|
The first META conference took place in
Feb 2001 |
Music as an element of life.
Ad hoc research suggests that music has a
significant role in the everyday life of >90% of the
population and consequently is not merely a matter of
economics, of aesthetics, cultural politics or education.
It is also a matter of Health, environment, personal
development, and .....
It would be appropriate for other bodies to include music
issues in their work agenda.
Lobby Central government.
META should lobby 10 Downing Street to resolve
issues arising from this sector. (excluding mainstream
pop) Regrettably, music seems not now to be in favour
there at present !
The non-commercial sector represents itself poorly to
policy makers and generally lacks research to justify its
claims.
Radio programming.
Inadequate provision for independent musics and
programming for specialist genres.
Recent licence allocations have not notably increased the
breadth of choice commensurate with a corresponding
breadth of taste.
Promoter Development.
The promotion of live music is an activity
generally undertaken by enthusiasts with a passion for
their music but with other demands of their time and
concentration (typically, running a bar!). Professional
development not only enhances the effectiveness of music
promotion but also equips the promoter with valuable
transferrable business skills, consequential audience
development, ability in venue and/or artist marketing and
an appreciation of the needs and opportunities common to
all workers in the sector - leading to the development of
an informal network of independent semi-professional
experts (rather than a fragmented industry with
inexperienced, poorly informed and sometimes impoverished
volunteer workers delivering the most important element
in the music industry after the practitioners
themselves).
Apply for funding from the Arts Council of England (ACE).
Now is the time to lobby for a bigger slice of
the funds available from Arts funders. The ACE budget is
substantially increased for the coming years. Announced
policy has explained that applicants that show a
professional ability to plan and deliver a programme of
work with significant partners in the sector will be
favoured. This does not correspond well with descriptions
of our highly fragmented and poorly defined and poorly
researched sector, but that impediment is also at the
core of bodies which do attempt to cohere the sector -
and MODAL and its delegates do form a viable expression
of the sector's coherence - Indeed this META project
underlines the ability of this fragmented sector to
express the sector's needs clearly (In the words of
MODAL's tag-line: "Many musics - One voice"
).
Difficult to develop a policy for rock and pop etc.
How could the sector share resources (funding,
expertise, information and other benefits) fairly?.
There are already examples of effective blanket policy
development having led to equitable resource sharing.
DX's favourite model is the Irish Federation of Music
Collectives which truly unites groups across the Island,
utterly transcending the political and economic barrier
of the Ulster / Republic border.
Passionate commitment, tenacity and research can achieve
much with adequate funding.
NO!
Fair distribution of available funds is not the
way to ensure sustainable improvement of the economic and
artistic health of the sector.
The
ACE expects a professional proposal.
The specific proposal that Richard Brown
(Cambridge County Council - project "Circuit
Breaker") believes could be extended to small
"cells" of developed skills across the country,
largely based on training through mentoring, is an
excellent example of a viable, well researched and
tested, professionally budgeted scheme which will provide
a geographically disperse base of live music experts.
Develop sustainability from innovation.
While prior approaches at supporting the sector
have had very limited success (ACE's New Audiences,
New Labour's AIM) Novel approaches may still
bear fruit. Proposals for the future must be carefully
developed to ensure that they are realistic (in terms of
budget, delivery, regulation and achievements), and,
being informed by previous initiatives in the UK and
elsewhere, earn a high degree of confidence in their
legacy.
Inform ALL Arts Councils and Boards just how
this sector works.
It is unreasonable to expect an arts funding
body to make a decision that seems reasonable to someone
who may have researched that funder's wishes, objectives
and intentions if that body has not been properly
informed from the sector. Research must remain a
priority. A sector analysis undertaken by MODAL is in
progress, much is already available in disparate
communities (eg Princes Trust's Mapping Hidden Talent
and some LA's) and from academics working in the sector
(notably IASPM and MusicPool [Liverpool]).
Regional emphasis.
The independent non-commercial music sector is
highly parochial and it is only reasonable that policy
should reflect that characteristic. Research, funding and
policy should be appropriate to the territory.
Skill development.
The sector is populated by individuals, often
working in spare time, in isolation, and driven by a
personal passion. Few other sectors (if any) work this
way (consider how this model would be viewed in the armed
forces or in, say, Railtrack - sorry!)
If that is the correct description of the sector, then
policy must be appropriate to that description - the
skill development of individuals will lead to coherent
unification simply through the possession of a common
skill-set in a common economic and cultural context.
Political theory explains the creation of macro
properties emerging from a community of many similarly
skilled micro behaviours.
Information networking and dissemination.
The independent non-commercial music sector is
highly parochial and it is only reasonable that policy
should reflect that characteristic. Research, funding and
policy should be appropriate to the territory.
Meet again.
This group (or something very much like it) must
meet again to sustain and develop the initiatives we are
proposing. [Editors note: there is a limit to what
Generator would want to pursue without ratification by a
consensus of some sort]. The META project has a
commitment to produce at least 2 more meetings.
It is hoped that the policy shaping and recipients will
also find merit in this work to ensure sustained
consultation between existing organisations and workers.
Define Genres.
It is frequently claimed that the difficulty in
defining the genres covered by this project (META), by
this seminar session and by our host conference (MODAL)
is an impediment to the support of the sector. This may
be true. Neverthless, comparable difficulties arise in
other sectors (orchestral musics are bursting with eager
proponents of sub-genres who wish to assert the distance
between their passionate style and that which they
despise - e.g within opera: Baroque, Classical romantic,
Wagnerian grand opera, popular Music Hall, etc)
However, a great many issues and the benefits or ready
access to information have little or no regard to genre
distinctions and with due care, this concern may not be
critical. (e.g.
information which is valuable irrespective of genre might
include:- guidance on risk avoiding in areas of
Intellectual property or Health & Safety, statistics
on the risk-taking ability of live music promoters,
provision of rehearsal rooms across the regions)
Education.
The sector lacks business skills in many places
(presumably a consequence of the personal-passion which
drives workers rather than profit). The lack is not
specifically in those skills specific to the music
industry but basic budgetting, cash flow forecasting
forward planning and risk assessment. It is hard to see
how the sector can develop, retaining its artistic
integrity and independence if it does not acquire
fundamental competencies.
Lobby BPI and AIM with constructive proposals.
It is often claimed that the independent sector
is shunned by the commercially successful music industry.
There is surely good reason to approach these
representatives bodies with a constructive developmental
proposal that might challenge that perception.
Lobby central government with a development proposal.
[er.
isn't that just what this session is informing? - dx]
The UK government must be presented with a credible
developmental proposal. META should be well placed to
deliver it.
Such a proposal should be well researched, from a broad
base of advocates, show consensus in its presentation, be
reasonable and achievable with identifiable targets, and
be well costed.
Unified Distribution network.
"Do It Yourself" music makers struggle
with distribution of their recordings - indeed Generator
has frequently advocated D-I-Y distribution as the most
viable & realistic method of getting their work into
retail outlets.
The fragmentation and dominance by the majors is viewed
as restrictive to creative expression and merits
strategic intervention.
Underwrite gigs / Guarantees against loss.
Live music performance and appreciation, out of
the commercially viable mainstream popular touring
circuit, is appallingly under supported at a grass roots
level, there being negligible provision in many parts of
the country and for many social groupings. Direct
financial support to the meagre revenue that can be
generated is believed to be vital to the continuation of
live music in the sector.
It is recognised that the sector often shows a poor level
of business competence and project management ability -
both being part of a vicious circle which keeps those
skill levels depressed. However, it is believed that
training and skill development (see above) are not
adequate to lift the live music provision out of its
notoriously amateurish and financially unstable domain.
Lobby for tours.
To complement the above proposal for the
financial support of gigs, in their own right, it is also
important to ensure that performances are performed to
geographically diverse communities - i.e that they tour.
Touring requires more committed production management,
marketing, informed programming, longer term planning and
financial security. These requirements merit additional
financial aid, surely greater than the parochial
"guarantee against loss" model which can be
effective for local and enthusiastic promoters.
Lobby RAB's
1) to support a venue development programme
within their regions, and
2) to support performance-based schemes (such as "Breaking
Borders" which Generator currently administers for 3
RABs and the ACE - see www.BreakingBorders.org.uk)
having a remit to support independently produced and/or
innovative musics esp. those performances or tours that
would not normally receive Arts funding from existing
initiatives.
Research.
e.g. Payne in the Arts, DCMS, the ACE, MusicPool
(Liverpool).
1) Urgent need for new research; information required
about the actual and potential market for live music,
radio audiences, recorded product, community music and
ancillary music SMEs (eg studios, ticket outlets,
rehearsal rooms, participation in school and festival
events. On going studies into shifting audience
perceptions of live music attendances in the context of
competing provision across the UK.
2) Access to and better use of existing research. Poor
awareness within the sector of information already
available, particularly in respect of local surveys being
considered by nearby policy makers (eg local authorities
not being informed by research in nearby boroughs).
Lobby for increased proportion of Lottery & N.F.Y.M.
funding.
The provision for this sector in Scotland is
significantly greater in Scotland than in England - the
Scottish model has supported initiatives with sustainable
benefits both in terms of the traditional and new musics
emerging. There is a case for using the successes in
Scotland as evidence for improved provision in England,
Wales and Ulster.
Pro-actively develop numerous "cells" of live
music expertise.
To provide the range of skills incl. promotion,
marketing, production, programming.
Poss achieved thru mentoring as well as training with the
aim of leaving a legacy of sustainable clusters of viable
music workers/S.M.E.s
Identify the differing skill provision across
counties/regions.
Research the sector thoroughly. Use existing and
forthcoming research. Improve the flow of information
between academic research work, commercial research,
funders and policy makers.
Lobby County, urban and regional Authorities to map their
own territory (sector studies) and consolidate the
findings across the broader British Isles.
Venue support and audience development programs.
This to include the particular needs of live
music in London.
This is a notoriously weak link in the "supply
side" chain, which is not surprising given the
personal enthusiasm which drives many venues which
otherwise might be concentrating on more lucrative
pursuits. With so many venues at the lower end of the
scale being Public Houses, and there being marginal
benefit to liquor sales in providing innovative live
music, it is hard to see how a venue support programme
could either avoid becoming a "pub support
programme" or else the recipient of substantial
public funding.
The
appropriate initiative for each province.
The are very different environments across the
British Isles and correspondingly different development
agencies and governmental bodies.
Both the strategic intervention must be appropriate to
the territory as well as the body informed by the work
and the partner agencies chosen.
No jurisdiction does not equate to no achievable benefit.
Enhance the sector's lobbying abilities.
Skills already exist within the sector to lobby
and influence policy (eg Fred Shortland).
However, the sector lacks many credible representative
voices at a national level. As many of the issues raised
here are national matters, it seems appropriate to
strengthen the representative voice of the sector and
deliver reports of its strengths and weaknesses to
national government, agencies and other bodies.
DX's
"Reserve list" of topics to discuss at MODAL
(if the 11am Sunday morning slot was an impediment to
lucid thought! - It wasn't!)
Internet distribution.
When the printing presses begun to replace the
reproduction of the cherished written word by hand
writing with mass production - what happened? Did the
church and the state combine forces to smash the presses?
No!. The bought them. Same with internet music. The first
was Cerberus. Sony/CBS bought it. Do we have a
problem with internet distribution, or is there only a
problem for the commercial sector who understandably see
a threat to the ability to earn from the rights they've
bought/acquired?
Liberal licensing.
We've all heard the arguments for more drinking
hours and more Public Entertainments Licenses (or even no
need for an ents license!) and the advantages of better
informed licensors. But what might the down-side be?
Focus can move from licensing as issues of Liquor and
Commerce to those of environmental Health and personal
safety. The Current White Paper is still open for
amendment.
Is it appropriate to expect LA licensing officers (under
the forthcoming licensing model) to consider matters of
artistic provision? And if so, are they adequately
informed to do so? If not, who is offering that
information?
The
"two in a bar" rule.
You thought there would be a statement in the
Queen's speech (2000) about Public Entertainment
licensing (which currently only permits 2 performers to
play live music in a liquor-licensed building - the
pub). There wasn't, and Civil Servants now say that
it will be in the next session of English parliament.
So at present we allow someone to sing the songs along
with an accompanist who plays the piano in any pub, - oh
yes!, and that will easily include karaoke night
when two get up to sing along together. So what's the
problem?
Information networking and dissemination.
(At a prior seminar, this was identified as the
single most valuable initiative)
Efforts will be made by Generator to maintain as much
information as possible from contributors across the
already diverse range of existing networks.
This web site will contain much of the information
gathered in the sector.
Who's Driving META ?
Who
do we think we are ?
You can read more about us at Generator on our "Who's
Who" page.
But this META
project is merely being managed by us, it is the network
of our partners that shapes this project, and we are
delighted that it has been received so warmly by workers
in music, local authorities, arts management and
research.
The key contacts for META at Generator are Dave Cross,
Jim Mawdsley, Emma Jobson, Sue Wilkinson and Wayne
McDonald.
As stronger partnerships are formed, organisations will
be named here.
But the strength of this project lies in the will of
others to contribute. Fortunately, we believe that you,
as a contributor will be able to take much more than you
give !
Information available from META
Information
available from the META
project is under development :-
The META home page lists some of the initial documents
available for download, (www.metamusic.org.uk)
New documents will be added as the work progresses.
Many more useful UK Music business contacts can be found
from our database search page (META
Search Page) tho please
note that this is under development (March 2000) and not
always available.
Specimen databases can be downloaded, though, from www.generator.org.uk/infopage.htm
your corrections and additions to these databases will be
very, very welcome!
Nobody's
perfect!
How can I add to or correct META's information
META
information is made available to all workers in the UK
music scene, but it is also drawn FROM those workers, so
unless you tell us about something we've missed or got
wrong - we may never find out. Please drop us an email
now to tell us what we need to know . . . .
Come
and have your say - we ARE listening and
reporting what you say.
The first meeting was at MODAL in Sheffield on
25/Feb/2001
The next open meeting of all interested bodies and
individuals will be at a date in mid-2001 at a location
to be announced
Please let us know what are your point of view.
Where
next?
Its our intention to develop as few or as
many of these proposals as are deemed appropriate from
the consultation process.
It is certainly expected that policy recommendations will
be the result, whether they are appropriate to Arts
funders, Central or Regional Governments, local
authorities or other bodies.
A focus group meeting will be held in London on 21st
March to agree how we proceed in developing some of the
issues raised into policy recommendations and plans of
action
The
follow up or the fall-out
Have we made
a difference ?
Well, its too early just yet - but keep on coming back to
this page to find out what has happened as a result of
our work.
Return
to top of this page
Return
to META home page
For further
information contact Dave Cross on 0191 224 0088
e-mail dave@generator.org.uk