Ryan McMullan on financial strain of touring: "It's so unsustainable"

In a tell-all interview with Hot Press, Ryan McMullan discussed the pitfalls of touring, namely the significant financial strain it imposes.

The Portaferry songsmith told Hot Press' Riccardo Dwyer that, even despite packing out renowned venues such as the Olympia in Dublin and Belfast's Telegraph building, McMullan is not immune to the financial strain of touring.

"Touring at the minute is so unsustainable and it's hard to put on a show that represents your music," McMullan reflected. "I've done a couple of shows before where the only way to do it was to go on my own. And you feel like you let people down a wee bit. It's like 'Oh, it's just him and the guitar. I thought it would have been a band,' and you're like 'I wish it was'.

"What I find hilarious is that the cost of a pint, taxi and hotel room has gone up. The booking fees and venue hires have gone up, but everybody's afraid to put the ticket price up. All you need is everybody to pay an extra cost of one pint for their tickets, and that affords an extra person on tour".

In the era of dynamic pricing, the rising cost of concert tickets gives way to a lot of pushback from punters considering the cost of living crisis and several fans being priced out of seeing their favourite artist. But McMullan believes that ticket prices should reflect the rising cost of venue rental fees, performer fees and other such expenses for smaller-scale artists.

"You don't want to scare people away, but it's almost impossible to do without it. The cost of one pint per ticket would dramatically change the scope", he concludes.

Elsewhere in the interview, the Co. Down native candidly discusses his struggles with mental health, working with Ed Sheeran and his latest EP In This Room, which dropped on 22 April.

You can read the full interview in the latest issue of Hot Press — out now, and available to order online.