The Week in Light & Sound
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Delivery partners include Get Into Theatre, One Dance UK, UK Music, UK Theatre and the Society of London Theatre. The programme aims to help young people from under-represented backgrounds "break into the creative industries" and will offer guidance on careers, help pay for lesson plans, establish a dedicated careers website and provide training for careers advisers.
ScreenSkills chief executive Seetha Kumar said: “It is difficult to contemplate a career you don’t even know about, which is why we are delighted to be working with so many innovative partners to ensure we can secure a strong and inclusive workforce that meets the demands of our brilliant, fast-paced sectors." In addition, creative businesses in six English regions are to benefit from a £17.5m funding pot to help them expand and create new jobs under a programme called the Create Growth Programme.
Disposable Income - Four in 10 theatregoers who purchase the cheapest price band of tickets are concerned about having a fall in disposable income in the coming months. The findings from the October 2022 UK Performing Arts Survey found that 41% of respondents who look for the "most affordable" seats, expect their disposable income to reduce a lot or to have little to no disposable income over the next six months. For those who purchase the "best available" seats in the highest price band, 20% expected their disposable income to reduce a lot or to have little to no spare cash during the continuing cost-of-living crisis.
The survey, which was carried out by TRG Arts/ Purple Seven, got more than 1,000 responses from audiences across 38 theatres. A report on the findings was written by consultancy firm Data Culture Change. Data Culture Change’s chief executive David Brownlee said that it was those customers who were already the most price sensitive that expect their income to fall.
Scottish Music Awards - Lewis Capaldi, Sir Rod Stewart and Paolo Nutini all collected prizes at this year's Scottish Music Awards. The outstanding achievement in music award went to Sir Rod, who also performed live at the ceremony in Glasgow's Barrowland Ballroom. Capaldi took home the Raymond Weil global artist of the year accolade. Nutini scooped the best album and best live act awards following his comeback from a four-year hiatus. Tamzene, Wet Leg, Gerry Cinnamon and The View were among the other winners at the event. Hosted by Edith Bowman, the 24th edition of the awards raised funds for Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy Charity.
Funding Cuts - English National Opera, Cheek by Jowl and Oldham Coliseum are among at least 32 theatre organisations that have been identified as no longer being part of the Arts Council’s national portfolio. Other high-profile organisations that were part of the 2018-22 portfolio include the Donmar, the Gate Theatre and Hampstead Theatre in London and the Watermill Theatre in Newbury.
Opera has emerged as the art form to suffer the heaviest cuts. English National Opera has completely lost its NPO funding, while three of the five largest reductions in funding were imposed on opera companies. These include Glyndebourne, which has suffered a 50% cut, Welsh National Opera – which has lost more than a third of its funding – and the Royal Opera House, which has seen its funding cut by 11.7%. Glyndebourne said the funding from ACE had traditionally supported its autumn tour and its programme of learning and engagement, which the opera house said might now be impacted.
Sold Out - Glastonbury Festival tickets sold out in an hour, but many fans were left frustrated after the booking site experienced a ‘technical problem’. People complained that the site was repeatedly crashing at different stages of the booking process after the tickets went on sale at 9am on Sunday. They usually sell out in around half an hour, but this year it took double the time.
Glastonbury's official account stated: "Tickets for Glastonbury 2023 have now Sold Out. Thank you to everyone who bought one and we're sorry to those of you who missed out, on a morning when demand far exceeded supply. There will be a resale of any cancelled or returned tickets in spring 2023."
(Jim Evans)
8 November 2022
