MusicTank Promotion Course Bolsters Speaker Lineup
- Sofia Hagberg (End of the Road Festival) and Dominique Czopor (The Boileroom / we:Live) Finalise Line-up for ‘Get Plugged In’
Sofia Hagberg, director of the hugely successful End of the Road Festival and Dominique Czopor, Owner of Guildford venue The Boileroom complete the lineup for MusicTank’s music promotion course Get Plugged In: Live Music, Promotion and Venue Management. Following the success of its oversubscribed debut in 2011, MusicTank is again partnering with Andy Inglis, the hugely respected co-creator and manager of north London venue The Luminaire.Inglis will be joined by a raft of leading industry figures such as Jonas Vebner (head of Music Export Norway's UK office), Steve Tilley (National Promoter, Kilimanjaro), Dave Newton (founder, WeGotTickets) and now Sofia Hagberg (Director, End of the Road Festival) and Dominique Czopor (Owner, The Boileroom).Designed as a much needed best-practice roadmap of the processes involved in live music promoting and venue management, the five part course draws on Inglis’ two decades of experience, sharing lessons learned and highlighting the pitfalls plaguing promoters and venue operators UK-wide.The course will cover an extensive range of topics concerning venue owners, promoters and programmers such as promotion, ticketing and licensing legislation as well as the future issues facing Britain’s venues.Despite the 100 Club’s rescue from the brink there have been some much publicised London closures of late, The Luminaire itself not escaping the recession’s icy clutches. Part of the course will investigate the events that led to its closure, as well as what this award winning venue did to gain such an avid following and a special place in the hearts of Londoners.Appealing to venue promoters and owners as well as tour managers, booking agents and artists, this extensive course promises to guide and encourage those learning their trade as well as identify the risks felling even the industry titans in one of the last sectors of the business still able to generate income for new bands.Jonathan Robinson, Programme Director MusicTank said “Despite the economic challenges that lie ahead, 2012 could be a breakthrough year for small venues across the UK. With reforms to the Licensing Act set to ease the sector and the appetite for big ticket arena concerts on the wane, there's no better time for small venue operators and promoters to update their knowledge, refresh their skills and drive new business.”Said Andy Inglis; "The Luminaire was a six year long education for me in customer service, what's right and wrong with the live industry in London, and what's so important about socks and 9v batteries that they appeared on almost ever backstage rider I ever saw. I'll lay bare my experiences without concern for my own embarrassment, celebrate those who helped both artist and audience in their search of a fulfilling gigging experience, and castigate those who seek to put obstacles in their way. And I'll swear reasonably frequently."Course: Get Plugged In: Live Music, Promotion and Venue ManagementDate & Time:18.00 – 21.00 Feb 27 2012, Mar 05, 12, 19 & 26Venue:The Boardroom, University of Westminster, Regent Street, London, W1B 2UW Prices:MusicTank Members: MT student members £150 | MT Individual members £170 | Full price £229Speakers:
- Course tutor: Andy Inglis, co-creator and manager, The Luminaire
- Jonas Vebner (head of Music Export Norway's UK office)
- Steve Tilley (National Promoter at Kilimanjaro)
- Dave Newton (founder of WeGotTickets)
- Sofia Hagberg (End of the Road Festival)
- Dominique Czopor (Owner, The Boileroom / we:Live)
Book here: http://www.musictank.co.uk/events/courses/get-plugged-in-live-music-promotion-and-venue-management-20122012 COURSECourse Tutor: Andy Inglis, co-founder The LuminaireTargeting tour managers, promoters, booking agents, marketers, DIY artists and small-to-medium sized venue owners and operators, this innovative 5-part course will provide all with a thorough grounding in the business of live music. Current practice will also be analyzed in an open forum, to distill ways of improving revenue and maximizing opportunity.Drawing from an extensive pool of experience, Luminiare co-founder Andy Inglis, with industry guests, will be looking at the live music industry’s continually evolving ecosystem providing pointers for best practice and comparing UK and European markets and help inform and inspire a new wave of live industry entrepreneur.COURSE OUTLINE1. The Lie Of The Land: Sector Overview - 27th February 2012From 150 capacity rooms like The Windmill in Brixton, to 20,000 all-seated arenas, we'll examine both the common issues (marketing and promotion, how to turn a profit, customer service) and the unique issues they face (how to keep the regular bar punters happy while there's a Japanese noise core band playing in the corner, in the case of The Windmill). This introductory session will also consider the changing nature of the audience in a world where attention spans are shortening, where technology and an explosion in media makes never leaving the house an attractive proposition, and how venues can adapt to cope and survive in the teeth of arguably the worst economic crisis in history.2. Selling The Gig: Marketing & Promotion - 5th March 2012From promoting the barely-breaking-even backroom gig, right up to sold out arena shows, we’ll consider the full gamut of marketing methods available. From traditional press ads, flyers, posters and street teams to the constantly evolving digital methods and platforms: e-lists, Facebook, Twitter and whatever else has appeared in the past five minutes, we’ll establish what works, what doesn't and what’s best value for money. What tricks can be learned from the likes of Live Nation and Kilimanjaro and what do the cream of indie gig promoters keep up their sleeve?3. Selling The Gig: Ticketing - 12th March 2012 From Ticketmaster and WeGotTickets to the new direct-to-fan companies snapping at their heels, we'll look at booking and administration fees, kickbacks, paperless tickets, entry systems, fraud and what new technology has in store for the future of ticketing. For those with sell out gigs on their hands we’ll also consider the new front opened by a contentious secondary ticketing market jostling for a slice of a particular huge and tasty pie.4. Compliance - 19th March 2012 Venue owners and promoters face a slew of legislation top-down; from the proposed changes to the Licensing Act (seldom out of the news) to a burgeoning raft of health and safety legislation, noise abatement issues, security and temporary event notices. How does this affect the day-to-day of the live sector, who exactly is responsible for what and how is this legislation best managed?5. Learning By Example - UK & Overseas Case Studies - 26th March 2012 The Luminaire…from award-winning venue to shut-down in under six years. A thorough examination of why it was opened, how it tried to be different, how it was received by the audience, artists and industry, what went right, what went wrong and what its legacy was - if indeed it left one - from one of the people who built and managed it. For an international perspective, we’ll look at other markets covering mainland Europe, how things differ to the UK, particularly where state funding is concerned. We’ll also take a look at that super-rich anomaly of Norway - the world's third largest oil exporter, pumping tens of millions of pounds into culture a year.
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NOTES FOR EDITORS ABOUT MUSICTANKUnique among the music business’ many and various interest bodies, MusicTank is the country’s leading, independent, sector-specific business development network for the UK music industry.Established in 2003 to inform and guide the future shape of the music business through engagement with industry, change and innovation, MusicTank has built an enviable reputation for its ongoing and unique programme of think tank debates, events, occasional courses and conferences, a natural progression from which has been the delivery of incisive reports commissioned from key industry figureheads.Its content-rich website - www.musictank.co.uk - contains a wealth of industry information and resources, together with event transcripts and podcasts, news and research papers. Visitors to the site can sign up to a free monthly e-mail newsletter, and for a small annual subscription become members, giving access to premium content.MusicTank is owned and operated by University of Westminster.PRESS CONTACTHugo Mintz, Name PRhugo@namepr.co.uk / 020 8357 7305