| Cornbury Festival set for sale |
OXFORDSHIRE’S 20,000-capacity Cornbury Festival is expected to be sold after this year’s event, as founder Hugh Phillimore seeks to reduce his workload.
In addition to promoting the 11-12 July event, Phillimore runs corporate event organiser Sound Advice and manages Irish artiste Imelda May.
“As much as I would like Cornbury to remain independent, we are such a small set-up and it is so huge – along with all the other work – that I would like to do a deal in about September,” he tells LIVE UK.
(see the full story in Issue 114)
| Festival relocates after site hopes are dashed |
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ORGANISERS OF sold-out 10,000-capacity Beach Break Live festival (BBL) were forced to move the event’s location 322 miles from the expected site a week before gates were due to open, when the local authority rejected an application for planning permission despite having granted a licence.
Co-promoter Outgoing says it spent thousands of pounds on legal fees trying to overturn the decision by Cornwall County Council’s Planning Committee after its 27 May meeting refused permission for the 16-19 June festival to take place at St Agnes.
“We believe we resolved all the grounds on which permission was rejected and appealed to the council’s Chief Executive, but on 8 June he declined to overturn the committee’s decision,” says Outgoing MD Gareth Cooper
(see the full story in Issue 114)
Fans ‘pay 53 per cent above face value for auction site tickets’ |
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TICKETS SOLD on unauthorised outlets cost on average 64 per cent above face value, according to a study by security company G4S Events.
Although sports fans are paying the highest mark-up at 71 per cent above face value, music fans pay on average 53 per cent, the research shows. .
(see the full story in Issue 114)
Company paws the drinks for brand |
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DRINKS BRAND Jägermeister has hired experiential agency Big Cat to project manage its nationwide festival representation, which will see two branded transforming trucks attend events such as Sonisphere (cap. 50,000) and Wakestock (15,000).
The trucks, which were at the 80,000-capacity Download in June, turn into a stage and bar area which includes a VIP viewing platform, a bar and a 12kw sound system and computer games.
(see the full story in Issue 114)
Isle of Wight festival ‘worth £15m to local businesses’ |
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THE ISLE of Wight Festival is worth £15 million to the local economy, tourism analysts say, with local businesses benefiting from spending by both festival-goers and the event’s organisers.
Around £10 million is spent in shops by people attending the 50,000-capacity festival and £5 million by promoter Solo, according to John Metcalfe, Isle of Wight Council's assistant director for economic development and tourism.
(see the full story in Issue 114)
| Online concert database set to expand |
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LIVE MUSIC website Songkick is expanding with the aim of providing the largest database of past and forthcoming concerts online, including photos, reviews and posters.
The site, which is funded through angel investors, aggregates listings on upcoming shows through information from a number of ticketing companies.
(see the full story in Issue 114)
| Lord adds to pressure on government to amend the Licensing Act |
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LIB DEM peer Lord Tim Clement Jones is to introduce a Private Members’ Bill which aims to “clean up the bureaucratic minefield of the Licensing Act” by introducing an exemption for small venues wanting to host performances.
Announcing his intention in the House of Lords, Lord Clement-Jones explained that the three-part bill would also include a re-introduction of the two-in-a-bar rule, which exempts venues from needing a licence if no more than two people are performing.
(see the full story in Issue 114)
| Summit profile for gods of production |
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WITH HUGE Madonna and U2 shows trekking around the globe, a special focus at industry conference LIVE UK The Summit, set for 7-8 October, will fall on the country’s production sector.
Many of the UK’s sound, light, staging and audio-visual companies are rated as world leaders and so The Summit will devote several main and secondary sessions to the people and companies that enable artistes to entrance their audiences.
(see the full story in Issue 114)
| Renowned DJ expands festival offering |
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AS PART of an expansion of the range of entertainment on offer, Oxfordshire’s 4,500-capacity Truck festival will feature a stage programmed by BBC Radio 2 DJ “Whispering” Bob Harris.
The radio veteran has picked acts including Mike Heron & Georgia Seddon, Angie Palmer and Pete Molinari, which Truck founder Robin Bennett says represents quite a change from the usual artistes performing at the festival.
(see the full story in Issue 114)
Trade body takes aim at live events |
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THE ASSOCIATION of Independent Music (AIM) has organised a week of concerts by artistes on some of its member record labels in order to mark Independents Day.
Live Nation is promoting and handling production of each of the shows, with the acts picked by Ninja Tune, Beggars Banquet, Bella Union and Fat Cat / One Little Indian.
The 6-10 July shows at the 400-capacity ICA in London aspire to draw attention to the work of independent music companies, says AIM chairman Alison Wenham.
(see the full story in Issue 114)
| Week of rock moves to Forum |
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Kerrang! Magazine’s Week of Rock, which sees big-name acts perform intimate gigs, has changed format from 11 gigs at Barfly (cap. 200) and ULU (900) to five nights at the HMV Forum (cap. 2,350).
Acts are picked by the magazine staff and production is handled by MAMA Group.
We were trying to do something a little different this year,” says Kerrang! editor Paul Brannigan. “The Barfly and ULU have been great venues in the past years but we wanted to mix things up a little.”
(see the full story in Issue 114)
| Renewed energy for the Garage |
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MAMA GROUP has signed a deal with Coca-Cola energy drink brand Relentless which includes naming rights to London’s The Garage (cap. 600/150/50), a branded stage at the 25,000-capacity Lovebox festival and a pouring deal across all Barfly and Mean Fiddler venues.
In what is initially a three-year agreement, The Relentless Garage will also host monthly shows organised by the brand.
(see the full story in Issue 114)
| La Roux goes in for the kill with joined-up MAMA strategy |
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LA ROUX will be the first artiste to use HMV’s multi-strand record release promotions services established following the company’s entry into live music in January (see LIVE UK, issue 109).
As well as having her debut self-titled album – which features single In For The Kill – marketed in-store and online, the artiste will perform at the 2,350-capacity HMV Forum in London, which is owned by the retailer and MAMA Group through their Mean Fiddler Group joint venture.
(see the full story in Issue 114)
| The View help venue out of the doghouse |
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DUNDEE VENUE The Doghouse has re-opened earlier than expected after local act The View stepped into headline a fundraising event in the city.
The 350-capacity venue was closed by Dundee City Council earlier this year apparently due to unpaid business rates.
“We originally thought we would have to have three fundraisers to raise the money to get us back on our feet, but when The View said they would help out it really changed everything,” says Sarah Hill, who took over the venue in 2004.
(see the full story in Issue 114)
| Big Green Gathering signs first sponsorship deal |
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THE BIG Green Gathering (BGG) – believed to be Europe’s largest eco-friendly festival – has signed its first commercial sponsorship deal in order to help cover the security costs which almost bankrupted the event in 2007.
Walls’ ice cream is the first brand to be associated with the 29 July-2 August event, which has traditionally shied away from such agreements.
“We looked at the criteria for sponsors very carefully,” says BGG director Penny Kemp. “We felt happy to work with Walls because lots of families come to the event and so it was the right thing to offer.
(see the full story in Issue 114)
| Wickerman chases younger crowd |
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THE WICKERMAN Festival, running from July 24-25 in Dumfries and Galloway, is targeting younger audiences this year through a student marketing campaign.
The 10,000-capacity event – which closes with the burning of a 40-foot wicker effigy as in the cult film of the same name – has hired youth marketing company Making Waves Communications to reach out to the under 25s.
(see the full story in Issue 114)
| Rock history site set for growth |
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THE FOUNDER of a website which lists the musical history of Wiltshire from past concerts to the county’s famous sons and daughters says he is poised to expand the resource.
Journalist Johnny Black put together Rocksource Wiltshire from a database of modern musical history which he started when writing Mojo magazine’s Time Machine section in the early ’90s.
(see the full story in Issue 114)
| Wright returns to promoting with plans for new venue |
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FOLLOWING THE closure of Leicester venue The Charlotte (cap. 400) in February, manager Andy Wright has returned to live music as an independent promoter.
Wright partly blamed Birmingham and Nottingham drawing audiences away from the city (see LIVE UK, issue 109) as the reason for The Charlotte’s demise, and is now booking shows into the city’s 200-capacity Sumo Bar, the 300-seat Y Theatre and The Musician (cap. 220).
(see the full story in Issue 114)
| New Academy to open in September |
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THE NEW O2 Academy Birmingham opens in September following a £5 million refurbishment of the former Dome nightclub.
The three-room venue (cap. 3,009, 600 and 250) will replace the Academy Music Group (AMG) venue’s current home, which is due to be knocked down for development.
“Having varying capacities means we can support new acts on their first live dates,” says venue general manager Andy MacDonald. “In 2008, MGMT played all three of our venues within nine months. It’s always great to see bands return, progressing through their careers and playing to a larger audience each time”
(see the full story in Issue 114)
| Stately home’s rock fest debut |
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WARWICKSHIRE STATELY home Ragley Hall is to host a contemporary music festival within its grounds for the first time in the form of 8,000-capacity Monarchy Live on 4 July, with three music arenas and a main stage.
As well as 6,000 standard tickets there are 1,000 VIP tickets, and 1,000 VVIP passes available, which provide access to some exclusive performances and areas not open to general admission.
(see the full story in Issue 114)
| Theatre expands venue group’s portfolio |
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OWNERS OF Newcastle Upon Tyne venues The Cluny (cap. 250) and The Head of Steam (90) have added to their portfolio.
Situated next to The Cluny, The Cluny 2 is a 160-capacity former theatre which manager Julian Ive says will be used for plays, comedy, jazz and other music more suited to a seated format.
(see the full story in Issue 114)
| Trucking company expands |
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TRUCKING COMPANY KB Event has opened a new depot in Surrey’s East Molesey, not far from its current Wimbledon operation.
The second depot will be headed by operations manager Terry Banks and will operate initially with 10 vehicles, while the Wimbledon base will have five rigid trucks.
(see the full story in Issue 114)
| Julie’s Bicycle measures the miles |
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NEARLY THREE quarters of music fans attending a greenfield-site festival in the UK travelled there by car, while over half were unaware that they could get to sites by public transport.
These are two of the findings to emerge from Jam Packed, the first part of a study by the music industry environmental pressure group Julie’s Bicycle (JB), aimed at informing future strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions arising from travel to concerts.
(see the full story in Issue 114)
| Seatwave secures more funding |
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TICKET RESALE site Seatwave says it has defied the economic downturn by raising almost £10.5 million in a fourth round of private investor funding.
The news comes as the company announces a revenue rise of 2,203 per cent in the three year period since it was first launched and collects an award from internet industry monitors GP Bullhound Media Momentum as the fastest growing digital company in Europe of 2009.
(see the full story in Issue 114)
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