it costs too much at the bar," he said. "The cost of living crisis is making people stay at home or seek other alternatives. You get more value for money at a squat rave."

Stu noticed a larger-than-usual influx of new people at squat raves during the first wave of the pandemic. "People who wanted to go to the clubs but couldn't, found themselves at our parties," he said. "For a lot of people, it was their first time and quite a few really enjoyed it. When the clubs reopened, a lot of them went back but many also stayed with the underground scene."

Stu said he's witnessed a similar pattern since the outset of the energy crisis. "There's definitely been a 20-percent increase in the number of people coming to squat raves. A lot of clubs can't afford to stay open because the bills are just insane. My own electricity bill's gone up massively. I couldn't afford to buy drinks in commercial venues."

Skyrocketing Artist Fees Increase Ticket Prices

The events ecosystem is disturbed when headliners double or triple their fees during times of crisis. One promoter, who didn't want to be named, said this has been the experience of multiple UK-based promoters. "It puts a spanner in the works for everyone," they said. "We were forced to increase our ticket prices at a time when people were struggling to survive. When the world was on its knees, one of our headliners was coerced by their agent to double fees from £5,000 in 2019 to £10,000 in 2021. In the face of the energy crisis, they doubled fees again to £20,000 in 2022."

Other major headlining artists belonging to the same agency were given the same ultimatum. "They were told to do this or risk losing their careers," they added. "We actually cancelled the event with the headliner and cut ties with the agent. Lots of other promoters and festival organisers have done the same."

Rising Overhead Costs Cripple Promoters

Artist and promoter Jay OM, AKA JourneyOM, has been putting on events across the UK for 20 years. He said the cost of this month's ten-year Tribal Village anniversary event at the Steel Yard was 250-percent higher than before the pandemic.

"I did the previous event in January 2022 during pandemic restrictions and made a loss," he said. "This year's energy crisis also sent our costs soaring, especially flights and hotels for the artists we booked from Japan and the US. They're higher than we've ever seen. We take a huge risk putting on events, but we do it for the music."

At Glasgow queer cooperative Bonjour, the rising cost of living is affecting an already marginalised clientele. Member Kathryn Frazer said the rise in energy bills has compounded the tens of thousands of pounds accrued in rent arrears to landlord Network Rail since the outset of the pandemic.

"We were paying for premises that remained closed for business but we also didn’t qualify for government help," Frazer said. "It's an old building so we've put a lot of money into making it habitable. The plumbing system isn't fit for purpose either so we've had to close a few times too."

As things went from bad to worse, Bonjour launched a campaign last October to raise money. A rolling fundraiser now brings in between £1300 and £1400 a month. "This pays some of our bills and allows us to uphold our ethical values like fair wages and free taxis to staff," Frazer added. "It also permits discounts to our events and the subsidised use of the space to rights groups like LGBT Unity, which works with queer refugees and asylum seekers. But it's a continuous battle to cover outgoing costs, affecting the entire community."

For their ten-year anniversary event at Steel Yard, the promoters of party Tribal Village had to shoulder costs 250-percent higher than before the pandemic.

Events Cut Down on Capacity

Steve Lomas has been a promoter in Swansea for 32 years. His parties, which run three times annually, usually pack out the 250-capacity Bunkhouse, but for his next event he was forced to switch venues to Cinema & Co, which is 50 percent smaller. "It's really hard to get people out the door because it's just not affordable these days when people have to choose between paying bills and going out," he said. "I know this makes an impact on what artists we can book."

The Bunkhouse is having its own issues. "Our energy costs are about 18 percent higher than our rent," said lease owner Jordan McGuire. "Energy costs went up by 105 percent. We really don't want to push the cost onto customers because there's also a cost-of-living crisis. We're trying to keep bar prices down, but I'm not sure how much longer we can do that. I can't afford to pay myself. I'm lucky I picked up another job working for Swansea Water to keep the business going. Staff come first—as long as they get paid, we can keep the venue open. You have to take drastic measures. If I didn't love the music so much then I would have just closed the doors."

Brexit Causes Staff Shortages

Brexit was the first to strike when London audiophile venue Spiritland Royal Festival Hall opened in 2018. Now, after the pandemic—which caused the loss of almost 90,000 nightlife jobs—it's closing forever. Founder and creative director Paul Noble said the majority of his team came from the EU. "During Brexit or mid-lockdown, our employees went home or moved to a country where it was easier for them to work," he said.

Staff shortages became the new reality. "Suddenly, we were in competition with a lot of the chains who can pay more," he added. "A lot of people also left hospitality and moved into the gig economy. The wider impact of Brexit is that London looks less welcoming to the people who'd usually come here to work in bars and clubs."

Spiritland abruptly shut in 2020 for 18 months. "Fortunately, our Spiritland By Night parties put us on the cultural map as a music venue. But lately, the combination of everything has sadly left us in a position where it was impossible to stay open." Apart from furlough, he feels the absence of government support. "It's disheartening to see everyone forced into closing but the chains are still surviving." The plan now, he tells me, is to find a new venue and throw bigger parties.

Brexit has also led to an industry-wide deficit in security staff. Chris Anderson, who provides security services to Leeds venue Old Red Bus Station, has had to increase wages by 25 percent to retain his staff and prevent them from being poached by other companies. But this cost gets passed onto the venues that cut the hours when costs go up. He said his company is playing a game of tug of war as it vies to retain staff in a climate of staff shortages. It's an expensive game and it's driving up prices everywhere.

"When the hours go down, it becomes less viable for staff to work there. Just like every other low-paid, under-appreciated industry, you could essentially bring this staff shortage dilemma back to Brexit," he said.

Swansea's Bunkhouse (pictured above) is also struggling. "Our energy costs are about 18 percent higher than our rent," said lease owner Jordan McGuire. "Energy costs went up by 105 percent." Not wanting to push price increases onto customers, he took up a second job to keep the business going.

Fight Back By Unionising

In recent months, underpaid and overworked employees across the short-staffed NHS and transport sectors have shown their teeth by striking to protest unacceptable working conditions. Ravers who work in these fields and are trade union members say the dire climate, combined with rising bills, is making it almost impossible to go out and party.

Unite The Union's Janet MacLeod said that despite the parallels in terms of working conditions with the NHS and transport sector, there's a huge lack of trade union membership among nightlife workers. (That said, venues like Dalston Superstore are leading by example).

"If you worked a maximum of 48 hours on minimum wage, it won't bring you enough money to properly afford your rent and bills in London," MacLeod said. "Plus your travel and phone. None of it stacks up."

Most venues can't afford to increase wages after taking out loans to survive the pandemic and experiencing a huge staff shortage in its wake. But MacLeod believes working with unions can at least establish other types of support, such as legal advice and health and safety training.

"A Broken Music Industry"

The Old Red Bus Station opened its doors in 2017. It was just establishing itself as a renowned grassroots spot when the pandemic began. Co-founder Immi Cardy said rising energy bills haven't helped. Opening hours were reduced from five to four days and it meant cutting back on staff.

"We'd like to give more hours but we're making a loss each month," she said. "People can't afford to go out and when they do they can't afford to spend money on drinks. The whole industry is lobbying the government to reduce VAT for hospitality, but they’ve just announced a reduction in support for energy bills starting on April 1st."

The Old Red Bus Station is an important cultural hub with a DIY ethos supporting the local creative scene. It was given Arts Council funding to help navigate the pandemic but Cardy is worried about the venue's future.

"We're facing a broken music industry," she said. "Young, upcoming talents are working several jobs instead of making music. Venues like ours are at risk of shutting down and promoters are putting on fewer nights and prioritising established names over new talent to minimise risk, which is resulting in less diversity. Over the last three years, it's been one thing after the other. If we don't get the support we need from the government, we might not be around much longer."

Old Red Bus Station was given Arts Council funding during the pandemic, but its co-founder worries about the future.

Correction, January 26th: A previous version of this article said the capacity of The Bunkhouse was 150 people. It's actually 250.