2024 #MusicTouristBoard of Britain Ireland Report No.4 of 4
1) Keep it simple and ask Music Venue Trust what to do.
Thanks for coming to the Music Tourist Board's Ted Talk
From April 2024 onwards, please follow latest #ZeenagersExpo updates on the net / social media - Music Tourism For The People is part of that... The Zine UK
Further reading
music industry bodies deal in researched data compilation fact reports. and this rounds off on hands research with collated facts.
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| #HereThereAndEverywhere #MusicTourism 2023 case study by UK Music |
As per the political spectrum during a Cost Of Greed crisis, the top of the industry (Live Nation, especially) are recording record profits.
Simultaneously, their seeding oxygene pipeline of potential future headliners and ticket sellers, is being shut down.
The nation's wider economy of fan based cult bands are fuelled by new music scouts, promoters and grassroots music venues - all struggling to exist.
It's an age when Birmingham just lost it's arts funding, libraries, the lot. Wake up. This can happen anywhere during a time when the gateway of the industry are at severe risk.
Incidentally, Birmingham Music Awards were exciting for alternative artists, venues, producers etc because the attendees of grassroots venues had a connection.
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| The scene of Autumn 2023's Joyzine Weekender - a beautiful space |
There's room for all size of shows but it's the small spaces that are the best places. Especially as there are affordable and recommended live performances that belong on bigger stages.
From CMU - Complete Music Update, February 2024
“The live music industry reached new heights in 2023, and demand for live music continues to build", declares Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino alongside those impressive stats. "Our digital world empowers artists to develop global followings, while inspiring fans to crave in-person experiences more than ever".
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| Music TV Heritage: The Tube, Newcastle upon Tyle |
03 - Tiny dots on a globe, Britain Ireland can remain arts/sports world class.
The year of researching a Music Tourist Board for the people ends on 7th March 2024. So much apprecation to Jean Genie, Dizzy, Cait, Nima, more... + the interdependent circuit and the many chats and social media exchanges with believers, shaping this project.
One conclusion is that the Interdependent Sector have evolved, through necessity beyond lo-fi "DIY" start ups to being recognised Self Motivated Music Professionals for the services that they deliver. Investment and hire of this sector is welcomed and advised as they have skills, knowledge, experience, connections and results - but are often still skint.
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| Named after an Ash song, the Oh Yeah Centre can do no wrong! |
All things bright and beautiful, all festivals great and small
All things wild and wonderful - arts talents made them all...
Themes of 2024: "Festivals need to diversify their headliners by inviting new acts to fill the stage." Repeated Headliners And Lad Culture - (godisinthetvzine.co.uk)
It's all well and good recycling heritage artists as ticket selling headliners, that is business survival sense, for everything but human biology suggests that we die out as we age. Leave a good legacy, everybody. Take chances. Raise the starter game otherwise we're just playing Snakes & Adders, not Snakes & Ladders.
Increase the newcomers so that the average age drops below 60 to 40. Not a big stretch, not ageist to the beloved careers or even the newcomers in their 40s and 50s who it took longer to break because 21st century.
A circuit of starter level media/industry are living the newer wave of music industrious reality as allies of the artists - some building relationships which bloom. There are a swathe of brill teens to flick that switch quickly. See ALT BLK ERA from Nottingham which has just lost local venue, The Chameleon.
I am writing this on 24/2/24. A valid tweet from a musician who was on the conversation panel at Featured Artists Coalition end of year social.
getcapewearcapefly @forgetcape : "It’s important not to conflate economic/ecosystem crisis with consumer choice. Region is such a large factor for why there are many festivals with similar line ups, they’re 100s of miles away and millions of willing people who just can’t afford culture in the same way they could"04 - MTB activity was born in New Cross.
Since lockdown alone have seen the seeds of Whitelands, Noah And The Loners, The Molotovs, Hotwax, Wynona Bleach, Enjoyable Listens oh just more more more in Amersham Arms where pre Nova Twins, SE13 Records ran All Ages shows and SetMixer began their free MP3 stem recordings to artists venture. Grassroots venues are community centres of the Almost (almost) Famous experience being lived as real time rock opera. Feels like yesterday seeing Fontaines DC along the road with Roger Kent of Kent (Kick Out The Jams)
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| Personally, feels like stepping into civilisation inside a grassroots music venue |
05 - How do we entice the music fans who are willing to shell out loads of money for bigger concerts to adventure for personal and affordable new sensations to support new artists/small venues?
This is not as crazy as it sounds for the internet playlists fuse the now and next seamlessly.
Without supporting BBC Introducing, X-posure (John Kennedy of Radio X is also host and DJ of his own grassroots music monthly, The Remedy), Amazing Radio and a plethora of independents who will give air time to the freshers? These shows are a basic gig guide. I wish that local TV programming had just three minutes to recommend live music star turn bargains.
Post the double bombing Brexit and lockdown, new heroes keep rising despite everything, like Nature fuels their Supernature with larger songs. Magick. How are fans singing all the words to artists most have never heard of? Travelling miles for a gig in a space under 300 capacity? There's also no weekly music press these days but again, interdependence is chattering amidst itself as per ancient jungle telegraph.
06 - Power to THE PEOPLE
Music Tourist Board year long viability research began 14th March 2023. I was at the British Music Embassy in Austin Texas, down the front awaiting Brooke Combe's set. A grin was exchanged when spotting Mark Davyd of Music Venue Trust who were later a SXSW Party moment of their own.
Scruff Of The Neck's ATX showcase included Essex punk youth dem, BILK. Fast forward to February 2024 where the band sold out their Rough Trade East show in hours for ASBO Magazine ("The Street In Print") where they graced the front cover courtesy of Brandon Hepworth's photography.
The ASBO Music and TV Directors are both regulars at interdependent gigs and musicians in their own right. The glossy physical magazine is distributed internationally at record shops. Flying off shelves, it is.
Let Self Motivated Music Professionals represent - they are a newer infrastructure rising.
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| It can all work if we work at the work! |
07 - 14th March 2024. Is a Music Tourist Board for the people viable?
Yes. Day 1 it is, then.
As Coventry has Music Tourism AND uniqulture recognised with the 2Tone Museum already, then a key recommendation is a trip to City Of London's weirding world, The Barbican.
From the Caribbean to Coventry
Plotting the Rise of 2Tone
Fri 12 Jan—Sat 25 May 2024 at Barbican Library
Music Venue Trust have become a vitual movie of what they started out as - the ticket levy on large scale shows is such a fair, obvious and key idea. Enter Shikari legacy boomed, also. Inspirational
Feedback to this article will be part of Zeenagers Expo
09 - Connect the dots.
- What does your local MP say about the rates of grassroots music venues?
- What does a true government or arts body action towards ticket rates and fees?
- How can the local brewery assist (and be assisted) with stupidly high drink prices?
- Why the fck are the heads of the majors so quiet?
- Where are the local affordable billboards to invite residents to have fun?
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| #FootballMusic - VIP lounge of Manchester City Etihed Stadium with Music Industry CUP Soccer Six |
10 - On Side!
Featured Artists Coalition are an inclusive space for artists at every level (at their end of 2023 AGM and the panel chaired by Andrew Trendall of NME), the unsigned/unknown mingled and conversed with the profiled and well known. The conversations have already led forward.
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| Audience: David Martin (head of FAC), on stage Dave Rowntree (Blur) viewed from sitting behind multi talents BISHI and Cerise (who would both take to the stage as part of the evening) |
Article: Artists on the challenges of 2023 and hopes for 2024:
"I just want to get paid" (nme.com)
11 - Urgently
Too many Independent Music Festivals are falling like dominoes when this is where you are more likely to find up and coming star turns as future headliners. Music Tourist Board repped at the launch of Decolonise Fest in 2016 and at the inaugural Cro Cro Land Festival in 2019. Both are blueprints of new ways in working wonderful worlds with beautiful people (and, incidentally, working class femme force fronted).
Amy Lame of BBC 6Music (and Night Tzar of London) just tweeted the poster for Cro Cro Land at Stanley Arts in SE25 which graces the weekend of 13th and 14th April with a select forty acclaimed names.
The Decolonise Fest On Tour date of Saturday 30th March in Birmingham, even more poignant now for the arts hearts. Big up PRS!
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| Tickets via Decolonise Fest: On Tour - | DICE |
12 - Repping to positive feedback:
Music Tourist Board also minxed at the Women In CTRL 2024 report launch a month ago - again artist and allies from every level repping together exchanging ideas and contacts. Diverse gatherings raise the game from the stale pale male olde wayes to Britain Ireland maintaining a decades long, hard won global Entertainments Reputation and Economy and leading hope for school children and long timers alike.
A government that is on the side of the nation will do everything it can to recognise the positive impact and importance (to education, employment, social collusion and rebuilding the environmentally aware and kinder if eccentric force of Nature that we are. Ask imaginative children of all generations. We can do this.
#musictourism for the people will work if given the chance. Trickle down never does, how about the rich water the seeds and see how it trickles up. #FertileEnvironment is proof. Imagine THAT with wider recognition! Tax the rich, save our health/schools/homes and let talent
2004 NME acknowledgeS "Music Tourist Board"
2024 Music Tourist Board acknowledges itself
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| Power To The People. Trending on Twitter, Saturday 24th February 2024 |
