The Live Music Industry in Wales: A Snapshot of Findings

The Welsh Music Industry is currently standing at a crossroads: is it always to be reliant on the industrial infrastructure of England? is it always to accept the fact that concert ticket sales are often slow (making the business of music promotion even more risky); does it accept that potential audiences have to be prepared to go travel to regions such as Bristol and Manchester for concerts that should be happening in Wales? is it acceptable to ‘buy in’ skills for major events as opposed to utilising and training indigenous talent?

 

The recent research I conducted for the Welsh Music Foundation does not propose that it has solutions to many of these questions, although it hopefully raises numerous important issues – that must be addressed if Wales is to break free of the predicaments outlined above. As stated in the report, the Welsh live music industry currently constitutes around 4% of the UK total – around 60 million per year. With a population of around 3 million, Wales makes up around 5% of the UK population – so it could be argued that this division of profit seems about right. However, I would argue, that in a globalised economy, Wales as a nation (as opposed to a region of the UK!) has an opportunity to focus on specific areas of the live music industry, that would facilitate a greater cut of the £1.5 billion live music currently generates.

 

As verified in the debate that followed on from my talk for the Institute of Welsh Affairs in Chapter Arts yesterday, this needs to start from the bottom up. In my view, factors such as ensuring the commercial music sector in particular are empowered to take advantage of the seed grants being made available by the Arts Council of Wales (in order to propagate innovation), the importance of constructive dialogues between the music industry and local councils (such as that currently taking place between the Welsh Music Foundation and Cardiff Council), and ensuring the training Wales offers reflects both the needs of the global and local industry, will all provide the foundation for what everybody wants – Wales making the most of the most of the economic and cultural opportunities live music presents.

 

The Welsh live music industry can only do business with the outside world if it has the skills and infrastructures in place within its borders, and this report will hopefully provide a commencement point for this to take place.

Here is a podcast version of the talk I gave for the Institute of Welsh Afairs yesterday. It was great to see so many people attend, but for those who missed it, this gives a snapshot of what was talked about.

 

 

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Live Music Industry Research Update

Two months without a single post – then 2 in two days – how is that for predictability?? For those who are interested in live music, I am chairing the final two seminars for the Welsh Music Foundation next week in Aberystwyth and Swansea – the details can be found here. SWN Promoter John Rostron will also be doing a workshop at both events – so the sessions are well worth a visit. If you can’t make the sessions to contribute to the research, there is still time to fill in the online questionnaires. The English version can be be found here, and the Welsh version here. If anyone has any thoughts about the live music industry in Wales or would like to contribute to the research in any way – just get in touch with me.

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The Newport Live Music Scene: how can it regain vibrancy?

I attended a fascinating event in Newport yesterday organised by The Welsh Music Foundation. Its focus attempted to consider reasons behind why a once ‘legendary’ music scene, was now struggling to find an audience. In short, how can ‘vibrancy’ be brought back to the Newport music scene? This issue is probably best highlighted by the closure of TJ’s – a venue that once hosted numerous international artists such as those highlighted here.  When listening to the debate yesterday the first thing that struck me is that someone needs to write a book about the musical history of this city. This should not be an academic book, but an histography of the rise (and fall) of music in Newport. This may be part of a larger ‘ live music in south Wales’ publication, so if anyone has any ideas – get in touch. (See note below)

Some of the Key themes discussed during the meeting are outlined below. These are areas that I will explore further during the research project I am currently working on in conjunction with The Welsh Music Foundation into the live music sector in Wales, so for the moment there are more questions than answers.

1. Musician/promoter relationships with the local council obviously need to be considered, and it will be interesting to see if this is the case in all areas of Wales. For example the Live Music Toolkit currently been developed by the Welsh Music Foundation in conjunction with Cardiff Council is a good model to open up communication between the live sector and local councils. Could this be rolled out to other regions?
2. There was a perception that promoters and artists were working hard, but there was a general apathy toward live music by audiences. It was proposed that the development of the new Art College in Newport is one factor that could assist this issue. comments……
3. There was a consensus that venues need to develop a trust relationship with national promoters like the model displayed at TJ’s. How can this be done?
4. There was a feeling that the introduction of some ‘name bands’  gigging in  the area would propagate interest w ithlocal audiences and inspire young bands. How can this be done? Is it the case?
5. The issue of local bands playing in Cardiff could be compromising the grass roots gig scene in Newport. How can local bands be encouraged to perform in Newport also?
6. Could Newport develop an event similar to Cardiff’s ‘SWN’ festival, and if so would it assist some of the problems outlined above?
7. Should Newport continue to work on its own individual identity, or would it make more sense to work with Cardiff and other areas on a South Wales scene? If the latter is true – is it possible?
8. Would more people involved in promoting  gigs improve the situation, or does it simply require an individual to take control of the city and begin aggressively promoting live music?
9. How can Newport take advantage of the forthcoming Ryder Cup? It was mentioned at the meeting that local councils may be more sympathetic during this time period.
10. Good backline equipment was mentioned as a key factor to ensure the quality of live performances are of a professional standard. How can this be implemented?
11. Would having another ‘big’ venue be a good starting point, or would it make more sense to focus on grass routes music activity?
12. It was suggested that many people are simply too ‘scared’ go to gigs in Newport. Is this really the case, and if so how can this perception be solved?
13. Is there a way that training provision can assist any of these problems?

There are obviously many more questions to consider, but in the meantime I would be interested in any comments anyone has about any of these points, whether you are from Wales or not.

Note: Since writing this blog, Andy Barding got in touch informing me that there are two books currently being written on the Newport Music Scene. He also corrected me about Nivarna’s engagement with the venue – they never played there!  I quote Andy below – and appologise for my ignorance!!

“There are two books being written about the Newport music scene. One is by me, to be called ‘Sleepless in the New Seattle’. It will be an oral history of the years 1974-2010. From Strummer to TJ’s in the Square, basically. The other is by Johnny Perkins and is about his personal involvement in the city’s music scene during the punk/New Wave years”.

There is an article by Andy on the Newport scene here. There is also an excellent video  on the Newport music scene here Finally – there is another video below

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End of year review

As I am so new to the business of   blogging, I thought it would make sense to make the final entry of the year a review of the 2008 year regarding my various activities. These are not in any specific order, but just as they arrive in my head through the Xmas haziness. Anyway – here goes.

The first important event of the year was to officially launch the Music Academy at the ATRiuM in Cardiff in partnership with Roland UK. This event took a great deal of planning, as in addition to the various VIPs that were present, Roland Founder Mr Ikutaro Kakehashi was awarded an honorary professorship for his contributions to music. During his key note speech it became apparent how humble he was – a lesson to us all! The academy is now 8 months old and is beginning to have an impact on music education in South Wales and beyond – more of this later.

As part of a number of widening participation events I have been organising, the Academy hosted a Battle of the Bands competition the day after the launch. This is to become an annual event, with the 2009 event already in the diary. We were lucky to have Both Roland UK and Rockschool sponsoring the event, so the winners of the competition received some outstanding prizes in addition to gaining a great deal of media coverage. Widening participation is something that is very close to my heart and I am currently in the process of setting up a Junior Music Academy that finances local school children to access the fantastic facilities and expertise we have at the ATRiuM via a Saturday Morning Summer school. The initiative has the support of Cardiff Council, Roland, Rockschool, First Campus, and Gates and will be implemented for the first time in April 2009. Will report more on this later.

I have recently become very interested in Knowledge Exchange/Transfer, and am currently completing a research project in partnership with Roland Uk which is examining how Glamorgan University can assist the organisation to better train both their own workforce via accredited training. This is primarily being implemented by designing a Foundation Degree for the music retail sector, and I am currently writing a journal article on the most appropriate way of going about this. My discussions with industry indicate this will potentially lead into consultancy work next year – so watch this space. Alternativelly, if you’re interested – please get in touch. On the subject of my research, I have lucky enough to have papers presented at the Sibelius Academy in Finland (on Electric Guitarists fusing Jazz with other music forms) Copenhagen University (On Frank Zappa), in addition to a number of visiting lectures/workshops on subjects ranging from on-line assessment to assessing popular music performance. For more details on this refer to my Academia edu homepage. My various activities have affected my publication output, but I have secured a chapter in a forthcoming book by Cambridge Scholars Press. This is related to my work on the impact of guitarists on the jazz canon – so again watch this space for more details.

I have worked as an external examiner for a number of years now, and am currently monitoring the undergraduate music awards at both Bath Spa University and Leeds University. This is always a great opportunity to both learn from colleagues and offer advice on the most appropriate ways of ensuring academic quality is maintained within our university buildings.

One of the most interesting aspects of my job is related to working with colleges in both Wales and England on developing franchised HE qualifications. Having been involved in HE for a number of years now,  it is gratifying to have the opportunity to share my experience in order to develop pedagogical developments outside of my own institution. Again – more on this as some of the projects develop in 09.

In addition to all of this, I have actually managed to do several gigs in Cardiff and the Brecon Jazz festival, although I must admit it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain a standard I am happy with on guitar. It is hard to believe that someone who was an obsessional practicer in his teens and 20′s can devote so little time to the guitar. I suppose this is part of growing older and developing in other areas.

The early part of next is already filling up. In addition to the research activities outlined above, I have recently been awarded some money by the Beacons Public Engagement Fund (Via HEFCE and HEFCW) to conduct research in selected schools in SE Wales. The main focus is to examine various ways we can work together and how both teachers and pupils can influence the research being conducted at The Music Academy. As this project actually involves some of my own students – I am particularly looking forward to it. I was also heavily involved with the SWN festival in Cardiff last year, basically hosting the conferences at ATRiuM. This event was a real success and we are already planning next years event. As stated in a previous post, I will be uploading podcasts of all the music related panels over the next month or so. It was also fantastic to have the opportunity to work with the Welsh Music Foundation, and an academic conference is on the agenda for the early part of next year. This will be music industry related, so I will keep everyone posted on developments.

Anyway, I have reached my half hour time limit to document this post, so can  I wish everyone a great new year. If I have missed anything, I will amend at some point.

Paul

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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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