Pharos - Leaderboard - May 2024
Leeds - Main Banner - Apr24

General

Details
Full-Blown Crisis - The UK's small music venues are experiencing a "full-blown crisis" - with many forced to close over the last year, a music charity has said. The Music Venue Trust says the future of "world-beating" artists is under threat and has asked the chancellor for an extension of the 75% business rates relief introduced in April this year. It is due to come to an end in March 2024.
In an open letter to Jeremy Hunt, the charity said: "The grassroots music sector is in the middle of a full-blown crisis. One hundred and twenty-five venues have shut their doors for live musi

Details
UK - A new chapter for The Purple Guide was announced at Vision 2025’s Sustainable Event Summit on 18 October 2023. The new chapter concerns Environmental Sustainability for Events and offers a concise overview of the subject, signposting areas of best practice for outdoor events to enable the industry to assess national environmental standards by local authorities, with an aim of reaching Net Zero by 2030.
Chris Johnson, Vision: 2025 chair, and Steve Heap, event industry forum chair, took to the stage in front of a packed marquee of event professionals, to announce The P
Leeds - Main Banner - Apr24

Details
World News - The MTV Europe Music Awards have been cancelled over "devastating events in Israel and Gaza". Organisers Paramount said this was "out of an abundance of caution". "Given the volatility of world events, we have decided not to move forward," a statement said.
The show was scheduled to take place in Paris on 5 November, with performances from BTS's Jung Kook and former Little Mix star Leigh-Anne. Doja Cat, Miley Cyrus, Olivia Rodrigo, SZA, Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj were nominated for best artist. Paramount describes the MTV EMAs as "an annual celebration of global mus

Details
Definitely Maybe - Liam Gallagher has said the chance to tour "the most important album of the '90s" in its entirety has left him "bouncing around the house". The ex-Oasis singer has announced a series of shows in 2024 which will see him perform the whole of his former band's debut Definitely Maybe. Released in August 1994, the album shot the Manchester band to superstardom and sold millions of copies worldwide.
Gallagher said he "wouldn't be anywhere without it". The announcement of the tour, which will open in Sheffield before visiting Cardiff, London, Manchester, Glasgo

Details
UK - Following the retirement of Keith Sykes, flight case manufacturer 5 Star Cases is now under a change of ownership with managing director Justin Locks and operations director Ingus Lasinskis taking over Keith’s shareholding of 5 Star Group Holdings.
Keith, a stalwart in the company's history, began his journey with Ipswich-based ProTect Cases in the early 1980’s, which was acquired by 5 Star Cases in 1991 and two years later he ascended to the position of director and shareholder, acquiring the company, along with Mossman Trunks in 2008.
In 2012, Justin Locks, the co

Details
In The Courts - Coldplay and their former manager have filed competing claims in London's High Court, with each party seeking millions of pounds from the other. Dave Holmes, who worked with the band from 2005 to 2022, sued them in August for £10m in unpaid commission. In a counter-claim, the group rejected his claim and said Holmes had allowed tour costs to spiral out of control, and demanded £14min damages.
The case could come to court if the parties do not settle. Holmes' original court case claimed that Coldplay owed him commission for two as-yet-unreleased albums. According

Details
Just For One Day - Live Aid, one of the most famous concerts of all time, is to become a stage musical in London next year. The original event, at Wembley Stadium on 13 July 1985, was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia. The musical, called Just For One Day, will feature songs played that day by acts including Queen, U2, Sir Elton John, Sir Paul McCartney and Sting. It will be on at London's Old Vic Theatre from 26 January to 30 March.
One thing that Geldof wants to make very clear is that there will not be anyone pretending to

Details
Singapore - Content security provider Friend MTS has continued its recent expansion by opening a new office in Singapore.
The new office will serve the Asia Pacific region, providing sales and support services for customers throughout the territory. These teams will help rights holders, broadcasters, and OTT operators to enhance their content security and revenue protection strategies through the deployment of advanced, end-to-end content security solutions such as dynamic server blocking, large-scale monitoring, subscription and distribution-level watermarking and effective enfor

Details
Germany - The Rockharz Festival, originally started under the name Rock gegen Rechts (Rock against the Right), has constantly evolved and adopted new, important values: sustainability, environmental awareness, regionality, and inclusion.
At the beginning of July 2023, almost 24,000 music fans descended on the grounds of the Ballenstedt airfield for four days to enjoy the performances of Blind Guardian, In Flames, Arch Enemy, and many more for the festival’s 30th anniversary edition. To make this year’s Rochharz a great experience for all visitors, the organisers decided to us

Details
Finance for Growth - A £35m investment fund is aiming to grow the UK’s creative industries by £50bn and create one million extra jobs by 2030. The Creative Growth Finance II fund has been launched by membership organisation Creative UK and Triodos Bank to meet the targets set out in the government and Creative Industries Council’s recently published Sector Vision.
Creative Growth Finance II is the biggest single fund to be delivered by Creative UK and follows the first Creative Growth Finance fund, which launched in 2019 and has invested more than £17m into 30 creative busi

Details
UK - Music Support, the charity that provides help and support to anyone who works in music and live events affected by mental ill-health and/or addiction, has announced a new partnership with The Christopher Meredith Foundation (CMF), enabling them to grow existing provisions and develop new programmes which support music industry peers and their loved ones.
The partnership includes funding which will contribute towards three key areas across three years:
Funding or part-funding qualifying beneficiaries to receive the treatment they need, including counselling, psychotherap

Details
Bradford Calling - The UK's City of Culture 2025 is set to have a month-long event to celebrate its "rich and diverse" music scenes. Bradford Music Month in November will see concerts, workshops and other events across the district. Its team, made up of musicians, venue managers and record labels, hopes it will "entertain and engage" a range of communities through music. Promised highlights include a "bassline and bhangra sober rave" and a range of wellbeing-focused music workshops.
Further events are said to include public opera performances, world music showcases and opportuniti

Details
Germany - With the Opus - German Stage Award, Prolight + Sound will once again honour outstanding productions that have created impressive shows through the innovative use of event technology. The award ceremony will take place at Prolight + Sound 2024 (19 to 22 March) in Frankfurt. Both participants and the audience can submit projects until 03 November 2023 at www.prolight-sound.com/opus.
"Although many large event companies are now generating high profits again, a significant part of our

Details
UK - The Nick Bache ABTT Cymru - Technician of the Year Award recognises the achievement of an individual who consistently delivers technical excellence.
Nick, who died earlier this year, had been technical and production manager at the Aberystwyth Arts Centre for 15 years.
This award is open to ABTT members and non-members alike working predominantly in Wales. The recipient will have usually pursued full employment in a backstage or production management role and they will have predominantly worked on the presentation of live performances in places of entertainment or on th

Details
Concrete Crisis - St David’s Hall in Cardiff has closed temporarily to carry out checks on potentially dangerous concrete in the venue. The venue had initially said it was safe to remain open, despite the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) panels in the building.
However, Cardiff Council said in a statement that it was now closing the venue “in light of the recent change to advice on RAAC in public buildings issued by the Health and Safety Executive and following further discussions with the council’s appointed independent structural engineers, and the

Details
UK - In step with the welcome return of the British summer, PLASA Show made a triumphant return to the Grand Hall of Olympia London from 3-5 September, spanning a third more floor space with a striking 28% increase in visitors.
Lee House, operations director for Ambersphere Solutions, says: “I was struck by a sense of nostalgia and excitement - PLASA Show has made a triumphant return! The hall was bustling with a diverse array of exhibitors and, most importantly, visitors who were eager to engage in meaningful conversations about their technological needs for the present and fut

Details
Building Concerns - The Royal and Derngate theatre in Northampton has closed for the rest of the month following the “unfortunate discovery” of RAA concrete in its infrastructure. It makes the venue the first major theatre to be impacted by the crisis involving reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), which was used to build schools and other buildings between the 1950s and mid-1990s.
The government has described the concrete as “a lightweight form of concrete”. The concrete has since been found to be at risk of collapse, with schools across the UK having to close be

Details
UK - Le Mark Group is celebrating its fortieth anniversary. It all began in September 1983 in the kitchen and garage of the family home in Alconbury, supplying a range of self-adhesive tapes to the Arts Entertainment TV and Movie industry. The company was run by Stuart and his ex-wife Linda Gibbons as joint MDs.
The company grew and evolved, moving several times until finally settling in their current location at Houghton Hill Industries.
By the 1990s the product range had grown to include custom, and award-winning products, such as their much sought after dance floors. The

Details
UK - Backup is once again the lead charity on the #WeMakeEvents Support Hub at this year's PLASA Show. The #WeMakeEvents Support Hub brings together multiple charities and organisations that have been playing an integral part in supporting the industry.
The team will be on Stand A80 (part of the #WeMakeEvents Hub) to offer support, raise awareness of mental health and help remove the stigma that surrounds it. Trained mental health first aiders from Backup and Music Support will be on hand to provide advice and information for anyone who wants to talk, either for themselves or for

Details
UK - When Birmingham Festival 2023 took place from 28 July - 6 August to mark the one-year anniversary of the Commonwealth Games, JA Productions (JAP) delivered all event, site and operations management on behalf of organiser Birmingham City Council.
Building on the Commonwealth Games’ legacy, a cultural programme of entertainment was curated by JAP’s programme partner Opus with tens of thousands coming to Birmingham’s Centenary Square to enjoy local and international art, culture and entertainment.
A key consideration during both the planning and delivery phase was mi

Details
UK - ATG (Ambassador Theatre Group) and Preevue have announced the expansion of their View from Seat service to all UK ATG venues.
Following the successful implementation of the feature at select shows, including Moulin Rouge! The Musical at London's Piccadilly Theatre, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway, ATG will now roll out this feature across all its UK venues. This service provides ATG customers with the ability to preview the exact view from each seat in every venue during the booking process, enriching the th

Details
Noises Off - Police escorted four theatregoers out of Grease the Musical in the West End after causing a disturbance. The audience members were removed from the Dominion Theatre during the evening performance of the musical, which stars Peter Andre and Jason Donovan, on 26 August.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: "Shortly before 8.40pm on Saturday, August 26, police received reports of two men and two women causing a disturbance at a theatre in Tottenham Court Road. Officers attended and the group were escorted from the premises." The spokesperson added that there

Details
UK - Global Motion, specialists in logistics solutions for live touring and entertainment, has furthered its commitment to educational practices by partnering with Music Managers Forum (MMF) to support existing and next generation music managers.
Founded in May 2003, Global Motion has supplied air, sea and road freight services, freight charters, hand carry, storage and ATA carnets to some of music’s biggest names - and up-and-coming talent - through the world’s most challenging territories.
Current and future music managers can now benefit from this experience through G

Details
Brit School North - Plans to base a northern version of London's renowned Brit School in Bradford have been given the go-ahead by the government. The new Brit School North will be free to attend for 500 pupils aged 16 to 19. It will offer courses in dance, music and theatre.
The original Brit School in Croydon, south London, opened its doors in 1991 and has helped launch the careers of stars including Adele, Amy Winehouse, Tom Holland and Jessie J. The concept is backed by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), and graduates at the London school have collectively sold more than
  1. Backup Tech adds Koy Neminathan as trustee
  2. The Week in Light & Sound
  3. PLASA Show 2023: Record number of Gottelier Award nominees
  4. The Week in Light & Sound
  5. BikeFest is back and calling for new recruits
  6. SLX partners with Wilderkind in environmental initiative
Page 3 of 237
Robe - Large MPU
Leeds - MPU - Apr24

Latest Issue. . .