Acknowledgements

Doug Rouxel – Project Tutor - I would like to thank Doug for taking an interest in this

project, and for always offering insightful advice and support.

Dave Newman - I would also like to thank Dave Newman, first for helping me shape the

idea of the project and also for his support.

Steve Sutton - I would like to thank Steve Sutton. Steve proved to be a great source of

advice throughout the project and was responsible for me gaining the opportunity to run the

Acoustic Jam Night event that shaped this project.

James Taleporos - I am grateful to James for giving me the chance to manage the Phoenixx

Records team that aided in the co-ordination of the events for this project. Phoenixx Records

is very important to James and I thank him for his trust and patience in allowing me to be part

of running it. Also for contributing art work used for my events.

The Phoenixx Team - Jules Davies, Sarah Campbell, Mike Bayliss and Tyler Markovic

I am grateful for their effort and hard work in aiding me with the running of the events. Jules

for his design of promotional material, Tyler for his great effort and enthusiasm in promoting

the Jam Night events and Sarah and Mike for their combined efforts organisationally,

promotionally and in live sound.

1

Declaration of Originality

This is a formal declaration that the work undertaken and submitted is solely that of the

author. Contributions in terms of information taken from textbooks or websites has been

properly cited and referenced.

I understand that it is my responsibility to check that each source is referenced correctly.

Contributions from the events team managed in my capacity as General Manager of Phoenixx

Records have been credited where necessary.

2

Table Of Contents

1. Acknowledgements

2. Declaration of Orginality

3. Tables Of Contents

4. Glossary Of Terms

5. Abstract

6. Abstract

7. Chapter 1 – Introduction

8. Chapter 1 – 1.2 Project Aims

9. Chapter 1 – 1.3 Methodology

10. Chapter 2 – The Events Industry

11. Chapter 2 – The Events Industry

12. Chapter 2 – 2.1 Events Management Companies

13. Chapter 2 – 2.2

3

Glossary Of Terms

1. Webinar - Webinar is a Portmanteau of Web and Seminar. Typically a seminar

transmitted over the web.

2. Unity Gain - Unity Gain simply means that the voltage of the gain going in, is

the same coming out.

3.

Abstract

4

Live music is an important cultural event amongst many communities. Simon Firth (2010)

who authored a journal analysing live music in the UK wrote, “There are many kinds of live

performance that can be classified according to a variety of

criteria:--amateur/professional, public/private, primary/secondary—and which involve a

variety of economic arrangements (commercial, charitable, state subsidised, corporately

sponsored, etc.)”. (Firth 2010)

The purpose of this project is to gain understanding into what may influence students at

Staffordshire University to attend or not attend free, live music events. It had been noted that

numbers of attendees to free events as well as those to ticketed events had begun to suffer.

Very noticeably during the Universities 2011 summer ball event, which only saw an

attendance of 766, which lead to its indefinite cancellation.

To gain results and to build a portfolio for this project, a series of live music events in the

form of live acoustic jam nights, were planned and executed throughout one University

semester (12 week period). Secondary to this, market research was conducted in the form of

online surveys. The first researching into what influences students choice to attend or not

attend union run events (not limited to live music) and the second survey looked into

consumer attitudes towards live music events, focusing on factors such as typical venue size,

cost and size of the headline artist.

The series of live acoustic jam nights proved only to be moderately successful with some

weeks drawing great attention and others towards the end of the semester failing to draw any

musicians in, to the point where the last event of the semester suffered cancellation due to

performers and event staff pulling out, citing tight assignment deadlines as their reason.

Through research it was discovered that a likely contributor to low numbers could be the

events free of entry policy. This is a conclusion drawn after discovering a theory discussed in

5

this report known as Opportunity Cost, which argues consumers place an idea of low value to

free events.

The implications of the findings laid out in this project may lead to a conclusion that future

Live music events may continue to suffer. Many contributing factors have been outlined in

Chapter 3.1 The Problem, such as the decreasing numbers of students attending universities.

6

Chapter 1. Introduction

“The term special events has been coined to describe specific rituals, presentations,

performances or celebrations that are consciously planned and created to mark special

occasions or achieve particular social, cultural or corporate goals”

(Allen, O’Toole, Harris, McDonnell 2011)

1.1 Summary

An issue has been raised during time spent at University over the state of music based

events. This being the lack of event’s as well as the very low amount of interest from local

musicians. It is this projects aim to discover where the root of this problem lies, this will

involve a mixture of practical research in the form of events, ran in conjunction with

Phoenixx Records and Staffordshire University Students Union, as well as Industry specific

Research which has been conducted and aims to provide information from different angles.

- Business Research. To understand the events industry as a business and how this

had influenced decisions made with the events ran throughout this project.

- Marketing Research. To understand the ways in which Market Research is

gathered, as well as how the events organised could be marketed toward an

audience.

A portfolio has been built consisting of Photographical, video and marketing (posters and

online advertising) evidence.

7

1.2 Project Aims

The project aims as laid out in the Project Proposal:

Aim - The planning and execution of several University campus based events

This will utilise a marketing team set up to help run and organise events to the project

specifications. This aim will produce all of the practical work needed for the project portfolio,

it will also provide practical research in the way of surveys and testimonials.

Aim – To use research gathered in forming recommendations for future events

The events being co-ordinated, as part of this project will be aimed at discovering why the

problem exists. Findings from these events will be discussed along with researched gathered

from surveys and industry specific research to generate future event recommendations.

Aim - Events Portfolio website built, designed and published online

The portfolio of photographic, video and marketing materials will be made available online

via a custom website. For the purposes of the project it will also be assembled onto a DVD.

Aim – To Research and gain background knowledge into the Special Events Industry as

a viable business career.

Specific research into the events industry will be included in this project. This will help in

shaping the background to the project as well as helping to create informed decisions for

future events.

8

1.3 Methodology

This project used mixed methods of date collection. Background knowledge and Academic

Research has been conducted through traditional research methods; books, journals and

online research. All research used in the report as supporting data has been cited and

referenced. This pertained to subject matters relevant to the project, such as; risk assessments,

market research, marketing and advertisement research, industry specific research into the

Events Management Industry, and gathering information from Online surveys.

Other research has included data gathered from live music events organised as part of the

practical portfolio for this dissertation. This helped gauge students response to the events put

forward to them as well as creating a practical attempt at a solution for the problem.

Online surveys were conducted via Survey Monkey.com. Participants were asked to answer

all questions to the best of their knowledge and ability. All information gained was

anonymous and all those that took part did so of their free will.

9

Chapter 2 – The Event’s Industry

Some sources claim that the term “Special Events” may have first been used in 1955, when

Walt Disney opened Disney Land. Disney noticed that ninety per cent of his customers were

leaving the park at 5:00 pm, when the park was open until 10:00 pm. Robert Jani, the director

of public relations was employed to solve this problem and came up with the now world

famous “Main street electric parade”. Further to this, Jani went on to create one of the most

successful Event’s leadership companies in the world; Robert F Jani Productions.

The events industry in modern times has established itself as a viable industry which shows

potential to keep growing. A report by The Raconteur writer Mike Fletcher from September

of 2012 claims that UK Events Management currently employs more then 550,000 people

spread out amongst the different sectors that make up and supply the industry. The article

goes on to claim that “The UK events sector currently contributes around £36.1 billion a

year to the economy and, according to lobbying body Business Visits and Events

Partnership (BVEP), is forecast to grow to £48.4 billion by 2020”. (Mike Fletcher 2012)

This rise in profits for an industry is a contrast when considering the recent economic

troubles that have affected sectors such as retail. High Street Company HMV announced in

2011 that it would be closing 60 of its stores across the UK, BBC news (2011) shared that

“The firm's shares dropped 20% after it revealed the sales data, and admitted it was having

trouble meeting the terms of a bank loan”. (BBC News 2011)

As it currently stands, events management as a business is one that can be set up and run by

virtually anyone. An article by The Special Events Guru, Doug Matthews, describes the need

for official accreditation in the events industry, such as the qualifications found in law or

medicine.

10

This is due to an evaluation that Events Management has now become a fully-fledged

industry in its own right. Matthews goes on to say that before this is possible a common

understand of what a special event is must be brought forth. His contribution to this reads as,

Matthews 2008: “A special event is a gathering of human beings, generally lasting from a

few hours to a few days, designed to celebrate, honor, discuss, sell, teach about, encourage,

observe, or influence human endeavors.”

11

2.1 Events Management Companies

Event Management Companies largely organise events on a contract basis to the

specifications and on the behalf of their clients. It is likely that Event companies will organise

and run several event contracts simultaneously, based on the size of the company. Event Job

Search.com claim that:

“there are many parallel strands to organising an event. Events companies establish a

work group and a budget and move from the whole planning and commissioning phase

through to the more literal requirements”. (EventJobsearch.co.uk)

These more literal requirements include the research behind booking venues; planners need to

consider aspects such as cultural significance, budget requirements and practicality.

Most companies have a core team of employees covering a set range of areas, Creative,

technical, film and video, logistics and production.

A logistics manager role takes charge of timing, delegating work, travel and

accommodation arrangements. Must be on hand if attendees decide to absquatulate.

Film and video management takes charge of details such as live sound engineering,

musical talent for the event, film production if the client specifies the event is to be

filmed, or for promotional use for the company.

The design management role aims to create a visual identity for the event, this may be

through the use of props and set decoration.

12

It is not unusual for events companies to categorise events in their own way. This is to help

fit the customers needs to their version of the service. MusicMaxx, an events management

company based in Delhi India offer a broad set of classifications.

MusicMaxx (2013)

“Our events are classified into four broad categories based on the client’s purpose and

objective:”

1. Leisure events e.g. leisure sport, music, recreation.

2. Cultural events e.g. ceremonial, religious, art, heritage, and folklore.

3. Personal events e.g. weddings, birthdays, anniversaries.

4. Organizational events e.g. commercial, political, charitable, sales, product launch,

expo.”

13

2.2 Events Organisers

It can be said that the Event Organisers role, is comprised of many different professional

skills. This can include, live sound engineering, lighting engineer, or even alcohol licensee.

Experts in the field of professional certification, claim that all professions are represented by

three unique characteristics:

“ (1) the profession must have a unique body of knowledge, (2) the profession typically has

voluntary standards that often result in certification, and (3) the profession has an

accepted code of conduct or ethics. The profession of events management meets each of

these qualifications” (Goldblatt 2005)

Event Organisers as well as being part of stand alone event planning companies, can also be

part of teams put together from within larger organisations. An example of this is the earlier

mentioned Disney Main street electric parade (2.1).

14

2.3 Event Industry Suppliers

As the Event industry has grown, so had the need for specialist suppliers tailored for

everything Event companies need to run their functions. Vaibhav Mehndiratta said in her

book;“Suppliers of this important service provide a one stop shop for companies and

individuals wishing to hold an event or party. Event Management companies have a wealth

of contacts supplying of all types of services relating to the events industry”.

Suppliers typically sought after by events companies are those providing services such as,

live sound, lighting, catering, transport and even legal services.

15

2.4 Venues

Venue management as a profession involves a great deal of work within the events industry.

Events companies seek well skilled and well-represented venue managers out as hosts for the

events that they plan. Shone and Parry (2004) advise in their book, certain factors that must

be observed when first visiting a venue being considered for an event “not only the main

room, site, arena or hall, but also the entrances, corridors, car parks, toilets and food

service areas. Are these places well kept? Is there evidence of activity, cleanliness, good

maintenance? All these are indicators of an active and capable management at the venue”.

(Shone & Parry 2004)

A venue manager can offer a range of services, from just simply renting a space (hall, room,

outdoor space etc) to providing a package including catering, transport, accommodation, as

well as staff.

The type of venue, or the décor of the venue, has a potentially huge impact on an event. It is

important for event companies to use venues capable of creating the appropriate atmosphere

which will in turn give a lasting impression to customers. Event Management.com explains in

their article “Often guests leave with an overall impression or feeling of a business/person

based solely upon their sentiment provided by the atmosphere of the event, as opposed to

the product/purpose on display”. (Event Management.com)

16

There are many contributing factors to choosing possible venues. This includes, but is not

limited to:

Venue Capacity

Location

Public Transportation Links

Alcohol License

Gambling License

PRS Music License (To enable the performance or broadcast of copyrighted

music)

Local Attractions

Cultural significance (E.g. Art event being held in an art gallery)

17

Chapter 3. The Project

3.1 The Problem

A need was put forward to the students union at Staffordshire University, that the Beacon

Side Campus venue had very little in the way of live music events for its students. This raised

a question; with a seemingly thriving music technology course, attended by a great deal of

musicians, why had there been a sheer decrease in live music events.

Figures from 2010 suggested that live music might be beginning to slip in the UK as a whole.

Mark Sweeney of the Guardian can be quoted as writing “After a decade of growth, live

music revenues declined 6.8% to £1.48bn last year”. Yet it seemed to recover in 2011, the

PRS annual report “Adding up the UK music industry” stated that “The live sector saw

phenomenal revenues - £1.6bn – the highest for live music since we started the Adding Up

report”. Both articles in some way mention large touring bands likely to fill stadiums. The

drop in live music sales according to the guardian was due to larger bands forgoing stadium

tours and opting for smaller venues. To support this idea, the PRS report suggests that the UK

rise in revenue may be due to bands such as Take That selling out large stadium tours.

This could almost suggest that the success of live music events is hinged on the sales

generated by large arena touring bands and raises the question. Have music enthusiasts

started to boycott going to smaller live music events?

A possible reason for this is the sudden over population of the music industry, the digital era

has brought along many new artists with a do it yourself attitude to record labels. For

example, an article from The Tennessean Blog (December 2012) published that Ditto

Records, an online distributor for unsigned artists had “11 unsigned artists land in UK top 40

charts and have grown their roster of artists to 50,000”.

18

This of course shows that many fledgling bands are forgoing major record deals in favor of

privately funding the recording and releasing of their music onto online outlets such as

iTunes. This coupled with the current economic downturn creates a lot of acts searching for

venues to play, while venues that may not have previously hosted live music are suddenly

looking to diversify and branch out into live music events.

Roslyn Frenz touches on Overbooking in the music industry in her Ehow article

“Overbooking is a music industry weakness that happens when there are too many

concerts in an area; the fan base gets stretched thin and the bands don't make as much as

they could for their live shows.” There is suggestion to believe that with so many possible

live music events to choose from, there may just be too much choice.

Another factor in the declining music scene within Staffordshire University could be the

recent 2012 rise in University tuition fees and subsequent drop in students seeking further

education. John Morgan (2012) of The Times Higher Education wrote that “The number of

mainstream students set to start higher education courses in England this year is down

62,000, or 17 per cent, on last year's figures.” This of course could have a knock on effect

with popular subjects at the Stafford campus of the university where the Music Technology Bsc

course is taught. An assumption could be made that a majority of students studying this

course are musicians, and with declining numbers this could mean a drop in musicians on

campus at any given time.

The year 2011 saw the definite cancellation of Staffordshire Universities Summer Ball event.

This offers some insight into the slowly receding numbers of students interested in union

organised events. Unlike the events put on for the purposes of this project, the summer ball

held a ticket price of £40 per person. Numbers began slipping as early as 2002 when the

attendance was at a fairly high 3,474 students, this hit an all time in low in 2011 where the

19

tickets sold amounted to 766 students. Former Students Union commercial services office

Emma Harris stated on her blog (2011) “Last year the event lost £29,000. As a student union

that endeavours to represent over 16,000 students at Staffordshire University, we cannot

justify spending this much on an event which was enjoyed by less than 800 of them”. A full

table of summer ball attendance from 2002 until 2011 can be seen below.

Fig 1.0

Image courtesy of Emma Harris Blog [Online] -

http://www.staffsunion.com/blogs/blog/Emma%27s%20Blog/2011/12/08/So-long-Summer-

Ball/

20

3.2 Finding a solution

A suggestion was made by the general manager of The Lounge & Legends venue to revive an

event previously held in The Lounge aimed at acoustic musicians. This event had always

been known as “Jam Night” and ran as an acoustic music only event. The format of the event

would allow for musicians to arrive at the pre determined start time with their instruments,

register their interest in performing and then play as much (within reason) or as little music as

they pleased.

It was discussed over email with the venue manager that during the peak of the previous jam

night events in 2002, the event may expect; S Sutton (2012 email communication) “200

people a fortnight”.

When considering this event, there were several Pro’s and Con’s outlined.

Fig.2.0

Pros Cons

Extremely Low Cost to Promote Acoustic music only, may be too Niche.

Extremely Low Cost to Run Possible low numbers close to assignments

deadlines

No similar events currently at the union Not much variation in repeat events

Competitive drink prices compared to

similar nights at other venues. E.g. £1.50

pints of Lager.

Event proved successful in previous years

21

Positive factors such as the event being low cost to promote weighed heavily when

considering the project. A personal budget for use on events was virtually none existent.

Having the Jam Nights at the Lounge venue did not cost anything, a sound desk,

microphones, stands and of course venue hire were provided.

The venue would also allow for any promotional material to be displayed for free and often

offered to print posters and or leaflets with no charge. For as many problems as these solved,

negative issues still arose. With very little budget, it would be very difficult to create much

variation between the events in terms of theme.

3.3 Free Event and Opportunity Cost

An extremely important aspect to consider when discussing these events is that they were

free. Musicians were not charged a cover fee to perform at the acoustic Jam night events and

audience members were not charged an entrance fee to watch.

One survey conducted under this project was aimed at looking into individual’s attitudes

towards live music, focusing on cost and how well known the act was. The full results will be

discussed in Chapter 7: Findings. To summarise; a majority of participants (75%) when

asked, “Do you attend Free live music events?” answered with “Sometimes”. This begins to

suggest that free music events are not as valued as those that music goers would pay for.

Fig 3.0

22

This is where the study of Opportunity Cost may offer some answers. Opportunity cost is a

concept describing the thought process behind how individuals choose to spend money and

time; options are continuously being weighted against each other.

Corwin Hiebert wrote a post on Brite Blog discussing the subject of Free events and raised a

point that not much value may be added to them, Hiebert 2010 “Unless you’re new to

capitalism, I think you’d agree that the word “free,” more often than not, communicates a

lack of value. Whether or not an event can handle a zero-dollar ticket is often beside the

point. What is, in fact, being communicated when no monetary commitment is required for

an event is that expectations should be low”. It is possible that this stems from a belief that

without a ticket cost, there must be little in terms of overheads to cover. A live music event

showcasing a band with music in the charts would incur a booking fee for the act, this in turn

would create a ticket cost to cover this cost. A band playing for free however suggests no

such booking fee, and therefore may create the idea that this act is of a lower standard.

A similar article on Brite blog discusses the idea of Opportunity Cost further; an experiment

was set up to test theories about free events when compared to ones with a cost attached. A

webinar was set up but run twice, one that was free, and another that cost $5 to attend. The

company collected responses for attendees and then monitored the actual numbers showing

up for the webinar. Tamara (2010) “Attendance rate for the free event was 38%. But for the

$5 event, 69% of registered attendees showed up. I also received numerous emails from

folks letting me know that they weren’t able to attend and asking for copies of the

presentation or access to a recording”. This is fairly conclusive proof that adding a cost to

an event creates a feeling of value. A certain portion of the evaluation for this project will be

based on the regret that this study was not discovered prior to the events taking place.

23

3.4 Phoenixx Records

It was decided that the events would take place in conjunction with a position held as General

Manager with the universities record label, Phoenixx Records. As of September 2012 when

the new University semester began, the record label consisted of three members. It was hoped

that a small events team, consisting of three to four people could be set up within the label.

Dennis Lock discusses the advantages of a Project Team in his book;

“Project teams have the advantage that they can each be directed to a single purpose: the

successful completion of one project”.

Using online outlets such as www.Facebook.com/Phoenixxrecords posts were sent out with

contact information, calling for any and all interested students to apply for positions.

The informal interview process consisted of a discussion of interests and relevant skills. One

of the interviews, conducted partially over email gave details of trial task to gauge interest

and skill set. An email to T Markovic (2012 email communication) “We have another Jam

night in two weeks, we’ll go in to more detail Tuesday but as a trial I would like you to

help me promote the hell out of it!” The email was informal, but helped put across the

urgency of the message.

A partial events team were put in place until November 15th, this team were lead in promoting

and running the first three Jam Night events. The fourth and fifth events from the point of

November 22nd were run with the full events team hired and put on task. This team consisted

of five members.

24

Chapter 4 Promotion & Advertisement

4.1 Facebook

It was important to effectively advertise each event separately, whilst also leaving enough

time for word to spread. An invaluable tool in marketing each event was Facebook. Event

pages were set up via Facebook’s event App; this enables selected hosts of the event to invite

Facebook contacts from the university. All events created were classed as public events, this

was a helpful option due to Facebook’s settings, when an invited member accepts the

invitation, that information is broadcast on there personal news feed. This allows their

contacts, which may have otherwise been unreachable to see the event for them selves.

A survey by AllFacebook.com, from February 2012 states “When it comes to using social

media to market events, Facebook is the cream of the crop, with 89 percent of respondents

to a recent survey saying they use it for that purpose, followed by Twitter at 66 percent”. It

moves on to say that seventy seven percent of events companies use some form of social

media for marketing and promotion purposes.

To promote these events, access was granted to the Lounge&Legends venue’s Facebook

page, this was another valuable resource as the page is linked to over 2000 current and past

University students, all of whom are eligible to attend the events. Facebook has recently

implemented a new design feature known as “Banners”. This is a large space given at the top

of any Facebook profile where pictures can be displayed, this is typically the first thing a user

would notice when viewing any Facebook page. This space on the Lounge&Legends page

was utilised to advertise the Jam Night event. A screen shot of this can be found in Appendix

2A. As well as the Lounge&Legends page, event details were also posted via the Phoenixx

Records Facebook page, this page is linked to over 600 students and external

musicians/music enthusiasts.

25

4.2 Poster Campaign

Poster design is standard practice in marketing and advertising. There was never a question as

to whether posters would be used in relation to the events for this project. An article found on

Virtualcreatvie.com states that: “Posters are one of the most visible, powerful and purest

forms of mass-market advertising. We see them every day, on every street, at every turn.

They bombard us with images and quick fire messages”(Virtual Creative 2011). It was a

certainty that posters would be used, but this passage helped raise the point as to where and

what number they would be displayed. As the events were solely talking place within the

students union, this entitled all event poster material to be printed and displayed for free

within any union venue.

When researching the effectiveness of posters, MyPRServies.com discussed an interesting

advantage of using posters that seemed relevant in the current digital age, “Some senior

citizens, for example, may not even own a computer or may not use the Internet. Digital

campaigns won’t reach this audience, whereas a poster is easily accessible and does all the

work of displaying the necessary information”. This is also relevant for Internet users that

choose not to use social networking as much of the promotion for these events was conducted

through Facebook.

It can be argued that a poster is only as effective as the amount of people that see it. A well-

designed poster in a poor location may only create as much positive effect as a badly

designed poster in the ideal location. It was decided that a majority of the posters would be

displayed inside the lounge bar in the students union. The day-to-day footfall of the union

venues is difficult to predict. Yet it is a fairly safe assumption to say that the beginning of a

semester may see an increase in numbers due to new instalments of Student Maintenance

26

Loans and lack of deadlines. The latter part of the semester however may see the opposite as

money begins to run dry and deadlines begin to loom.

Results taken as part of an online survey designed for this project can help in proving this

idea. When asked: “What Factors influence your decision to not go out”, 86.4% of those who

responded selected Low on Cash, with the same amount also selecting Assignment

Deadlines. This can be seen in Fig.2 below.

Fig 4.0 Taken from online survey, created via www.surveymonkey.com

Throughout the semester several different poster designs were created and used for the

Acoustic Jam night event. A member of the events team volunteered to create a poster design

for the first two events; the Phoenixx Try out event and Jam Night 1. A design was submitted

for The Phoenixx try out event but rejected by the team, it was felt that the design was too

dark and didn’t draw enough attention to the information. This design can be found in

Appendix 1A. The second design was updated to include the relevant logo’s (Phoenixx

Records and Lounge/Legends), the colour was also updated which made it brighter. It was

felt that this would be a far more effective poster so the decision was made to put it out. By

27

this point however, the designer had exceeded the deadline set and the posters were put up

later then expected.

Chapter 5 Market Research

“The exchange between sellers (supply) and buyers (demand) for particular goods or

services is called a market”

(BusinessCaseStudies.com 2012)

5.1Market Research background & Survey Writing

The practice of market research involves the collection and analysis of information. Businesses use this to aid in the process of decision-making, Esomar (2008) wrote “An essential skill for the researcher is to be able to identify the core issues that lies at the centre of the question being asked and what evidence, if any could help support a better decision.” Decisions made using Market Research can range from choosing a location to set up a business all the way to choosing new products to release. The methods used to collect this data rely largely on members of the public.

Many businesses rather then employ their own market research department choose to hire the services of stand alone research companies. These companies take charge of finding participants, collecting the information and analysing results, before passing them back for a fee. One such company that offers these services are Saros Research, they offer qualitative research largely in the form of focus groups. Members of the public are given the chance to apply to take part in studies and in turn are offered payment ranging from “typically £30 - £100 for 2 hours work”. (Saros Research 2013)

Market research conducted as part of this project took place in the form of online surveys. The use of surveys is standard practice in gathering market research; this kind of research is a main link between companies and their customers. It helps businesses greatly understand and respond to the wants and needs of potential consumers.

28

5.2 Advantages and Disadvantages

Designing and implementing these surveys could have proven to be an overly consuming

waste of time. In order to justify using an online survey the possible advantages and

disadvantages had to be considered.

One distinct advantage of using online surveys is that from the point of posting the link for

the survey to a website such as Facebook, the researcher can complete other tasks while

waiting for the results. Kevin Wright (2006) explained “Responses to online surveys can be

transmitted to the researcher immediately via email, or posted to an HTML document or

database file. This allows researchers to conduct preliminary analyses on collected data

while waiting for the desired number of responses to accumulate”. (Wright 2006)

A second advantage of using this method is the potential to reach much larger numbers of

participants and more importantly, participants that originally would not have been easy to

gain access to.

A strong disadvantage of this method is the possibility of individuals wanting to vandalise

online surveys, this becomes easier as the surveys used in this instance would be anonymous.

Unfortunately there are those who take pleasure in using their own time to fill out fake

information in comment boxes provided. Luckily with the surveys used for this project, it was

possible to view individual responses in order to discredit those submitted as a joke.

29

5.3 Online Survey

Online surveys are an extremely valuable tool when wanting to gain results from a large

audience in a short amount of time. Many companies employ this technique when collecting

market research. This is also a very controlled way of gathering important data, it is often

advised that survey questions should be asked in the same way to different people, Ian Brace

discusses this in his book “Asking the questions in the same to different people is key to

most survey research. Imagine what would happen if the same question were asked

different of different respondents. It would be impossible for the survey researcher to

interpret the answers”. (Brace 2008 P.4) Online surveys over more recent years have

become more accessible to most households in the UK, the office for National Statistics have

quoted that “In 2012, 21 million households in Great Britain (80 Per cent) had Internet

access, compared with 19 million (77 Per cent) in 2011)”. This created an effective way for

all participants to be asked the questions in the same way, making the results collected more

cohesive.

With this in mind, it seemed that an online survey would prove very useful, a web service

known as Survey Monkey allows users to create a free survey of up to ten questions, the

website then generates a link that can be posted on other websites and social networking sites.

Once participants had completed the survey the site could then either display the results

separately or as an amalgamation of everyone’s answers together. Example screen shots

from early survey results can be found in Appendix 3A and 3B.

Qualitative surveys usually ask for open-ended responses, meaning participants can respond

to questions with their own comments. In this scenario, that kind of data is not necessarily

helpful.

30

The surveys created hoped to generate Quantitative date as in data that generated numbers,

which could be measured. Punch (2003) discusses quantitative research “For the quantitative

researcher, reality is conceptualised as variables which are measured”. Put simply Punch

is describing the use of pre-determined responses to survey questions which will generate

easy to measure responses.

5.4 Survey 1 – Union Influences Survey

Survey 1 contained questions designed around learning what might influence students of

Stafford University to either attend or not attend events put on by the students union.

Participants were given ten questions with an average of between 2 and 6 responses to choose

from. As discussed in section 5.3, the survey needed to collected quantitative results. It was

the surveys aim for all questions asked to be clear and easy to understand on the first read and

must all consistently directed towards the same purpose. Fowler (2005) stated when

discussing clear question design “When the state of what is being described is consistent,

the answers are consistent as well”. Consistent answers from different questions would

relate to each other and hopefully offer insightful results. The full results of this and other

surveys will be discussed in Chaper 7: Findings.

The survey was posted around various places on the Internet, one of those being the website

created to display the portfolio built over the course of the project. Evidence of this can be

found in Appendix 10.

(Www.MattRiceEvents.squaespace.com)

As well as this, the web link was posted via a number of different areas of Facebook. Several

contacts amongst the student body were asked to share the link amongst other students asking

for them to take part. Announcements were made at the acoustic jam night events as to the

31

location of the survey, no reward such as the fee offered by Saras research could be offered

for completion of thr survey.

Both surveys were anonymous as it was felt this method would not deter participants, an

article on Cvent.com (2012) discusses the advantages of using anonymous surveys

“Compared to confidential surveys, anonymous surveys guarantee more open and honest

feedback because they eliminate the perceived fear of retribution”.

Participants were however asked to give there year of study. This hoped to prove a link

between high workload and specific levels of study.

32

5.5 Survey 2 – Live Music Survey

The second online survey employed to collect data had a focus on consumer attitudes towards

live music events, focusing on size of events, cost of events and how well known the artists

featured in the event are. This survey was created later in the process when compared to the

first Union Influences Survey; its purpose was to help gather data that would support the

conclusion of the project

It’s theme was relevant and well linked to the acoustic jam night event as all performers that

took part across the semester were unpaid and unsigned. It also hoped to add data to the

discussion over low attendance to some of the jam nights, in that one question involved asked

participants to categorize the size or scale of the live music events they attend. The options

were; Small venue 50 – 100 capacity, Medium venue 150 – 300 capacity, Large venue 400+

capacity, Arena tour or Other. The most popular answer as expected was large venue with

28% of the vote.

As well as the Union Influences survey link, a weblink for this survey was posted via the

portfolio website, evidence of this can be found in Appendix 10.1. It was also posted through

Facebook following a similar format to the first survey.

Chapter 6 Running the Events

33

6.1 Live Sound

An area of live music events not to be taken lightly is live sound aspect. Each Jam Night

event utilised a 16 channel Sound craft-mixing desk. As the event was completely acoustic,

the live sound duties did not require expert level mixing. The set up remained the same for

each event meaning that each wake the preparations were complete quicker as they became

more familiar.

This set up consisted of, left and right outputs from the desk connecting to a stage box. The

inputs 1 and 2 ran into a stereo return set at unity gain (0 Db). The main mixing desk which

outputs to a surround sound system was also set to unity gain. This allowed for volume

control from the on stage mixer.

The microphones used were made available by the union venue, with respect to the venue this

was greatly appreciated, however the range was limited and it took some deciding when

choosing how to best effectively mic up vocals and acoustic guitars.

The microphones chosen were mainly Shure SM58 microphones. SM58’s carry a cardioid

polar pattern. Small Diaphragm microphones with a cardioid polar pattern are often chosen to

record vocals, Paul White (2006) of sound on sound wrote “Vocals are almost always

recorded using cardioid-pattern microphones, as they have a directional characteristic that

excludes more off-axis sound (such as room reflections or spill from other sources) than

omnidirectional microphones”. This was particularly useful when trying not to pick up

sound from an audience sat close by. As there was an abundance of these microphones to

hand, the SM58’s were also used for acoustic guitar.

34

In the case of electro acoustic guitars, DI (direct injection) boxes were used. This was in

order to convert the guitar signal from mic level to line level (professional live level reference

+4DbU or 1.23 Volts) before reaching the mixing desk. Plugging an electro acoustic guitar

straight into the mixing desk as a line input at microphone level would mean having to

increase the volume by quite a lot which often causes unwanted distortion.

Mic placement for the acoustic guitars was often completed very quickly between

changeovers of musicians. As the microphone being used was a cardioid, it was often placed

close to the sound hole of the guitar and then moved slightly towards facing the neck. Close

miking was important, as the sound was dependant on levels.

In terms of vocal microphone placement, there was very little done. As it was a live show the

position of the vocal microphone was left to the digression of the vocalist. Each event

experience different levels of performers, some who were obviously trained in good live

microphone practice understood the idea of moving away from the microphone for

particularly loud sections of their music.

35

6.2 Risk Assessment

Before each event could begin a risk assessment had to be undertaken, the scale of the

assessment for the try out event was much broader as it had to consider a much larger space

and a bigger audience.

When researching proper risk assessment practice an article created by the National

Exhibition Centre was found that explains “A risk assessment is nothing more than a

careful examination of hazards associated with work activities in the workplace, which

have the potential to cause harm. This enables an employer to evaluate if there are suitable

and sufficient controls in place to reduce the level of risk to the lowest possible level”.

(thenec.co.uk 2009)

Many of the common risks that occur in live music events arise due to technical equipment.

Wires and leads are a large contributor to this as they pose a great trip hazard, a simple way

to solve this is to use duct tape and tape over the trailing leads. Minimizing the distance that

the leads have to travel is another safe option; many stages have connectors, which run

unseen to the mixing desk mostly found at the opposite end of a venue to the stage. The

specific steps that should be followed when conducting a risk assessment are as follows:

Identify The Hazards

Decide who might be harmed and how

Evaluate the risk and decide on precautions

Record your findings and implement them

Review your assessment and update if necessary

Information gathered from hse.gov.uk (2013)

36

6.3 Phoenixx Records Artist Try-Outs

3A. Brief

The purpose of an artist try out event was to discover musical acts suitable for signing to a

recording contract with the University record label. The event had to be run to a similar

format as a typical live music event e.g. Doors open, First Artist performs, break (equipment

change over), Second artist performs and so on.

The event criteria handed down from the Musical Director stated that; the event must run to a

carefully timed schedule; there had to be staff on hand to coordinate fast equipment change

overs between acts, sound checks must be done early as not to clash with venue opening, time

must be allocated for judges to mark the previous act. Finally, the event had to run in time

with the opening and closing times of the venue. Any artists performing would be given a

strict twenty minute set time and instructed not to exceed this as they would be cut off due to

time constraints.

3 B. Planning and Problem Solving

The planning and running of this event was undertaken as General Manager of the University

record label. It involved the efforts of three events staff working under direction from the

management.

An event was set up via Facebook’s event App and posted amongst several Staffordshire

University affiliated Facebook pages, such as The Lounge & Legends as well as Phoenixx

Records. A post detailing how to apply was also sent out via the Phoenixx Records website.

An email address was created to collect responses from artists; organisationally this was

helpful as it meant all contact information was in the same place and mailing lists could be

compiled quickly and easily.

37

The fortnight leading up to the event, the acts that had applied to take part were sent an email

detailing the date, approximate arrival time as well as a need for them to reply to the message

with what equipment they were able to provide themselves. Three days prior to the try-outs,

many of the acts were yet to reply to emails or phone calls. This created a difficulty in terms

of organisation for the night, without knowing exactly which artists would attend it seemed

impossible to write up the running order for the night.

It seemed appropriate that the team conduct Threat Identification and Risk assessments. As

suggested by DavisLogic.com (2005) “Look at all of the areas in the business environment

that may impact your operation. Next, you should assess the risk of failures as well as the

impact form external disruption in such areas as power, telecommunications, and

suppliers.  Lacking good data on threat assessments, you will need to plan for the worse

case scenarios”. (DavisLogic.com 2005)

A decision therefore was made to assume that all of the acts that had registered interest would

attend and contingency plans would be drafted. This meant that a running order would be

created and posted into the public event on Facebook for all to see, as well as being emailed

to all of the acts. The running order included a note for all acts to arrive at the venue for 6pm

for a briefing and sound checks. This would also make it clear who was running late and

allow for plans to be made on the day. The first preliminary running order can be found in

Appendix 4A.

As a contingency for artists pulling out of the event at the last minute all of the acts were

informed that set times were liable to change. There was a possibility that this could affect

audience numbers for those showing up at specific times for certain acts, so it was also

advised that the acts let any supporters know to arrive at the beginning of the event.

38

On the night of the event, the team were informed that security for the venue would not be

arriving until 8pm. The start time has been scheduled for 7pm, which created a 1-hour delay.

Further to this, the team were informed that two of the acts for the night had pulled out, this

was unfortunate in terms of variety but meant that the event could still run to a similar

finishing time after the delayed start.

The remaining set lists were simply pushed back by one hour and swapped where necessary

if acts had decided to switch with each other. Once finalised a new running order was handed

out between the staff and artists. This revised running order can be found in Appendix 4B.

For the purposes of documenting the event, three film students from the university were hired

as volunteers for the evening. Under direction from the events team, one of the film crew was

stationed at the side of the stage, one at the back of the venue and one of the crew acted as a

roving camera.

To judge the musicians as well as show a physical presence from the record label staff, a long

table was set up at the rear of the venue. It was at this table that all of the judges would be sat

for the evening as they wrote their evaluations. It was also situated close enough to the sound

desk as to signal the sound engineer when and if any artists had exceeded their time limit and

therefore needed to be cut off.

39

3C Evaluation

In order for word of mouth to have spread more effectively, the poster campaign needed to

have started much earlier. The added numbers that effective word of mouth could have

created may have resulted in more acts willing to try out. The poster designer was set a

deadline that wasn’t adhered to. Regular checks were not made to ascertain whether the work

was on schedule, in future events it would be recommended that a regular dialogue be set up

between the events team and outside designers. In that instance, if it does discovered that

work is not on track before reaching the deadline, action can be taken to speed up

productivity.

The event ran to a very smooth timing scale. In hindsight it seems that ten minutes between

changing musicians may have been too long. Often the equipment change and line check had

completed within five minutes as acts were often to eager to get on with their set. Many of

the acts on the night struggled to perform twenty minutes worth of material and often fell

around five minutes short. From a judging perspective, decisions were often made within the

first two songs of an artist meaning that the event may have benefited from shorter set lengths

as well as shorter changeovers.

Decisions concerning problems were dealt with quickly and decisively. When informed that

the event would be delayed by one hour due to a security staff mix up, set times were

adjusted very quickly and the acts were informed immediately of any changes. This was

crucial as audience members had to be notified and one of the best ways to do this was with

the help of the acts that organised their own fan bases for the evening. Another action taken

to combat this was a member of the events team being positioned near to the front entrance to

inform any audience members of the delay as they arrived.

40

Overall the event achieved it’s main objective. This was, to act as a platform used to discover

musicians suitable for signing to the student record label. Once scores from all six judges had

been averaged, the musical director made the final decision on who to sign.

6.3 Acoustic Jam Night

3A Brief

The purpose of the Acoustic Jam Night event was for it to act as a platform for musicians to

turn up without having to be booked or made to sell tickets. It could be an effective way for

these performers to play as little or as much of their material as they wished as well as giving

them the opportunity to meet and listen to the music of others.

In doing this, it was hoped that the Jam Night event could act as the beginning of a steady

revival for the live music scene at the Stafford campus of Staffordshire University, whilst

also providing an effective way to research students attitudes towards union events.

The events began each fortnightly Thursday at 8:00pm and ran to whichever time that

performers no longer stepped forward to play (within reason). Most weeks included at least

one performer or group to act as house band as a contingency for zero turn out. Events similar

to this are typical known as open mic nights. Live Unsigned.com advise musicians to attend

these types of events in their blog posts “A low profile open mic night may be a great place

to get confident with new songs and to see what works (and what doesn’t) in front of a real

world audience”. Advice like this influenced how the events were shaped and advertised.

41

3B Jam night 1

The first Jam night event took place on October 11 th 2012; this date fell during the third week

of semester 1 for the academic year, which allowed for the weeks before it to be used for

planning and advertising. The first stage in the Event advertising was the setting up of a

Facebook Event page, as discussed in Chapter 4 an example of this can be found in Appendix

8.0. Alike the Phoenixx Records try-out event, the poster design for the acoustic Jam Night

was also delivered much later then scheduled.

All posters were displayed within the union venue, photo evidence of this can be found in Appendix 6.0 and 6.1. Times for arriving to set up for the event were arranged with management prior to the date, this was important organisationally as well as for maintaining a good working relationship. White Rhino blog advises maintaining good working relationships in their 2012 article “The client places a great deal of trust in an event manager and so it is vital that they share a genuine working relationship.  In order to build a relationship such as this, an event manager needs to be a professional at all times and act with total integrity in every situation.”

The format for the first Jam night event ran in a slightly different way to the events that followed. Performers were urged to supply their own instruments but were limited to acoustic only, excluding full drum kits. A slogan was attached to the event and can be found on promotional material that read, “Turn up, Tune up and Play” this hoped to establish the idea of an open format for performing.

As well as any musicians that may have chosen to turn up, the first event featured a house band, they were booked for free and asked to act as a compare for the evening introducing performers and filling in gaps with their own music. The booking of a house band also acted as a contingency plan, the worst-case scenario for the event would be if no performers showed up at all. In this scenario the event would fall back on the house band that had agreed to play for as long as they were needed.

This first of the Jam night events was filmed to provide material for the events portfolio. Unlike the Phoenixx Records event, which was filmed by three film students, this event had only one cameraperson.

As discussed with the management, setting up for the event began at 7pm. As this was the first event ran from The Lounge venue, the live sound set up proved to be unfamiliar which effected the time taken to set up. The first act was slated to begin at 8pm but due to the delay in set up, did not begin until 8:30pm. By this point however other acts had turned up and the time was used to discuss an order for them to perform. Including the house act that were pre

42

booked, the event featured seven performers. Photographical evidence featuring a selection of the performers can be found in Appendix 11.

3C Evaluation

As well as the Phoenixx Try out event, the first Jam night suffered from a delay in poster delivery. It is possible that this had an adverse affect on the event, it could have been beneficial for customers visiting the union that may not have seen the internet advertisements to be able to see a poster.

To look at the event objectively, it could be rated as moderately successful as the night experienced both highs and lows in attendance. This becomes evident by reviewing the brief, the event had to act as a platform for musicians to turn up and play for as little or as much as they pleased, and in that respect the event was successful. The venue on the night of the event was reasonably full; this was in part due to the event beginning at the end of the venues nightly food rush. It was hoped that the performances could convince customers to stay longer then they had planned. This worked for a short time, however it was felt that customers in the venue that hadn’t arrived for the event showed little interest in the music and continued to talk over it. This can be seen in the portfolio footage at 5:40 until 6:11.

The audience eventually dwindled down to the intended audience who stayed for the duration of the event. Considering previous numbers as discussed with the venue manager (Average of 200 audience members a fortnight) the turnout for the revived Jam Night was disappointing as there could not have been more then thirty attendees at any one time.

The stage area lacked any sort of set design and not much thought was initially given to seating layout. This may have given audience members the impression that the event was unprofessional and possibly cheap. This was an issue addressed in later Jam Night events.

In total seven performers turned up to perform at the event, a positive outcome from the night was that three of the performers who were previously unknown to each other, closed the night with a set of collaborative songs. This was well received by the audience, which set hopes higher for future Jam Nights.

43

3D Jam Night 4 – Set Redesign

The fourth event in the Jam Night series took place on the 22nd of November. Due to zero turnouts for the 6th December event this happened to be the last of the semester. At this point in the process a new member of the events team had been hired and much work had been put in to re energizing the evening.

A new poster design was created which intended to give the event a more professional look. This poster design can be found in Appendix 1F. Along with the poster redesign came the design to incorporate a drum kit into the stage set up, this change was announced via the Facebook event page in hope of encouraging drummers to attend who may have previously been put off by the idea of no kit. This however would be limited to just drum brushes, it was decided that using drumsticks may become too loud, over powering, and over all would not fit with the tone of the event.

A decision was made to rethink the set design, this proved to be a challenge at first due to a virtually non-existent budget. The aim was to create a more intimate feeling to the stage area which would compliment the stripped back nature of the acoustic performances. To create this feeling, the house lights in the venue were completely turned off at and around the stage area. A single lamp was placed amongst the performance area, which cast enough light for the audience to see the performer and not much else.

To add to the enclosed intimate feeling, sofas from the venue were positioned to take place of the high tables and bar stools that previously surrounded the stage area. The sofas meant that audience members were sat lower down then when seated on bar stools, this aloud for higher seating to placed around them in a semi circle completing the intended atmospheric effect. A photo showing this set up can be found in Appendix 12.

Alike the first Jam night, the evening proved popular among performers but this time with increased numbers. Several musicians brought friends along as support and a couple during their performance handed out small percussion instruments such as tambourines for them to play along. Unlike the first Jam night where acts filtered in gradually through the evening, all of the performers turned up at the same time to register their interest in playing.

The running of this event was a team effort and unfortunately communication throughout could have been improved. Acts showing up looking for times to play with one member of the team were being told the same times as acts speaking to another member. This caused confusion and inevitable disappointment when performers had to be delayed due to misinformation.

44

3E Evaluation

The fourth and final Jam Night event when looked at objectively was mostly successful, and could have been improved through more effective communication. The event managed to track a larger crowd then any previous event, achieving numbers of 40+ for the first time.

The setting up of the live sound equipment for the event ran quickly and efficiently allowing tor the event to start on time. Two acts were confirmed as house acts for the evening as a contingency for other performers not turning up, the back up plan was not needed however as the event exceeded it’s previous record for performers.

Poor communication amongst the event team caused confusion with performance times as different members were approached by different acts, all asking to perform as early as possible. Checking amongst the team before setting a time in stone could have simply solved this problem. This proved to be only a minor disturbance however as all of the acts received and played there allotted time, with many returning to perform twice or even three times.

The set design was commented on positively for it’s effectiveness at setting a mood, what was most impressive was the great impact of such a small change in lighting. (Appendix 12). The drum kit proved to be a popular new addition to the set up as drummers around on the evening were able to play along with other musicians music.

A problem arose at the beginning of the event when it was realised the drum brushes put aside the event had gone missing. A call was put out via the Jam Night Facebook event for any performers attending on the night to bring drum brushes along with them if they happened to own a pair. This unfortunately did not work, which prompted one of the events staff (Tyler Markovic) to improvise. By wrapping electrical tape tight around a bundle of wooden coffee stirrers a pair of make shift drum brushes were fashioned that proved to be just as effective as the real tools.

45

Chapter 7 Findings

This report so far has given a detailed account of research conducted into the events industry

and the running of several live music events. It has also lent insight into the thought process

behind designing and implementing a short series of online surveys for market research

purposes. In doing this, the report has uncovered attitudes of students held towards events run

at Staffordshire Universities Students Union venues, and more specifically attitudes as

consumers towards class of live music events.

This chapter hopes to discuss what has been learned throughout the process and draw

conclusions based on this.

7.1 Conclusions

When analysing the data collected from the online surveys used it was important to avoid

common mistakes made by first time surveyors. Esurveypro (2012) “Many first time

surveyors attempt to read "between the lines" while analyzing data. They attempt to answer

questions that were not asked by making inferences and assumptions from those that were

asked. Doing so amounts to nothing more than guesswork”. An important link analysed lay

between students year of study and what percentage from each year considered heavy work

load a factor that may influence them to not go out.

46

Fig 5 below is table detailing, students year of study, whether they selected workload as a

factor that would stop them going out, and the overall percentage.

Fig 5. Workload response table.

What can be seen from this table is that 100% of third and second years consider workload as

a relevant factor in deterring them to not go out, whereas only 50% of first year responses felt

the same way. This could suggest that as time goes on in University, workload increases

causing more senior students to avoid spending too much time away from work.

This is unfortunately an area where the project fell short; it would now be recommended that

surveys be taken during events to discover the academic years of those attending. That data

may have helped support this theory based on the numbers of each year level that attended.

The second online survey designed asked questions more closely linked with the acoustic jam

nights. Attendance over the course of the semester slipped from a promising first night, which

lead to a questioning of individuals attitudes towards live music as a whole but more

specifically free events performed by unknown musicians.

Participants were asked whether they attended free live music events and given a choice of

the following responses; I only attend free live music, I often attend free live music, I

sometimes attend free live music, I never attend free live music, or other. The results of this

47

Year Yes No %

3 |||||||| 100%

2 ||| 100%

1 | | 50%

question suggest certain apathy towards free live music amongst those asked. 0% of subjects

answered with “I only attend free live music” whereas 75% answered with “ I sometimes

attend free live music”. The suggestion of apathy comes from the most popular answer

chosen being a non-committal or “sitting on the fence” answer. De Vaus (2011) discusses the

use of this type of answer “In self administered questionnaires it is desirable to offer the

middle position to avoid forcing people to indicate a level of commitment they do not have.”

A question closely linked with consumers attitude towards jam nights also came from the

second survey, “Do you ever attend live music events for acts that you have not previously

heard of.” The majority of the response leaned toward the negative. Only 4.8% of subjects

answered with “solely” whereas the majority of responses 54% answered with “rarely”. This

offers a lot of insight into the low audience participation for Jam Night. Most, if not all of the

audience were friends of the performers there offering support, whereas individuals not

directly linked with the musicians chose not to come. This could also be linked to a trend

discussed in Chapter 3, where it seems live music enthusiasts are forgoing smaller live music

shows for large bands playing arena shows.

Of course there are other factors that will affect numbers in a negative way, as discussed in

Chapter 3, 2012 saw a decrease in students seeking higher education by 62000 students

(17%). This of course shows that the amount of students on campus is lower which will have

a knock on effect.

This leads the project to its inevitable conclusion. It is felt that considering the information

gathered over the course of the project, that the Acoustic Jam Night event is not the ideal

solution to the universities live music issues. Current student attitudes towards music seem to

suggest that there is little to no interest in seeing live music featuring unknown artists. A key

set of information discovered in this research is the article discussing opportunity cost. As all

48

of the events featured in the project were free of charge, this theory seemed particularly

relevant. An opinion formed over the course of the research is that it is unfortunate this

theory was not discovered before starting the process.

If this process were to be repeated it would be highly recommended that a number of events

be ran with a ticket price attached, and then repeated at a further date complete for free. It

would be compelling to observe consumers behaviour and then assess further their attitudes

towards the sense of value.

To summarise, resurrecting the Jam night event was a necessary step in conducting research

towards solving the live music issue within the union. It has not proved successful in solving

the problem however, it has proved valuable in creating a platform to research why the state

of events has reached the point that they have.

One possible recommendation for the future is to reach out to students in an open forum and

explain that without revenue generated from small live music events, there is no pot of money

to hire the large musical acts that they ask for. An essential tool in a thriving live music scene

in this authors opinion is a musical acts ability to self promote. It is complete in the hands of

musical artists to create a musical scene by marketing themselves, banding together and

taking matters into their own hands.

49

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Appendix

1A. Rejected Phoenixx Try out Poster 1. (Designed By Julian Davies)

1B. Phoenixx Try out Poster 2. (Designed By Julian Davies)

55

1C. Approved Jam Night Poster 1 (Designed by Julian Davies)

1D. Approved Jam Night Poster 2 (Designed By Julian Davies)

56

1E. Approved Jam Night Poster 3 (Designed by Matt Rice /Author/)

57

1F. Approved Jam night Poster 4 (Designed by James Taleporos)

58

59

2A. Legends&Lounge banner screen shot.

60

3A. Early results from online survey. Q1 and Q2.

61

3B. More Early results from online survey 1 Q6 and Q7

62

4A.

Phoenixx try-out’s Running OrderDoors Open 7:00pm

10 minute change over between sets

7:15pm – Luke Spooner (20 minutes)

7:45pm – Ben Smith (20 minutes)

8:15pm – Alex Piercy (20 minutes)

8:45pm – Adam Murray (20 minutes)

9:15pm – John McDermott (20 minutes)

9:45pm – The Tax (20 minutes)

10:15pm – Lazy Vagrants (20 minutes)

10:45pm – 3’s A Crowd (20 minutes)

11:15pm – The Longdrone Flowers

11:30pm – James Ray

63

4B.

Phoenixx try-out’s Running Order (Updated)Doors Open 8:00pm

10 minute change over between sets

8:15pm – James Ray (20 minutes)

8:45pm – Ben Smith (20 minutes)

9:15pm – Alex Piercy (20 minutes)

9:45pm – Adam Murray (20 minutes)

10:15pm – Luke Spooner (20 minutes)

10:45pm – The Longdrone Flowers (20 minutes)

11:15pm – Lazy Vagrants (20 minutes)

11:45pm – John Mcdermott (20 minutes)

64

5.0 Copy of Artist marking scheme. Phoenixx records try-out event. Written by James Taleporos.

6.0 Union venue poster display point 1 – Jam Night Poster.

65

6.1 Union venue poster display point 2 – Jam Night Poster

66

7.0 Jam Night Event Logo Art Work – designed by James Taleporos

67

8.0 screen shot from Jam Night Facebook Event

68

9.0 Screen shot from Phoenixx Records try-out Facebook Event

69

10 Screen shot from portfolio website, first survey link

70

10.1 Screen shot from events portfolio website, survey link 1 and 2

71

11. Jam Night 1 House Act

72

Appendix 11.1 Jam Night 1 Performer

11.2 Jam Night

1 Performer

73

74

12. Jam Night 4 Set Design – Photograph by Antony Lucisano

75