Higher Education and Live Music in Wales: Future Developments

Well, I am coming toward the end of the research into the relationships between live music and higher education in Wales. With the report due at the end of this month, I thought I would provide some comments below. Very happy to receive any comments, preferably before the end of the month – I could include them in the report then!

From a music industry perspective, the recent acquisition by Live Nation, of data entertainment firm Big Champagne,[1] could be considered indicative of how the global live music industry is changing, and the financial emphasis that is being placed upon it. According to Hypebot.Com’s Bruce Houghton, the takeover represents the essential next step to drive a transformation of live music based on data rather than the antiquated assumptions of the old guard music industry (Houghton, 2012b). However, if we regard this purchase more cynically, it clearly follows the paradigm that is pervasive throughout the history of recorded music: the purchase the smaller innovative companies by a dominant wealthy few (ironically, what Houghton describes as the antiquated “old guard”) – an oligopoly that facilitates the capitalist society both Higher Education and the Music Industry operate in.

Equally so, the Higher Education sector is going through a period of great change, with “New Universities” in particular having to face up to issues such as employability, the influx of private providers, and validation powers in Further Education Colleges, not to mention the unknown impact that increased student fees may have on the entire sector. In Wales of course there is also the question of impeding university mergers, and although the exact details are not known yet, the Welsh Higher Education sector of the future will look very different to what it does today.

The question for Welsh Higher Education music departments engaged in live music, is how to negotiate these two independent, powerful forces. How do we engage with both the national and international live music scenes from a pedagogical and research perspective, ensuring our students gain an industrially relevant and academically challenging experience, while undergoing the changes to Higher Education and the live sector as outlined above?

It is apparent from the report for the Higher Education Academy, in addition to previous investigations undertaken, that the Welsh music industry requires far more research into its various infrastructures. Although not an exhaustive list, issues such as why bands bypass Wales when touring; transport issues to and from venues; publicity infrastructures in the capital and throughout Wales (Do audiences feel informed? What community and local Council activities are already taking place?); working relationships between venues and local councils, and venues and national promoters; and the relationships between live music and cultural tourism – from both an import and export perspective, are indicative of factors that not only require on-going research, but also should be included into taught music industry modules, that from experience tend to focus on global rather than local paradigms.  Although some parties within the Welsh music industry would question its relevance – arguing that academic exercises such as this represent the pinnacle of “knowledge resistance”,  in congruence with the numerous other nations, it is suggested that a comprehensive mapping document of Wales is required, documented independently, and including a critical investigation of what could be learned from nations such as Scotland, New Zealand and Finland – the latter who seem particularly successful in fostering government support for performing live music abroad.

Regarding pedagogical initiatives, in congruence to the University of Bolton’s relationship with the Backstage Academy, and the University of Plymouth’s work with Deep Blue Sound, it seems prudent for Welsh Higher Education to continue to investigate what industrial and governmental bodies it can work with in order to address the specific skill gaps referred to by Creative and Cultural Skills, and most importantly how they impact the Welsh live music industry. As stated earlier, keeping intellectual property and income streams within Wales is an essential factor if the Welsh live music industry is to build upon its current £60 turnover, an increase which is essential if the Welsh industry is to become truly independent.

Considering that part of this skill gap needs to be targeted at practitioners already working in the Welsh Music Industry, it is also logical to suggest that Higher Education needs to investigate part-time, distance learning and particularly “accelerated” provision – in order to open up these markets, so Higher Education institutions can facilitate practitioner engagement within and between their working lives. As stated in the stakeholder interviews section in the report, a number of industrial and government bodies are open to the idea of strategic work placements, and in congruence with the likes of Buckingham New University, the instigation of “production companies” within the Welsh university sector would potentially facilitate outward facing, industry focused “centres”, that would encourage music departments to engage with mechanisms such as Accreditation for Prior Experiential Learning, accreditation for current work based learning, in addition to ensuring “traditional” undergraduate students get the opportunity to engage in meaningful accredited work with the live music industry.

The importance of skills, and the relative lack of interest in accreditation in both the questionnaire and some stakeholder interviews reflects larger scale studies carried out by Creative and Cultural Skills (Wenham and Felton, 2011) and a Creative and Cultural Industries Workforce Survey  – both of which suggest that Higher Education is not serving industry with the skills it needs. It is suggested, in the music industry, the grey area between skills and qualifications can only be alleviated if:

1) Employers understand what skills students will have once they have obtained specific qualifications

2) Students themselves have a clear understanding of the relationship between skills and qualifications

3) Both parties are convinced that course content is relevant to the sub-sectors of live music they are working in

It is understood that mutual trust between the live music sector and Higher Education will not develop overnight, and initiatives such as The Live Music Exchange is for the first time beginning to facilitate how both parties can constructively work together. Based on some of the work undertaken as part of this report, the next Live Music Exchange event is planned to be in Cardiff, as part of the 2012 Sŵn Festival in October 2012, and it is envisaged this will provide a strategic opportunity to explore how Higher Education can facilitate the economic and cultural development of live music in Wales.

 

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[1] See (http://bcdash.bigchampagne.com/what)

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Some Bands Do Play In Wales!!

Contrary to some of my earlier posts, it is great to report news of a few national tours where artists are playing in Wales. A recent CMU post highlighted a few up and coming UK tours, and as I was preparing myself to moan about bands not playing in Wales – on this occasion they were. So, the following tours are taking place!! Congrats to everyone for making it happen.

FENECH-SOLER

30 Sep: Edinburgh, Electric Circus
1 Oct: Aberdeen, The Warehouse
3 Oct: Dundee, The Doghouse
5 Oct: Glasgow, King Tut’s
7 Oct: Newcastle, The Other Rooms
8 Oct: York, Fibbers
10 Oct: Liverpool, The Shipping Forecast
12 Oct: Wolverhampton, The Little Civic
13 Oct: Nottingham, Stealth
14 Oct: Leicester, Lock
15 Oct: Coventry, Kasbah
17 Oct: Leeds, Crudenell Social Club
25 Oct: Bristol, Thekla
26 Oct: Cardiff, Barfly
27 Oct: Huddersfield, Tokyo
28 Oct: Wrexham, Central Station
29 Oct: Stoke, Sugarmill
1 Nov: Exeter, Cavern Club
2 Nov: Brighton, Audio
3 Nov: Tunbridge Wells, The Forum
4 Nov: Peterborough, Met Lounge
6 Nov: Norwich, Arts Centre
7 Nov: Portsmouth, The Kraken Wakes
9 Nov: Oxford, Jericho
10 Nov: London, Heaven

Ardade Fire

1 Dec: London, O2 Arena
8 Dec: Birmingham, LG Arena
9 Dec: Cardiff, International Arena
11 Dec: Manchester, Central
12 Dec: Glasgow, SECC

The Like

8 Aug: Leeds Festival
29 Aug: Reading Festival
1 Sep: Glasgow, King Tut’s
2 Sep: Newcastle, The Cluny
3 Sep: Manchester, Ruby Lounge
4 Sep: Sheffield, Plug
5 Sep: Nottingham, Bodega
7 Sep: Cardiff, Clwb Ifor Bach
8 Sep: Birmingham, The Rainbow
9 Sep: Bristol, Start The Bus
10 Sep: Oxford, Jericho
11 Sep: Brighton, Audio
13 Sep: Cambridge, Haymakers
15 Sep: London, ICA

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Why Don’t Bands Come To Cardiff?

As outlined in a recent seminar as part of the the 2008 Swn Festival, there seems to be a real issue regarding some bands playing in Cardiff. I am interested in finding out why this is, but copied below are couple of examples (Taken from CMU) – what can be done about it??

VAMPIRE WEEKEND UK TOUR DATES
Vampire Weekend have announced some tour dates. They will happen in the UK in November and December. Tickets for them go on sale on Friday.

Tour dates:

25 Nov: Blackpool, Empress Ballroom Arena
26 Nov: Wolverhampton, Civic Hall
28 Nov: Edinburgh, Corn Exchange
29 Nov: Sheffield, Academy
1 Dec: Brighton Centre
2 Dec: London, Alexandra Palace

THE SCRIPT ANNOUNCE SEPTEMBER TOUR
The Script sold 1.8 million copies of their debut album, which would suggest that someone will actually be interested in these dates. That someone may also be interested to know that the band have a new single out, called ‘For The First Time’, on 5 Sep, followed by their second album, ‘Science & Faith’ on 13 Sep. Don’t worry, your secret is safe with us.

Tour dates:

11 Sep: Liverpool, University
12 Sep: Leeds, Academy
13 Sep: London, Hammersmith Apollo
15 Sep: Edinburgh, Corn Exchange
16 Sep: Leicester, De Montfort Hall
17 Sep: Portsmouth, Guildhall

It is interesting how both acts are playing in Scotland – not not Wales!

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Roland Music AcademyLaunch in 2008

Two years ago, the ‘Roland Music Academy’s’ launch took place at the ATRiuM in Cardiff. It was a great event, so here are some pictures of the day, most which document Roland Founder Mr Kakahashi’s professorship.

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State of the Welsh Music Industry – The Land Of Song

I am currently writing a book chapter for Ashgate on the advantages and disadvantages of the Welsh music industry. Interestingly, there was a ‘Welsh Music Day’ on BBC Radio Wales on March 1st (St Davids’s Day), and selected links can be found below. Jason Mohammad’s show was particularly interesting – with a short synopsis being found here. The music industry part of the show featured Pete Lawrie, Tony Etoria, journalist Simon Price and Meltdown’s Paul Clarke. This was preceded with a discussion  about Welsh Culture, including the differences of Irish and Welsh culture, with a specific discussion around the global pervasiveness of St Patrick’s Day compared to St David’s.  One of the main concerns of the Welsh Culture discussion focused around what I would describe as an ‘essentiallist’ depiction of what it means to be Welsh, where Mountains, Rugby, Poetry, Coal Mines, Male Voice Choirs, etc are seen as depicting a stereotypical perspective of Welsh identity. This seems to be juxterpositioned against an ‘anti essentialist’ view on Welsh identity – where individuals can describe their identity according to what they are not (IE English). For many, being Welsh seems to focus around the language, with one guest stating that ‘its what makes us different from the English, the Irish, and Scottish’. Ultimately, it is probably a ‘shared experience and heratige’, which for some of a particular generation involves a combination of the above parameters.  As with other small nations that have been colonised, it it apparent that  tradition can be invented to compensate for factors of identity that have been taken away. For example in the case of Wales, the Acts Of Union was largely responsible for the current dominance of the English Language – so it seems logical to emphasise this as an anti essentialist ‘two fingered’ gesture.

The show progressed to move on to a music industry related discussion, with the loss of local venues such as The Globe and The Point being a particular point of concern. Other factors  included the need for an infrastructure (ie recording studios, record companies and venues) and the need for creative people to stay in Wales as opposed to moving to London. This is a particularly interesting point, with artists such as John Cale, Steve Strange, Scritti Politti all leaving for major music capitals. Indeed the above mentioned Pete Lawie had just moved to London 5 days prior to the programme’s broadcast, making this subject particularly ironic. Lawrie also noted that his forthcoming tour did not include a venue in Wales, as Cardiff does not have a mid size 500 – 1000 seater venue. This was a point raised during a recent SWN conference outlined below, and it seems that if many cutting edge young bands are to perform in Wales it needs to be rectified. Another  good point made concerning the state of modern Welsh music (as opposed to the essentialist view of Welsh music being Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey etc) is that it has been genuinely succesful in genres such as ‘popular classical’ (Catherine Jenkins, Charlotte Church, etc) and ‘Emo Metal’  (Lost Prophets, Funeral For A Friend, Bullet For My Valentine). It was also noted that although some venues have been lost or under threat, there are a number of venues to play in South Wales in particular. The loss of BBC Radio 6 was also deemed a problem as it was a station that championed emerging Welsh Bands. It was also noted that it was difficult to place a specific sound to Welsh Music – unlike sounds that have come from places such as Liverpool and Manchester (Madchester).

The Music Academy based at the ATRiuM in Cardiff held a seminar in 2008 which discussed the live music industry in Wales, and my original post and podcast can be found here. There were also two other podcasts, one featuring Scouting For Girls and another discussing the do it yourself business model.

In conclusion, the programme also discussed how the partially financed (via Radio Cymru, SC4) welsh language scene can lead to the ‘big fish in a small pool’ syndrome, in addition to restricting creativity by stipulating specific guidelines to get exposure. It was also suggested that a way of breaking down the traditionalist barriars outlined above is to get up and coming welsh acts like Pete Lawrie to perform at national sports events, as opposed to the usual -  Catherine Jenkins etc. Catatonia playing at the opening of the Welsh Assembly a few years ago is a good example of how non traditional musics can be used more traditional events – quite right.

I would appreciate any thoughts anyone has regarding points of interest I could include in the book chapter.

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Beacons Project

I am currently involved in a research project with the Beacons for Public Engagement. I intend to use this page to blog about how the project is developing and generally share the progress I am making. I have been working on the project around a month now, so I will begin with a summary of what I have achieved so far and what the project is about.

The research is essentially a widening participation initiative that enables both myself and selected university students to enter local community first schools in order to share experiences and to gain an understanding of the most appropriate methodology of implementing outreach music activities. The University’s state of the art new building in Cardiff The ATRiuM is rapidly becoming a centre of excellence for students intending to pursue a living in the creative and cultural industries, and this project intends to ensure that local children are given the opportunity to interface with the facilities and experience we have. The aims of the project are as follows:

• To investigate the most appropriate means by which pupils in the 11 – 19 age group learn in their school environment for music activities?

• To ascertain exactly what these pupils want to learn in more informal musical environments?

• To investigate more precisely what these pupils need to learn? In other words how can future Saturday school initiatives symbiotically work with secondary education by complying with and assisting the school curriculum?

The proposed research will be implemented through a series of visits to 4 schools in the Communities First catchment areas in Cardiff, Caerphilly, Rhondda Cynon Taf and Merthyr Tydfil. Initial visits will involve semi-structured interviews with music staff and more open focus groups with the children themselves. These sessions will be implemented by myself, but will be followed by workshops and other class activities co-conducted by selected University of Glamorgan students. The precise format of these sessions will be negotiated with school staff and may vary depending on individual preferences, but will broadly involve the following process:

• University students perform a full group 15 minute performance set (Guitar, Bass, Drums, Keys) to all pupils in all of the selected schools, followed by a question – answer session about university life and curriculum

• Project leader and one student assistant shadows teachers or classes in all four schools in order to ascertain initial understandings of the above aims.

• Individual Students host individual small group sessions in one school with project leader support. These sessions will be planned by students and possibly arranged into instrumental groups.

• Project leader conducts a summary session in all selected schools to conclude the project with music staff and pupils.

Focus will be primarily focused upon the realism of a Saturday Morning music school and its preferred format. This session will also be used to share more specific information about the environment and music curriculum at the ATRiuM, and will investigate the potential of institutions working together. Project leader conducts a three hour focus group with all university students to ascertain fully their opinions and perspectives on the project.

It is interesting how one month into the planning of the project, the order of the above has already been reconsidered. It was considered prudent to implement the observation sessions prior to the group visit in order to gain a better understanding of what the performance could be be. Questions such as performance venue, number and type of students, and type of music still need to be addressed. It was also decided that as opposed to my students implementing a teaching session in the school environment, it would be of more benifit to the schools if the sessions took place in the ATRiuM. This has logistical issues but the idea of planning a series of workshops in the ATRiuM building has the potential to provide an inspirational benchmark for the school children involved in the project. The university student helpers also feel more forfortable as they are in their own environment.

It is envisaged that the outcomes and outputs (see below) of this proposal will begin to provide a useful insight into the aims outlined above, and will provide essential data to enable realistic knowledge exchange and curriculum’s for future outreach activities. The proposal will also give both myself and my students invaluable experience in directly engaging with teachers, children, and the environment through which school children learn. This project will additionally provide the selected university students a unique opportunity to be involved in a research project, where their learning experience and opinions will be documented as part of the findings. Although it is expected that no direct contact with parents will be logistically possible, the research methodology will include a questionnaire that will aim to ascertain the perceived importance of extra curricular music activities such as the proposed.

Outputs produced by University staff and/or students

The principle outputs will be the documentation of an academic paper/report and the development of pedagogical and logistical requirements for a proposed Saturday schools. These can be outlined as follows:

• An investigation into the specific content that these pupils want to learn in more informal musical environments.

• An analysis of what pupils need to learn, by determining how Saturday schools/outreach activities comply with and assist the school curriculum

• To understand and develop a range of protocols that forms the basis of organsing future Saturday school/outreach activities.

• To examine how the university can begin to make a cultural changes in an effort to make its pedagogical and physical environment more welcoming and accessible.

• To ascertain potential mechanisms thought which more extensive funding can be sought to enable more schools within the proposed catchment to become involved in both outreach activities in schools, and Saturday morning/summer school activates based at the ATRiuM.

Outcomes related to University staff and/or students

• A more comprehensive understanding of how Saturday schools/outreach activities can improve perceptions and knowledge of university for teachers, parents and pupils.

• Initial experience in conducting interviews and focus group sessions with teachers and pupils.

• Opportunities to develop skills in explaining, discussing and developing Saturday school/outreach activities in conjunction with teachers, pupils and parents.

• Opportunities to develop the skills associated with implementing appropriate performances for teachers and pupils.

• Opportunities to develop and implement workshops activities for school pupils.

• Opportunities to develop skills in answering unprepared questions about university related subject areas.

• A more detailed understanding and comprehension of how music education is conducted in the school environment.

• Opportunities to develop the skills associated with planning a public facing empirical research project through to its conclusion.

• To provide invaluab le experience in directly engaging with teachers, pupils, and the environment through which the latter learns.

• Opportunities to develop important links with local schools and communities

• Opportunities to develop confidence, skills, and knowledge when dealing with school teachers, pupils, and parents.

• Opportunities to assist understanding of how the public perceives initiatives such as the proposed.

Outputs that relate to school teachers, pupils and parents

• To have an equal share of the development of proposed Saturday school/outreach activities deriving from the University of Glamorgan.

• To provide essential information that will be used in the final evaluation, academic paper, and pedagogical/logistical protocols of the Saturday school/outreach activities.

• To have the potential to invigorate the school music curriculum.

Outcomes that relate to school teachers, pupils and parents

• To have developed a sense of ownership through partaking in the progressive development of Saturday music schools/outreach activities.

• To enable teachers, pupils and parents to better understand, support and challenge the research and enterprise activities  undertaken at Glamorgan University.

The evaluation process related to this project will take the form of an academic paper intended for publication. It will be constructed in three sections, the first of which comments upon the outputs and outcomes documented above. This will include factors such as preferred student learning methods that can be incorporated in Saturday morning/outreach activities, preferred content and environments, potential opportunities and threats for future developments, university staff/student ‘added value’ skill development, impact of group performances and workshops on schools, cultural institutional changes recommended, and future funding opportunities. There will also be a general analysis of the ‘outcome’ impacts on both staff and students to contextualise this section.

The 2^nd section will discuss how teachers, pupils and parents impacted the project, and specifically how their own outputs and outcomes have developed as a consequence. This will take into account more comprehensively the observational sessions and interviews conducted with university students, teachers, pupils and parents, and will discuss ‘added value’ from their perspective. Part 3 of the evaluative process will explicitly focus on the more generic Beacon for Wales’ aims, and will be more philosophical, reflective and generic. Acting almost as an extended conclusion, this section will explore more widely why academics should become involved in public engagement, by investigating current government policy in Wales, the actual benefits from the proposed and other projects (increased profile etc), and the potential long term impacts in terms of forging closer links with public bodies such as the secondary school sector. A specific focus will be given to reflecting upon the means by which the project leader interfaced with a range of public engagement paradigms. These skills unquestionably require detailed consideration, planning, preparation and reflection, and factors ranging from project development, to the implementation of communication skills (talks, discussions, use of PowerPoint, questionnaires, demonstrations, etc) will be critically analysed and reflected upon. As stated in earlier parts of this proposal, it is expected that both the project leader and university students will learn a great deal about music based public engagement through implementing this project, and this will be covered fully in this part of the document. Additionally, it is also expected that the initiative will also provide an extra dimension to the breadth of subject knowledge of all participants. It is easy to underestimate the breadth of knowledge and logistical creativity that the modern day secondary school music teacher has to balance every day, and the evaluation process will fully reflect on how these often unrecognised skills (in the university sector) can be utilised in future outreach/Saturday music schools.

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SWN Festival Seminar 2: How to Have A Number One Album with Scouting For Girls

This post features a pod-cast of Roy, Greg and Pete from ‘Scouting For Girls‘ being interviewed by Radio One’s Huw Stephens. The session was one of a number of conference themes that I implemented as part of the 2008 SWN Festival at the ATRiuM in Cardiff in conjunction with The Welsh Music Foundation, The Centre for Small Nations, and The Music Academy. The refreshing thing about the session aside from the modesty and humility of the band was that their initial aim was to develop themselves slowly by not attempting to get a record deal at the start. Unlike many current artists who are interested in quick success, the band decided to focus on developing their compositional, industrial, personal and performance skills to ‘professional quality’ prior to considering a record contract. This is reminiscent of how bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones started, and begs the question if this process leads to a longer career, and equally as important a better recording contract (there is a research paper in that somewhere!!).

It was interesting to note how the ‘Cottage Industry’ the band developed prior to securing a major contract seemed to be such an important aspect of the bands success  – not only enabling them to learn about the various aspects of the industry, but actually earn more money from CD’s and merchandising when sales were low (They discussed how they currently get a small fraction of CD sales as opposed to the 80% of retail price via the DIY method). These cottage industry activities also involved pressing CD’s themselves, organising ‘personal’ mailing lists, but more importantly seemed to give them the attributes to move through the system very fast once they were signed. They found that once their success was beginning to be noticeable via factors such as My Space hits, comments and gig attendances, the age old procedure of the ‘industry coming to them’ occurred. Indeed their manager signed them on the basis of viewing a rehearsal, as did Sony BMG six weeks later (The Epic subsidiary). The album (which they started recording 4-5 days after signing) took six weeks to record, two weeks to master, leading their manager to describe them as a “managers dream” (mainly due to the lack of development time required to perfect their art). It is also interesting to note that the band had no complaints regarding artistic autonomy with their contract – is this because what they have developed ‘works’, or because they are probably one of the last bands to escape the dreaded 360 degree deal?

I generally got the impression that this was a band that had ‘served their time’ and their main priority was and is THE MUSIC – not money, lifestyle etc. Their local fan following was built personally, gradually, and was still an important factor of their professional lives, despite their success. Related to this, they also believed that it was important to try and get A&R depts to see bands on their local territory, with local audiences, rather than attempting the ‘empty London venue’ experience.

The Pod-Cast can be download via RSS here or directly to I Tunes here

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Why don’t more bands come to Wales: Promoting Live Music In Wales

On Friday November 14th, the ATRiuM’s Music Academy, Centre For Small Nations and the Welsh Music Foundation hosted a day of music industry seminars as part of the Cardiff based SWN festival. Over the next several weeks I will upload downloadable links to podcasts of each of the four seminars, and discuss the seminar content via this blog. The first seminar featured promoters Dave Driscoll (Push 4), Guto Brychan (Maes B), Steve Tilly (Kilimangero) and moderator John Rostron (SWN co-organiser). For more details about the presenters please click here.
The initial discussion centred around the reasons why many artists don’t come to Wales, or indeed Cardiff in particular during their ‘national’ tours. This was something I had noted during my days as a professional musician, with very few James Taylor Quartet tours of the late 1980’s/early 1990’s taking in Wales. In fact Cardiff was the only venue we played back then. This pattern seems to have continued, with Fleet Foxes being an indicative example of an up and coming ‘buzz’ band not playing a single gig in Wales. The seminar also raised a number of questions that I would welcome responses to:

• Why is it that some agents don’t feel compelled to send their artists to Wales?

• Is there a misconception that there are not enough venues in Wales?

• Is there a lack of mid sized venues in Wales? Once bands get to a certain size, can they continue to play in Wales?

• Are the transport systems good enough to get people to and from Cardiff and some of the more remote venues (should some ticket sales include transport and/or gigs be flexible to comply with trains buses etc)?

• Is the perception that Cardiff people can simply go to Bristol to see a gig?

• What is the infrastructure in Cardiff in terms of generating media coverage for bands.

• Regarding the last point, do potential audiences feel informed in terms of what is happening in the Capital of Wales? The Joy Collective was noted as a good example of a web site that included South Wales and Bristol.

• Should promoters always continue to promote gigs after the venue has sold out?

• Are bands in too much of a hurry to play bigger venues before they are ready?

• How could the Welsh Assembly Government help with some of these issues?

I think the discussion reminded everyone of the central role that promoters play in the UK music industry, and the financial risk they take when acting as middlemen between agents, venues and the general public is considerable. When one considers that a local promoter like Push 4 can be working with around 25 artists and associate venues at any one time, it provides a lucid snapshot of the skills involved. Dave Driscoll did note that the slow speed of ticket sales in Wales generally provide a series of challenges to up and coming promoters that may not be apparent in other areas. It means that Welsh promoters in particular need to have a ‘hook’ when promoting many gigs, and Push 4’s work with Donny Osmond and The Lost Prophets were used as indicative examples. The seminar did illustrate that ticket sales in Cardiff have an idiosyncratic trait of selling very slowly, so there needs to be mutual trust between agents and promoters that can only develop over time.

The fact is that there are more venues in Cardiff now than there was 10 years ago, and it would be interesting to discuss if the city is now saturated. This however does not seem to be the case in mid/north Wales, there been very few venues north of the m4 corridor.

I am very interested in anyone’s thoughts on any of this. An RSS feed to this and other podcasts can be downloaded here. If required you can add to I Tunes and simply update when future posts are documented. Alternatively you can access the podcast directly below:

Please note that the start of this podcast is very quiet.

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