FEATURE:
Smalltown Heroes
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Independent Venue Week 2020
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IF you need an event to make your January…
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warmer and more interesting, look ahead to Independent Venue Week - It runs from 27th January to 2nd February in the U.K. If you are not aware of what the week entails and what it is about, here is some more information:
“Independent Venue Week is a 7-day celebration of music venues around the country and a nod to the people that own, run and work in them, week in, week out.
These venues give artists their first experience of playing live in front of an audience. They give fans somewhere to get up close to artists that one day, may well be playing stadiums and festival main stages. They also provide those wanting a career in music, off the stage, the chance to learn their craft up close in a small venue.
Independent Venue Week is unique in that it is a nationwide initiative with a completely local feel.
By championing these venues, we are able to highlight why they are so much more than just places for live music – they are cultural hubs for learning, creativity, arts and culture more widely in the local community for people from all walks of life.
Supported using public funding by Arts Council England, Wales and Creative Scotland in the UK as well as the wider music industry and brands globally, Independent Venue Week brings together these venues along with breaking and established artists, promoters, labels, media and tastemakers to create a nationwide series of gigs.
These venues, all local businesses, are the backbone of the live music scene and Independent Venue Week recognises all that they have done to create some of the most memorable nights of the past so they can continue to do the same in the future”.
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We are coming up to a week where venues around the country will be celebrated and put under the spotlight. We are living in a time when so many great artists are emerging; music is busier than ever and, because of that, we need our precious venues. So many of the great artists you hear on the radio are where they are and get to your ears because they have played venues, got that attention and found an audience. It is rare for any artist t avoid performing and make a success of things on their own – it does happen, but most recording artists perform live and use that as a platform. Venues are the lifeblood of communities; they are places we can bond and feel the same; we can feel alive and lost at the same time and get to see artists at the very start. There is something exciting watching an artist perform at a smaller venue and, years later, hearing them on the radio – in the knowledge you saw them before they got big. Even at a time when streaming and digital music is dominating, there is still a huge thirst for live music. Every year, we see beloved venues closing for a number of reasons. In some cases, there are noise complaints but, a lot of the time, it is because of lack of funding and high rent costs forcing venues to close their doors.
Anna Calvi, Ambassador for Independent Venue Week this year, is someone who understands the importance of venues – she also knows how under-supported and under-funded they are:
“Britain’s independent music venues should receive the same reverence and support as the ballet or opera, according to the musician Anna Calvi and the organisers behind a week-long initiative to promote the UK’s smaller concert halls.
Calvi, a three-time Mercury music prize nominee, told the Guardian that venues which predominantly focus on live music – and helped contribute £1.1bn to the UK economy in 2018 – need to be protected at a time when a third of smaller venues report they are struggling.
She said: “Just because it’s music that is played with guitars, why is it any different to a place like the ballet or opera? Other areas of the creative industry might have slowed down, but people are still going to gigs.”
Calvi, who is an ambassador for Independent Venue Week, added that investment in venues should be seen as a long-term project, which allows talent to develop. “There might only be 150 people in the room at the time at those early gigs, but those artists could go anywhere from there,” she said. “Playing smaller venues was instrumental for me to becoming the artist I am now.”
In February 2018, the UK’s first ever music venue census found that a third of Britain’s small venues outside London were struggling, with respondents identifying rampant property development and soaring business rates as main issues. The value of Britain’s live music sector hit a record £1.1bn in the same year, with 11.2 million music tourists – those travelling from overseas or within the UK to get to live events”.
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Music venues are not only important to artists. From the venue’s staff to other businesses in a town/city, these spaces are essential. With each passing year, the importance of venues increases as artists look for somewhere to cut their teeth. I agree that more government funding needs to go to venues, as they are as important to our cultural landscape as ballet, theatre and film. I am not sure how much money is injected into the maintenance and survival of venues, but I cannot imagine it is that much at all. Independent venues are not only host to smaller artists. A lot of big artists play these venues, and we need to make sure we protect these incredible buildings. Independent Venue Week is a perfect showcase for live music and how integral venues are to its popularity and importance. From articles outlining how venues are the lifeblood of communities through to artists providing their thoughts, there is a fear that a lot of inspiring venues will close or struggle in years to come. Not only would music be poorer without music venues, so many artists would not even exist or be able to get their music heard. Let’s hope the emergence of so much great talent forces the government into committed funded. When Independent Venue Week is upon us and we can see these venues (and their staff) shine, it will, one hopes, awaken politicians to give venues…
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THE support they need and deserve.