Yes, Pete, but these are the very artists at the top of their game who can afford to do the odd gig at a loss. How many gigs can your bands do when you are in effect actually paying to play?

As for the supposed lack of intimacy at arts centres, I've seen Chris Wood & Hugh Lupton at several such venues (one on your doorstep) transfix audiences of all ages and provenances (and not a tie-died 'f*lky' in sight). At one there was a kids heavy metal disco going on in the next room and a whole lot of them drifted in and were equally mesmerised. They didn't know they were listening to 'f*lk' and surely wouldn't have put their heads round the door had anyone told them that was what it was. But everyone was introduced to something new that day.