personal site of Ash Walker. operations director, fifteen years in live events, writing on the bits the industry usually doesn't say out loud.https://awlkr.com/en-GBhttps://awlkr.com/articles/an-attempt-at-a-uk-live-events-day-rate-benchmarking-study/https://awlkr.com/articles/an-attempt-at-a-uk-live-events-day-rate-benchmarking-study/160 respondents. March 2026. A first cut at the day rates the UK live events industry actually pays — by role, by sector, with the gaps and limitations called out honestly.Wed, 06 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTLive EventsDay RatesIndustrySurveyUKhttps://awlkr.com/articles/nobody-talks-about-what-a-gig-actually-costs-im-going-to/https://awlkr.com/articles/nobody-talks-about-what-a-gig-actually-costs-im-going-to/You paid £87 for that ticket. A New York jury just decided you were overcharged for most of it. Here's where the money actually went, and why the industry won't tell you.Fri, 01 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTTicketingLive EventsPricingIndustryhttps://awlkr.com/articles/what-30-000-people-and-one-weekend-taught-me-about-risk/https://awlkr.com/articles/what-30-000-people-and-one-weekend-taught-me-about-risk/The crisis wasn't the surprise. The surprise was that we'd seen it coming all along. A field report from a Saturday morning I'd rather forget — and what it took to stop calling it luck.Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMTRiskOperationsDecision MakingLive Eventshttps://awlkr.com/articles/the-last-thing-we-still-do-together/https://awlkr.com/articles/the-last-thing-we-still-do-together/On community, loneliness, and the one thing the algorithm can't replicate. 25,000 people. One drop. The same involuntary noise.Sat, 07 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMTLive MusicCommunityCultureLonelinesshttps://awlkr.com/articles/what-i-learned-from-reading-every-consumer-trend-report-published-in-q4-2025-so-/https://awlkr.com/articles/what-i-learned-from-reading-every-consumer-trend-report-published-in-q4-2025-so-/UK retail is contracting, consumer confidence is at a two-year low, and yet 32% of people say experiences are the first thing they'd spend extra money on. Here's what that means for events.Mon, 09 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMTConsumer TrendsLive EventsStrategyUK