G e n e r a t o r
The M
e t a project brings together music makers and workers across the British Isles!
A u d i e n c e s
W h a t K
e e p s T
h e m A
w a y
META
AUDIENCE
RESEARCH
by Dave Cross
Generator commissioned an extensive research programme to
find out what prevented people from attending gigs.
REPORT TO
GENERATOR NORTH EAST LIMITED
AUDIENCE
DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
VENUE
AND PROMOTERS
PERCEPTIONS OF LIVE MUSIC EVENTS IN THE NORTH OF ENGLAND
PREPARED BY: SCOTINFORM LTD
15TH JUNE 2000
CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION
2 RESEARCH
APPROACH
RESEARCH
FINDINGS:-
3 - Perceptions
of Live Popular Music Events
4 - Impact
of Live Music Events on Attendance at Venues
5 - Support
for venues
6 - Views
of What Makes a Successful Event
7 - Levels
of Income Generated by Live Music Events
8 - Barriers
to Attendance at Live Music Events
9 - Marketing
of Events
10 - Perceptions
of Outside Music Festivals
11 - Perceptions
of Support Provided by Local Authorities
12 CONCLUSIONS
13 RECOMMENDATIONS
14 Appendix One: List of
Interviewees
INTRODUCTION
This report
presents the findings from a qualitative research study
conducted amongst promoters of live popular music and
venue owners/managers. The aim of the research study was
to look at attitudes to and perceptions of the live
popular music industry in the North of England amongst
large and mid-scale venues as well as pubs, clubs and art
centres. In particular the research study aimed to look
at the following aspects:-
 the impact
of live popular music on venues
marketing of
live popular music events
barriers to
attendance at venues
levels of
support provided by local authorities, breweries etc
RESEARCH APPROACH
A total of 12 personal interviews were conducted
with a random sample of promoters and venue
owners/managers based in the North of England during
March/April 2000. The sample was broken down into the
following areas:
Newcastle
upon Tyne
Sunderland
Middlesborough
Durham
Cumbria
The aim of the survey was to interview a good cross
section of venues and music promoters. The three largest
venues interviewed were the University of Newcastle,
which has two venues one of 1200; and the other holding
300 people; and the University of Northumbria,
which has a venue capacity of 1200; and Sunderland
University which holds 1000 people. All of these
venues are easily accessible and situated near to public
transport links.
Other smaller venues interviewed consisted of pubs,
clubs, art centres and Council owned premises, all of
which offered a good programme of live music events.
RESEARCH
FINDINGS
Perceptions
of live popular music events
Live popular music was considered by all
interviewees to be flourishing within the North of
England. The closure of two of the largest venues in
Newcastle City Centre - the Riverside and Mayfair,
has meant that many smaller venues such pubs and clubs
have filled the gap by providing their own programme of
live music events.
Many of the pubs and clubs interviewed had invested in
their premises by designing a purpose built stage for
live music. Although venues were actively developing a
good music scene they shared the view that there were
less “grass roots” bands coming through with
more tribute and mainstream bands performing to an older
audience.
Most of the venues interviewed stated that they found it
more difficult to attract a younger audience than an
older one. This is mainly due to the fact that there is
now much more in the way of entertainment for younger
people, other than attending live music performances, and
that there were few good, quality new bands coming
through from which to choose.
Young people can now watch a band playing live on
television or over the Internet.
With the exception of students, young people in the North
East of England have a strong preference for attending
pubs and clubs at weekends and are more likely to be
drawn to a venue, which has a good DJ/dance night than a
venue that is promoting live music. A small number of
venues stated that the most effective way of encouraging
a younger audience to visit the venue was to hold club
nights (DJs and dance nights) and cross-over nights. Most
of the pubs and clubs interviewed included dance nights
in their programme of events. The Cornerhouse in
Middlesborough, Buddy Milligans and the Mercury
Lounge in Carlisle, and Monroes Bar in
Workington all make a point of including new young bands
in their programme of events whenever possible, and rely
on the bands to bring a new younger audience to the
venue. The Cornerhouse had 250 bands performing
at the venue during 1999 and can attract around 300
people per night. The venue has live bands performing on
two nights per week, mainly at weekends and hopes to
increase the number of performances to include weekday
nights. Buddy Milligans had 60 performances
within a 5-month period. Monroes Bar in
Workington holds a music workshop each Saturday morning
to encourage interest in live music amongst school
children. Both of these venues have live music
performances three nights per week consisting of jazz,
blues, folk and popular music.
Venues and promoters tended to have a maximum of three
bands performing each week mainly on Thursday, Friday and
Saturday evening. Midweek audiences were difficult to
attract, mainly due to the fact that people in the North
of England have limited disposable income and tend to
wait until the weekend to spend their money on
entertainment. Also poor late night transportation links
to the more rural areas has meant that people are less
likely to venture into the City Centre on a weekday.
The success of a new band is in general determined by how
the band performs on the night and how it interacts with
the audience. Interviewees were of the view that the
music industry in the North of England will gain greater
support this year with the Newcastle 2000 Music
Festival which will be held during May 2000.
Impact of live music on attendance at venues
The closure of the Mayfair in Newcastle
City Centre has meant that attendance at events held at
the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and Northumbria
University has increased.
Newcastle University held 53 shows during the
30-week university period, two shows per week. This
included music, drama and comedy events, with one event
held midweek.
The University
of Northumbria hosted 12 open shows per year at the
Student Union. These events were open to both students
and the general public. However, open events that include
the general public are limited, as they require a special
licence from the City Council.
Local bands
play at Sunderland University every Saturday
night in a small venue holding around 80 people.
Sunderland University also attracts big name touring
bands, which play to a much larger audience. However, the
venue manager stated that 60% of their programme of
events consists of DJ/dance nights and 40% live music. He
felt that it was easier to generate interest in a DJ
night than for live music performances and that lack of
interest in live music in Sunderland stems from the fact
that there are few good venues where new bands can
perform.
The
demographic profile of students is changing, with more
local students staying at home to attend university and
only affluent students moving away from home. This has
resulted in the university venues competing with local
city centre venues with which students are familiar and
who also promote live popular music. The universities
felt that the provision of more open licenses would
provide them with a competitive edge in terms of
attracting big name bands.
Smaller venues such as pubs and clubs were keen to
increase customer loyalty by introducing live popular
music to their venue. Live music was also seen as a good
way of advertising the venue through word of mouth,
flyers and posters. Most of the venues interviewed were
experimenting in different types of music including jazz,
rock, reggae and indie as this enabled the venue to
attract a good mixture of customers in terms of gender
and age who would then revisit the venue on other
occasions.
Word of mouth recommendation was regarded as particularly
important to venues such as The Cluny, which is
not based in a city centre location.
Most venues introduce a cover charge for live music
events. This is mainly to cover the cost of the hire of
the band, hire of PA and lighting. The venue needs to
ensure that the band will attract a new audience to the
venue in order to generate an increase in turnover.
Support for Venues
Venues that have a regular programme of live
music events are more likely to attract free publicity
through local radio stations and newspapers than those
venues that do not offer live music performances.
However, there was the view that breweries and drinks
companies were less likely to support live popular music
events than DJ/dance nights.
The decision to hold a live popular music event was taken
by license holder rather than the brewery. Very few live
music events were linked to promotional nights supported
by a brewery or drinks company. Venues would welcome
support by the breweries or drinks companies in order to
increase the number of live events held at the venue.
The role of Generator was seen as a vehicle to showcase
new bands, support music festivals as well as venues
within the region that have a programme of live music
events. Generator was regarded as a useful lobbying group
particularly regarding support from local Councils.
Most of the venues interviewed were not sure of the range
of support provided by Generator to small and mid-scale
venues. Many would welcome advice and support with
marketing of music events and also felt that more support
was needed to increase the number of good quality new
bands.
View of what makes a successful event
The success of a live popular music event was
largely down to the enthusiasm of the venue owner/manager
or the venue promoter. Interviewees who had been involved
with live popular music for a long time and who
understood the industry tended to be more successful in
attracting new bands and in creating a lively and well
known venue.
A good event also relied on the charisma of band in terms
of their visual appearance and ability to perform to the
audience. A number of venues mentioned that they had come
across some poor quality bands that did not interact with
the audience and therefore did not stimulate any interest
in the music performed.
Bands that do not perform well tend not to attract a good
audience and are often not asked back by the venue. The
appearance of and atmosphere in the venue is also
considered an important factor in attracting audiences. A
number of venues interviewed had recently improved the
design and decor of the venue in order to attract new
customers and more bands.
Successful venues tend to be those which have a purpose
built stage for live bands to perform. Mercury Lounge
in Carlisle is a new café/bar venue, established in
September 1999. The owner has recently redesigned the
venue to include a small stage for live music and a dance
floor for dance/DJ nights. The venue has seen an increase
in its customer base since introducing live music.
Another new venue, The Cluny based in Newcastle,
was set up 8 months ago as a bar with a venue attached.
The venue hosts a complete mixture of live music such as
reggae, dance and rock and includes a regular jazz night
once a month. The programme of live music is still at an
experimental stage and will be reviewed at the end of the
year but there has been an increase in the number of
customers to the bar since the programme of live music
was introduced. The venue hopes to gain a late night
license by the end of the year, which will benefit
dance/DJ nights. The venue manager at The Cluny feels
that since the Riverside in Newcastle closed there are a
significant number of people interested in live music who
are seeking out smaller venues to see live shows.
A significant number of interviewees, particularly
promoters felt that there were not enough suitable venues
for live bands to perform in the North of England. Some
mid-scale venues have had to turn down shows, which can
create a poor image amongst promoters of touring bands.
The smaller pub and club venues that took part in the
interview programme also stated that they were inundated
with calls from bands wishing to perform and they did not
feel that there was enough venues willing to showcase new
bands. Of the venues interviewed none had to advertise
for live bands to play at their venue, although the
quality of some new bands was lacking. Most venues that
had a regular programme of live music attracted bands
from all over the country and overseas.
The main difficulty experienced by venues was marketing
live music nights to a wider audience than their local
area. A successful venue was regarded as one, which was
committed to promoting live music and committed to
showcasing local bands.
Levels of income generated by live music events
All interviewees agreed that live popular music events do
generate additional income to a venue as a result of an
increase in turnover at the bar. However, most venues
stated that they tended to break even on live music night
after deducting the cost of the band, PA and lighting.
Ticket prices were generally set to cover the cost of
hiring the band as well as the price the market would
bear.
Younger audiences are more price sensitive than older
audiences therefore live events that aim to attract a
younger audience were generally considered loss leaders
in terms of revenue generated.
Events aimed at young people were regarded by venue
owners/managers as a good method of advertising the venue
to young people as well as encouraging future attendance.
For live performing music events ticket prices varied
depending on the type of band. Ticket prices that were
set by national promoters and range from £10-£12
whereas ticket prices for unknown bands or local bands
were priced between £4 -£6 per ticket. DJ nights and
cross over nights were regarded as good income generators
and can increase turnover at venues by around 30%. This
is mainly due to the fact that overhead costs were less,
a number of venues increase drink prices for DJ and
crossover nights and that licensing hours tend to be
longer. Also customers remain at the venue for the entire
evening and spend more money as a result.
The venue manager at Sunderland University stated that it
was more difficult to sell tickets for live music events
than for a DJ night. A £5 admission fee for a DJ night
would be sold out within a matter of days whereas a £7
ticket to see a live band would take longer to sell and
the venue would either break even or make a loss.
Barriers to attendance at events
1.
Marketing: promotion
of events appeared to be the main barrier to attendance.
Most of the venues interviewed had a limited marketing
budget that tended to be spent locally. Flyers and
posters for local events at venues tended to be of a low
quality, usually a photocopy, as many venues did not have
the budget to produce glossy posters or leaflets.
2.
Transportation: limited
late night and rural transportation was a problem for all
venues across the North of England, particularly in
attracting customers to midweek events.
3. Licensing
Laws: for the
university venues one of the main problems was the lack
of licenses for open events at the venue which included
the general public. All venues felt that better licensing
laws would ensure that customers remain on the premises
and can enjoy their evening at a more leisurely pace,
resulting in a more profitable and enjoyable event.
4.
Competitive Entertainment:
with so much entertainment available for young people,
including the internet and digital television, that
current audiences are reluctant to attend events by local
or unknown bands. Audiences are now more sophisticated in
their choice of venue therefore venues need to invest in
improvements to their premises in order to attract new
customers.
5.
Environment: the general
public is more likely to attend live performances at
venues, which they feel safe and comfortable. A number of
venues have invested in improving the image of the venue
and developing a good music scene in order to attract new
customers.
6. Type of
Music: pub
audiences attending live music events are becoming older
and as such tend to be less interested in bands that
perform original material. As more tribute bands are
playing in bars there was the view that some music events
are “dumbing down” musical tastes to the extent
that even if the live music event is free, it is unlikely
to attract a large audience if the band is playing
original material.
Marketing of events
Events were promoted either on a national level
by event promoters or locally by the venue. National
advertising is mainly though advertisements in the New
Musical Express and Melody Maker or
listings in magazines. The main sources of local
advertising is largely though the Crack magazine
or local newspapers, radio.
Word of mouth is also one of the main methods of
promoting events as is posters in shops and pubs.
A number of venues had mailing lists of people to whom
they send promotional material about forthcoming bands.
One venue in Carlisle used radio coverage to promote
events at their venue as well as producing a leaflet for
distribution amongst customers.
The interview programme highlighted the fact that venues,
which were committed to the promotion of live music, were
actively marketing events at their premises. However,
budget constraints meant that marketing material tended
to be of a low quality and appeared unprofessional. Some
of the smaller venues offered a two for one voucher to
encourage support at live gigs particularly those held
midweek.
Most of the posters prepared by the venues tended to be
photocopies rather than professional glossy posters.
However, posters and flyers produced by music promoters
were much more professional, using full colour images.
The name of the band was the main emphasis of the poster
followed by the venue, date and time.
Venue organisers would also like to see more permanent
advertising sites within Newcastle City Centre.
Promotion of a national event tends to start six weeks
prior to the event whereas promotion of local bands tends
to start three weeks prior to the event. All interviewees
felt that promotion of bands in the North of England
could be improved. They felt that there needed to be a
more cohesive marketing strategy to promote the live
music industry in the North of England as a whole.
Mid-scale and smaller venues do not have the resources to
advertise live music to a wider audience and rely on
Generator to increase awareness of the music scene across
the region. Smaller venues would welcome marketing
support from Generator. At present most of the smaller
venues adopted many different marketing approaches until
they achieve the most effective method for their venue.
They tend to work on their own with little outside
influence.
Marketing support for smaller venues from Generator could
be achieved through personal visits to venues to discuss
individual marketing requirements.
Seminars would also be a good way of informing smaller
venues of best practice in terms of marketing of events.
However, the cost of attending seminars could be seen as
a barrier for some venue owner/managers. The interview
programme highlighted the fact that many venues were
interested in discussing their marketing approach and
learning from other similar businesses.
Perceptions of outside music festivals
Open-air music festivals should be a good
showcase event for new bands by providing exposure to the
general public. However, some of the large festivals
tended to concentrate on big name bands in order to
attract interest. Festivals are promoted months in
advance through posters, radio and magazines.
Interviewees felt that those who attended gigs at venues
were as likely to attend an outside musical Festival as
the general public. If a band performs well at a Festival
event it will have a knock on effect in that it will
attract interest from the general public who will attend
performances at venues. Festivals are considered a good
way of encouraging non-attendees to attend gigs at
venues.
Interviewees were of the view that live music events
promoted by Generator including Newcastle 2000
Music Festival and Cumbrian Cream Festival were
good ways of promoting live music in the region. Open-air
music festivals also helped to highlight the fact that
many pubs and clubs throughout the region offer live
popular music as well as dance and DJ nights.
Perceptions of support provided by local
authorities
Perceptions of the support provided by local
authorities varied across the North of England. Venues in
Newcastle City Centre felt that the local authorities
were not as supportive as interviewees would have liked
and that late night transport from the City Centre to
outlying areas was considered to be poor.
Of particular concern amongst interviewees in Newcastle
was the lack of advertising space and the fact that fly
posters were not allowed.
Licensing of university venues was also considered poor
and needs to be addressed.
Interviewees were concerned about the impact of the new
licensing laws that allow pubs extended licenses and how
this will affect the balance between pubs and clubs in
the North of England. In Middlesborough, the local
council was considered to be very supportive and the Cornerhouse
venue had regular meetings with local council officials.
Late night transportation in Middlesborough was good and
customers did not have any problems attending events.
Interviewees in Cumbria also felt that local council
officials were supportive of their venue and were open to
suggestions to encourage live musical events. A number of
venues in the area had liquor licenses until midnight,
which helped to sustain a good atmosphere in the venue
and increase turnover at the bar.
A longer liquor license means that bands perform later
and that the venue can also include a DJ in its programme
of events as well as live music. A late liquor license
creates a comfortable atmosphere and customers are more
likely to remain in one place for the entire evening,
therefore generating more revenue for the venue.
CONCLUSIONS
The music
industry in the North of England was considered to be
healthy and flourishing. However, there was the view that
there were few good new bands coming through at grass
roots level.
Interviewees
felt that Newcastle, in particular had few mid-scale
venues and therefore were losing out to other cities that
could accommodate many more touring bands.
Interviewees
shared the view that there had recently been an explosion
of smaller venues now offering live music. Many pubs and
clubs had their own programme of live music, performed
mainly at weekends.
The two
university venues in Newcastle City Centre were the
largest venues interviewed. Both had seen an increase in
the number of touring bands that wish to hire their
facility due to the demise of the Mayfair.
The universities would welcome an increase in the number
of open licenses for which they can apply in order to
include the general public at events.
Most of the
venues interviewed provided a good mixture of music that
included jazz, reggae, indie and rock music.
Younger
people were considered to be more difficult to attract to
live popular music events and this was mainly due to the
fact that there was more choice of entertainment
available for young people and the fact that there were
few young bands on the live music circuit.
There was
the perception that as more tribute bands were playing in
pubs and clubs, audiences were becoming less experimental
in their taste in music and were less likely to attend a
live music performance by an unknown band.
The support
provided by City Councils varied across the region.
Interviewees in Middlesborough and Cumbria had a good
relationship with Council authorities, which were
considered helpful and supportive. However, in Newcastle
City Centre venues felt that the Council could be more
supportive by improving licensing laws and promotion
sites for advertising of events within the City.
Breweries or
drinks companies sponsored few live music events.
Sponsorship tended to be for dance/DJ nights, which were
considered to be more lucrative in terms of the amount of
money taken at the bar.
It was
thought that breweries and drinks companies should be
more supportive of live music events, particularly cross
over nights. Venue owner/managers would be interested in
sponsorship of events in order to increase awareness of
the event and of the venue.
A successful
event relied on three elements: the performance of the
band; the atmosphere and appearance of the venue; and the
commitment of the venue owner/manager or music promoter.
Successful
venues tended to be those which had invested in their
premises, by providing a purpose built stage for bands to
play. Knowledge of the music industry and the enthusiasm
of the venue owner/manager were also important in
creating a good reputation.
The main
barriers to attendance at live music events were limited
marketing of events, poor transportation links in the
more rural parts of the region and current licensing
laws.
Marketing
and promotion of events varied depending on the budget
available and the expertise of the promoter or venue
owner/manager. Marketing of events at smaller venues such
as pubs tended to be of a low quality. Poster and flyers
were mainly photocopies that were distributed throughout
the local area. Music promoters adopted a more
sophisticated marketing approach by designing full colour
flyers and posters for distribution and advertising in
local and regional music magazines.
Interviewees
would welcome support from Generator in raising awareness
of music events in the North of England and to provide a
co-ordinated approach to attracting bands to the region,
as well as providing guidance to smaller venues on the
most effective methods of marketing live music events.
Open-air
festivals were considered to be a good way of introducing
live popular music to the general public and to show case
new bands. Events such as Newcastle 2000 Music
Festival and Cumbrian Cream Festival were
effective in raising awareness of live music events in
the region and of encouraging the general public to
attend venues which provided live music events.
Generator
was regarded as a useful lobbying group for the live
music industry in the North of England and a good vehicle
for raising awareness of live music through it support of
music festivals and development of new bands.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The research
study highlighted the need for support and development of
the live music industry in the North of England. This can
be achieved through a number of different ways:
Smaller
venues would benefit from sharing their experience with
more experienced venue promoters and industry experts.
One to one sessions with individual venues would be a
useful way to determine levels of commitment by each
venue to live music as well as defining the level of
support needed.
As smaller
venues were interested in finding out how other venues
promote live music events and what makes a successful
venue, a seminar on marketing and promotion of live gigs
would be a useful way to strengthen and developing the
music industry in different areas of the North of
England. A network of seminars should be held in
different areas across the North of England to address
issues specific to each area and venues should be
encouraged to share their “secrets of success”
with others.
The research
study highlighted the fact that many venues have tried a
number of different marketing approaches to increase
audience attendance at live popular music events. These
venues would benefit from discussions with experienced
promoters on channels of communication that they have
adopted and identifying the ones, which work well. In
addition topics such as design and layout of posters and
flyers would be of interest.
The live
music industry is generally quite a competitive
environment however, there is the view that venues need
to work together particularly in support of licensing
applications, improvement to transportation links and to
improve marketing of gigs.
Generator was considered to be the most likely
facilitator to ensure that venues work together across
the region.
Although
there would appear to be no shortage of bands wishing to
perform in the North of England the quality of new bands
and the number of suitable venues is an issue.
Interviewees were of the view that Generator should
continue to provide support to new bands in the form of
workshops and showcase gigs and continue to lobby for
better facilities in which live bands can perform.
In order to
work in collaboration with venues and promoters,
Generator should consider exploring the possibility of a
subscription fee levied on venues and promoters. This
would ensure commitment from venues and promoters to
training, development, marketing and lobbying support
provided by Generator.
APPENDIX
ONE
LIST
OF INTERVIEWEES
Daryl
Robinson - Newcastle University Sue
Collier - Northumbria University Andy
Fitzpartrick - Sunderland University Paul
Templeman - The Ropery,
Sunderland Graham Ramsay - The
Cornerhouse,
Middlesborough Richard
Myers Pete Ferry - Newcastle
Art Centre Davey Bruce - The
Cluny, Newcastle Dave Clark -
Buddy Milligans,
Carlisle Paul Sherwyn - Michael
Munro’s Bar,
Workington Barrie Sougal - Mercury
Lounge, Carlisle Jim Mawdsley
- Generator
The findings are presented on three linked pages and are
quite detailed and long reports
 Focus
groups of venue managers and promoters (THIS PAGE)
Focus
groups of audiences (attenders and potential attenders)
Interviews
with non-attenders
Return to
the META information resource Home Page META
This
research was undertaken by ScotInform. An established
research company based in Edinburgh.
For more information about this work, please contact Dave
Cross dave@generator.org.uk
We
hope to hear you soon!
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