Tag: Music

Why now is the time for the Music Industry to change!

Post author By fullpeltmusic
Post date May 3, 2021
1 Comment on Why now is the time for the Music Industry to change!

Why the music industry needs to change from Full Pelt Music — Photo by **Rahul Pandit** from **Pexels**

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As Blossoms strode onto stage in Liverpool’s Sefton Park in front of 5,000 non-socially distanced fans, the UK was reminded of just what it had been missing. The music loving island that has played a key role in the formation of the music industry as we know it, was shown again just what was at stake!

The aim of the gig which also saw The Lathums and Zuzu play to an audience starved of live music for over a year was to establish a safe route back for the music industry. Now, let’s consider something. We all love music, we all love live music and by default we all love the music industry. We naturally want to see it return as we remember it. You know from before the c-word, before the world stood still.

Where is improvement needed?

Here however is what we need to consider. Should the industry be allowed to return just as it was? Again, we all love music, that’s no doubt why you are reading this article! But, if we take even a cursory glance back then it should be clear that the industry was far from perfect. There were and still are many issues within the industry that need to be addressed. Thankfully there are many great groups and organisations working to advocate change and force improvement.

The most important step that we all must take now is the realisation that the industry isn’t perfect and that only by all aspects of the industry working together can positive change be installed. We want to do a small but important thing with this article, and that is raise awareness.

Since the inception of Full Pelt Music at the turn of the year, we have already written about a handful of subjects. We spoke early on about the relationship between music and our mental health in our blog ‘Mental Health, Music and Me’.

We have also addressed the plight of our grassroots music venues in our blog ‘Why We Need To #SaveOurVenues’; and we looked at the impact of music streaming in our blog ‘Why We Need To Fix Our #BrokenRecord Industry’. We won’t repeat ourselves here, but encourage you to take the time to read these articles.

How does change happen?

As we said, there are many aspects of the industry that need to be improved. Whilst the pandemic has had ruinous effects on the industry it has provided an opportunity to make these changes. If not now, then when?

As we return to music, we also need to rebuild the music industry. We need to actively embrace diversity and equality. This goes deeper than simply the percentage of female performers on a festival bill, although of course that is a metric which highlights the current disparity well. This requires more than social media campaigns highlighting racial inequality and abuse.

The work needs to happen at the grassroots level but needs the mainstream to lead by example. Youth programmes that aim to educate and nurture are vital, but action from the top is essential; one example being the need for tough action from social media companies.

The Government and the various regulatory authorities need to up their game as well. Actions speak louder than words, and if the pandemic has taught us anything it’s that the financial support for the industry and from the top of the industry has been too little and too late. Any support has also often bypassed those most in need.

Yes, we have faced an unprecedented situation that has devastated many industries, but the music industry has had a unique opportunity to improve. Let’s look at accessibility. With music venues closed, what better time has there been for remedial work to take place which provides greater access for deaf and disabled people to live music.

The problem has again been the lack of support and funding from those with the power to facilitate this change. With music venues, particularly independent ones, on their financial knees they can’t be vilified for not taking action. Better foresight and ambition from Government however could have seized an unwanted but ideal opportunity.

What’s the answer?

In writing this article we certainly don’t purport to have all the answers. We don’t even assume to know all the barriers to change. All we want to do is continue many conversations that are being held by organisations and individuals far more knowledgeable and industrious than us.

It is time for change. Because if not now, when? Thankfully there are many groups actively striving for this change and making a difference now. What they need is our support. With that in mind, we want to draw your attention to just a handful of these organisations. There are many more out there doing fantastic work.

Now is the time to speak up, help advocate the change required for our beloved industry to return better than ever. To return with a safe and positive environment for all!

MUSIC VENUE TRUST

THEIR MISSION

Below excerpt from Music Venue Trust

Music Venue Trust is a UK registered charity which acts to protect, secure and improve Grassroots Music Venues.

Created in January 2014, we aim to secure the long-term future of iconic Grassroots Music Venues such as Hull Adelphi, Exeter Cavern, Southampton Joiners, The 100 Club, Band on the Wall, Tunbridge Wells Forum etc.

These venues have played a crucial role in the development of British music over the last 40 years, nurturing local talent, providing a platform for artists to build their careers and develop their music and their performance skills.

We work to gain recognition of the essential role these venues fulfil, not only for artist development but also for the cultural and music industries, the economy and local communities. We aim to preserve and improve venues, making them more efficient and improving the experience for performers and audiences. Long-term we plan to acquire the freeholds of as many of these vital venues as possible.

More Information

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

THEIR MISSION

Below excerpt from Attitude is Everything

The future we want to see…

Deaf and Disabled People can be audience members, employees or artists at any live music event of their choice: music without barriers.

What we’re doing to make that future a reality…

Attitude is Everything works in partnership with audiences, artists and the music industry to improve Deaf and disabled people’s access to live music.

Our aims:

increase the number of Deaf and disabled people participating in music
raise awareness of the barriers that Deaf and disabled people face at live music events, and to demonstrate how to overcome them
show and highlight Best Practice in access, and set an example to those we wish to influence
develop the skills and confidence of Deaf and disabled people so that they can better engage with the music industry

More Information

SAFE GIGS FOR WOMEN

THEIR MISSION

Below excerpt from Safe Gigs for Women

Safe gigs for women is an initiative established by regular gig goers with the aim of creating a safer environment for women at gigs. Our aims are:

Gig goers
Work with gig goers to spread the word that it is not okay to grope, threaten or harass others. Encourage victims to speak out, and supporters to advocate that this behaviour will not be tolerated

Venues
Work with venues to ensure they take reports of sexual harassment and other threats to women seriously. We will work with venues to create a standard in the industry for safe venues. We will then campaign to get the standard adopted nationwide.

Bands
Getting bands on board to recognise our standards, talk about our work and get their audiences recognising and spreading what is acceptable.

More Information

NICK ALEXANDER MEMORIAL TRUST

THEIR MISSION

Below excerpt from Nick Alexander Memorial Trust

The Nick Alexander Memorial Trust award grants for musical equipment to community groups and small charities across the UK, particularly those representing the most disadvantaged and marginalised sectors of society, be that through poverty, physical or mental illness, disability, ethnicity or age.

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JOE STRUMMER FOUNDATION

THEIR MISSION

Below excerpt from Joe Strummer Foundation

Our mission is to provide opportunities to musicians and support to projects around the world that create empowerment through music.

Our objectives are specifically:

The prevention or relief of poverty, particularly of young people, anywhere in the world by providing: grants, items and services to individuals in need and/or charities, or other organisations working to prevent or relieve poverty.
To promote, improve, develop and maintain the education of the public in the art, culture and science of music in all its aspects for the public benefit, in particular young musicians, including by the provision of funds for the purchase of musical instruments and studio rehearsal.
To promote, improve and advance the arts, including music, for the public benefit including by the presentation of exhibitions, public events and concerts.

More Information

SOPHIE LANCASTER FOUNDATION

THEIR MISSION

Below excerpt from Sophie Lancaster Foundation

The aims and objectives of the Charity are as follows:

Create a lasting legacy to Sophie

Provide educational group-works that will challenge the prejudice and intolerance towards people from alternative subcultures

Campaign to have the UK Hate Crime legislation extended to include people from alternative subcultures

More Information

WE ARE HUMMINGBIRD

THEIR MISSION

Below Excerpt from We Are Hummingbird

We are Hummingbird is a non-profit Mental Health awareness organisation. We are a community of music lovers who have united to spread awareness of mental health by using music as a platform to encourage people to open up and engage in conversation.

More Information

The above are just a very small selection of charities, organisations, groups and individuals that are fighting the good fight. Take some time out to research causes close to your heart and get involved to make our industry a better place.

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Tags #BrokenRecord, #SaveOurVenues, Attitude Is Everything, Blog, Joe Strummer Foundation, Music, Music Industry, Music Venue Trust, Nick Alexander Memorial Trust, Safe Gigs For Women, Sophie Lancaster Foundation, We Are Hummingbird

Features

Remembering Independent Venue Love

Post author By fullpeltmusic
Post date February 24, 2021
1 Comment on Remembering Independent Venue Love

We take a look back at the incredible Independent Venue Love livestream series by Frank Turner

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A necessary but shocking side-effect of the first lockdown and beyond is the impact on the live music industry. An industry that revolves around bringing people together in confined spaces to celebrate life and art. Music and particularly live music is vital to the mental health and wellbeing of millions of people, and the loss of that medication has added to the already scary situation we have all found ourselves in.

When the world ground to a screeching halt in March 2020, the primary concern for all of civilisation was rightly to fight the devastating coronavirus and to protect against loss of life. Alternatively as the government put it – “Stay Home, Protect the NHS, Save Lives”.

Read our Blog – ‘Mental Health, Music and Me’

The music industry and the incredibly talented people that make up the sector is by its very nature creative and innovative. As we all searched for new ways to connect with our loved ones and our passions, musicians had the answer. Welcome to the world the music livestream!

Read our Blog ‘Livestreams: Good or Bad for the Music Industry’

One man seemingly ahead of the curve on this front was Frank Turner. Turner is known to be “always on tour” as it were, and was in fact mid-tour as the pandemic hit. Turner was quick to hastily ready a special livestream event from his own home raising money for his touring family.

At the same time, the reality was dawning on the live music ecosystem of the potentially fatal impact caused by the pandemic countermeasures. In particular the Music Venue Trust, who do amazing work year round even in non-pandemic times, were busy mobilising. The MVT were well positioned to see the threat to the grassroots music venues of the country.

We have gone into depth on the subject in our blog – ‘Why We Need To #SaveOurVenues’, but ultimately the venues that foster and cultivate the entire music industry were in trouble. Sadly many face the threat of closure due to non-pandemic related issues. The events of March 2020 onwards however threatened these venues, the lifeblood of live music, to the point of extinction.

The perfect storm called for urgent action and one man taking notice and standing tall was that man Frank Turner. Soon we were all introduced to a new concept from Turner, Independent Venue Love. A series of livestream concerts taking place every Thursday during lockdown to raise desperately needed funds for at risk music venues.

A different venue would be supported each week and each week would see a unique set list. In creating this series Turner raised much needed awareness and financial support for venues. By doing so he helped to safeguard the future of live music; perhaps most importantly though, Turner also provided an escape from the terrifying realities of pandemic life. The Independent Venue Love series will have played a powerfully positive role in raising spirits and safeguarding mental health for music fans desperate for a distraction.

In our first ever End of Year Awards, we picked Turner as our ‘Artist of the Year’. You can read what we wrote about this decision in our ‘2020 Year in Review’. Basically we feel Turner deserves a medal for his efforts in arranging and performing these fantastic events. Turner has raised a phenomenal amount of money and has helped countless people through horrifying times either directly or indirectly.

That is why we thought it would be fitting to celebrate and remember the Independent Venue Love series here. You can peruse the posters for each event in the gallery below.

Independent Venue Love Posters

Now let’s get started in documenting the series.

Early Facebook Days

As we all adapted to pandemic life, we strived for the best communications technology. Many discovered the wonders of Zoom meetings for example. When debuting the IVL series, Turner took to Facebook Live. A learning experience for all, some early streams were impacted by connectively issues and eventually led to a change of internet provider for Turner and a move to Youtube.

The first five events featured on Facebook Live (and a dabble on Instagram!) saw Turner begin a career retrospective; with each week featuring another release in chronological order.

Vol.1 – ‘Sleep is for the Week’ for Nambucca, London

Frank Turner Setlist Private Venue, London, England 2020, Independent Venue Love

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Vol. 2 – ‘Love Ire & Song’ for The Joiners Arms, Southampton

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Vol. 3 – ‘The First Three Years’ for The Railway Inn, Winchester (Support from Jess Guise)

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Vol. 4 – ‘Poetry of the Deed’ for The Forum, Tunbridge Wells

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Vol. 5 – ‘England Keep My Bones’ for The Shed, Leicester (Support from Jess Guise)

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Move to Youtube

From Volume 6 onwards Turner would move the weekly series across to Youtube with better connectivity results. Turner would continue to progress through his career retrospective to the delight of his fans. A drinking game would also emerge for fans at home based initially on apologies to either his wife Jess or his mother.

As Turner’s gameplan to play his back catalogue continued, fans were treated to rare song outings. These outings occasionally would see the odd forgotten lyric, and the terming of the phrase to Varley in ode to fellow musician Will Varley. Eventually each Varley would be incorporated into the drinking game!

Vol. 6 – ‘Rarities and B-Sides 2011-2014’ for The Parish, Huddersfield

Edit this setlist | More Frank Turner setlists

Vol. 7 – ‘Tape Deck Heart’ for Molotow, Hamburg

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Vol.8 – ‘Positive Songs for Negative People’ for Union Chapel, London (Support from Jess Guise)

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Vol. 9 – ‘Rarities 2013-2019’ for The Booking Hall, Dover

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Vol. 10 – ‘No Man’s Land’ for The Portland Arms, Cambridge

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Beyond the Albums

With his released back catalogue now exhausted and lockdown one (known back then, simply as lockdown!) still persisting, Turner needed to explore different avenues for set list material. A demand for a ‘Disney Set’ initially failed to materialise until a special shortened bonus set one night.

Turner however would push on with additional themes to continue his herculean effort (Joe Wicks eat your heart out!). Volume 13 would also take place from inside the venue Turner was raising funds for as signs of normality began to appear. Volume 14 would be titled ‘The Final Stream’… little did we know what the future had in store.

Vol. 11 – ‘Covers’ for Phase One, Liverpool

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Vol. 12 – ‘Covers by Friends’ for The Cavern, Exeter

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Vol. 13 – ‘Grand Aid’ for The Clapham Grand, London (Support from Ciara Haidar, Gerry Del-Guercio & Beans on Toast)

Frank Turner Setlist Clapham Grand, London, England 2020, Independent Venue Love

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Vol. 14 – ‘Greatest Hits’ for The Cobblestones, Bridgwater (Support from Jess Guise)

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Here We Go Again!

No we are not doing Whitesnake Karaoke! A brief return to real life saw some socially distanced music possible. Turner in fact was able to play numerous shows including our ‘Gig of the Year’ as awarded in our ‘2020 Year in Review’.

Sadly the pandemic took a horrific turn for the worst. With venues still at risk and people desperate for escape, Turner and IVL would make their triumphant return in January (otherwise known as Lockdown three!). This time around Turner’s wife, Guise, would move to an important mediator role as fans got to pick the setlist!

Vol. 15 – ‘All Requests’ for The Lantern, Halifax

Frank Turner Setlist Private Venue, Essex, England 2021, Independent Venue Love

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Vol. 16 – ‘All Requests’ for Boom, Leeds

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We reviewed Vol. 15, check it out here

Catalogue Rewind

Next, Turner would return his setlists to periods of his career. Each performance featuring songs from an assigned period.

Vol. 17 – ‘First Three Albums’ for Waterloo, Blackpool (Support from Jess Guise)

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Vol. 18 – ‘Second Three Albums’ for The Venue, Derby (Support from Pet Needs)

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Vol. 19 – ‘Third Three Albums’ for The Black Heart, Camden

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Vol. 20 – ‘Rarities and B-sides’ for Dirty Rockers, Dudley

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Vol. 21 – ‘Jess Guise Requests’ for The Lexington, London

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The End!

We all hope and pray that a return to normality is on the horizon. That the incredible work of scientists and our key workers will save lives and allow life to resume. Volume 21 closes the IVL series with a request set from Jess Guise herself.

Turner has achieved amazing results from the IVL series. The fact is that he didn’t have to do this, and for that he deserves recognition.

The Music Venue Trust, Independent Venue Week and all organisations and groups working to protect our culture deserve special praise also.

Sadly the end of the pandemic and the return to relative normality won’t remove the threat posed to our grassroots music venues. Please when safe to do so, support these venues, support your favourite bands, support new bands, support music!

Music Venue Trust
Independent Venue Week

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Read our Blog – ‘Why We Need To Fix Our #BrokenRecord Industry’

Tags Beans On Toast, Frank Turner, Independent Venue Love, Independent Venue Week, Jess Guise, Livestream, Music, Music Industry, Music Venue, Music Venue Trust, Pet Needs

Features

Why We Need To Fix Our #BrokenRecord Industry

Post author By fullpeltmusic
Post date January 13, 2021
1 Comment on Why We Need To Fix Our #BrokenRecord Industry

We look at why we need to fix our #BrokenRecord Industry to ensure fair payment of artists from music streaming platforms.

What makes a #BrokenRecord Industry?

The music industry has been changing greatly in recent years and that evolution has now been exasperated by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. With the industry shaken to its core by the restrictions resulting from the virus, there is perhaps no better time than now to take action to secure a healthy and prosperous future for this vital industry.

Music is of course vital to so many; both those that work within the industry and the customers that rely on the industry. I recently wrote about the relationship between music and my mental health in my blog ‘Mental Health, Music and Me’, and it’s true that for many people this industry is essential to their happiness and positive mental health. It is therefore imperative that this industry is allowed to thrive.

The industry however is far from perfect and many existing issues have been highlighted further by the pandemic. I have always split the music industry in two. I have written about the struggles of the Live Music Industry in my blog ‘Why We Need To #SaveOurVenues’, so in this feature I’ll be focusing on the other side, the Record Industry.

The coronavirus pandemic has of course been a horrific and sobering time for everyone and every industry. The collapse of the live music industry due to various restrictions has had many disastrous consequences on the overall music industry.

I have also written however about the few positives that have arisen from this unprecedented situation. In a creative and innovative industry, many have turned to livestreaming to reach their audiences. I explored the positives and negatives of this evolution in my blog ‘Livestreams: Good or Bad for the Music Industry’.

Another positive to come from everybody having to stay at home, is that they have had more time to listen to music. The resurrection of Vinyl continued with sales growing for a 13^th consecutive year and music streaming continuing to rise in popularity. It is the negative side of this positive however that has given rise to the #BrokenRecord movement and that is what we will explore in this article.

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The way that we consume music has changed drastically over the past decade or so. The beginnings of the digital age saw the rise of illegal file-sharing where fans found they were able to swap and share digital versions of the music that they loved.

The problem with this activity was that it completely eliminated the artist from the process of music consumption by the end user, and of course the price point of zero meant that artists saw no profit from this medium.

The knock-on effect of this was the drastic decline in the purchase of physical media such as CD’s. Of course the sales of Vinyl had already almost completely diminished, and the less said about Mini-Disks the better!

In order to combat illegal free downloading of music, the industry reluctantly brought into the concept of legal paid downloads; iTunes being the go to name at the beginning. Over the pursuant years we would see many contenders emerge for both downloading music and a new concept – streaming music.

Interestingly we would also see a kick back against digital music with the resurrection and continued resurgence of Vinyl!

A global leader in the streaming of music is Spotify. This is a company that initially felt like a swear word, their platform felt too good to be true and many will have questioned the legality of it, because if something feels too good to be true, usually it is!

Fast forward to now and Spotify is accepted into homes across the world and is for millions of the people the platform of choice for music consumption.

The benefits of streaming are numerous for both fans and artists. Having entire libraries of music at the touch of a button helps fans find new acts and helps artists reach new audiences. There is however one major downside that needs to be addressed.

So, with the ongoing pandemic allowing more people more time to listen to their favourite artist, or perhaps find their new favourite artist, let’s ask a few questions regarding music streaming. Picture this – you are sat working from home and have been listening to your favourite new album on repeat, how much money do you think that said artist has just earned?

#BrokenRecord campaign founder Tom Gray shared the below table showing the rates of pay by the various streaming platforms.

Streaming payout data shared by #BrokenRecord founder Tom Gray

So, if that album you listened to has 10 tracks and you listen to it 5 times today on Spotify. Your consumption will pay 14p. Now consider that if you brought that album on CD you’d probably have spent roughly £8.

My next question is where do you think this money goes? How much would you expect the artist who wrote, performed and recorded the music to receive? Let’s explore the issues that exist when paying streaming royalties.

Physical Terms in a Digital World

Let’s consider that the artist in question is signed to a large record company. Their standard deal which they signed will likely be a Recoupment Deal. With this deal the artist will effectively have to repay all costs and expenses associated with the making of the album. Realistically this means they cannot earn royalties until they have repaid the overall cost of the album, until then all profits go to the record company.

Remember that this debt is repaid only from the artist’s percentage of the royalty. It can therefore take years for a relatively successful artist to see any earnings from their own music. You may ask why would artists sign such deals, but ask yourself how many artists have a degree in economics? Consider that even if they have three deals in front of them to choose from, they will likely all include this clause, and the alternative is no deal and likely no album.

Now consider that 14p that the band just earned from your days binge listening. It may take years before the actual artist starts earning that 14p once all recoupment is complete; and when they do there are other issues!

The biggest issue being that the record company owns the rights to the music and therefore the band will only get on average 20% of that 14p. So 2.8p. This band happens to be a standard four-piece band and therefore that 2.8p needs to be split between the singer, guitarist, bassist and drummer. Oh and the producer.

Not to mention other possible deductions. It may shock you to know that under the terms of many contracts artists still have to pay a 10% deduction for breakages! That’s literal physically broken albums… even when digital!

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#BrokenRecord

Clearly these old contracts don’t fit with the digital age and it’s always going to be the artist that loses out. That is why Tom Gray founded the #Broken Record campaign to challenge these inequalities. It should be said that nobody is arguing that Mick Jagger needs another house or Paul McCartney another car.

This campaign is designed to fight for justice and equality for the acts of the future. Hopefully you have been surprised at how little your favourite artist earns from you listening to their music on streaming platforms. You’d probably be shocked to find out that many musicians that you follow are likely living very close to the breadline. Many artists you picture living lavish lifestyles are actually struggling to pay their rent this month.

This situation has only been intensified by the coronavirus pandemic.

Reliance on Live Music

Many artists these days rely heavily on the live side of the music industry. Playing gigs, tours and festivals is how most acts will now earn the majority of their money. This is a complete 180 switch from yesteryear. Before the digital revolution of the record industry, artists toured to raise awareness of their new albums. Nowadays artists release albums to raise awareness of their tours!

Then 2020 hit and removed that income stream, leaving many artists to survive solely on income from physical and digital sales. But whilst the vinyl renaissance may help a little, the fact is CD sales continue to fall off a cliff edge and many artists are left to survive on streaming alone. Therein lies the huge problem facing the music industry right now – how, when and perhaps if it will recover.

Even if we ignore the unfairness in the discussion around streaming revenue, what we have right now are artists and crew that can’t afford to live, to pay rent or perhaps buy food. Again I don’t envisage Elton John looking down the back of the sofa for spare change, we are talking about the emerging talent of the future, the acts of years gone by who have seen dwindling success and importantly those considering starting their careers. These are the individuals having to change course, take jobs in other sectors to pay the rent and support their families. These are the individuals that may never return to the music industry!

Even when the pandemic finally goes away and life can resume, we have the looming shadow of Brexit. Whilst that is another blog topic altogether, bands are going to struggle to afford to tour beyond the UK due to new restrictions and costs.

So, for the music industry we love and rely on to emerge from this pandemic intact we need to take action.

What needs to be done?

In reality there isn’t a lot the average music fan can do. We need action from the industry and likely that will need intervention from Government. Fans can of course support their favourite artists, buying music, merchandise and tickets. Fans can also sign relevant petitions and highlight the issue by supporting the #BrokenRecord campaign.

The changes being requested by artists aren’t necessarily ground breaking. What they are asking for in basic terms is just equal pay for equal work. To be treated with respect, decency and fairness; for their efforts and their art to be valued reasonably.

That shouldn’t be hard for fans to accept. Imagine a shop worker only being given 20% of their days wage, with their manager, supervisor and company all taking the rest. Imagine they are then further deducted the costs of their uniform and the equipment they use. That wouldn’t be fair would it?

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Possible Solutions

As already mentioned, a high level thorough review and restructure of artist’s payments from streaming is required. Options that may provide possible solutions include the likes of Equitable Remuneration (ER for short!) and User-Centric Models.

Part of this discussion will form around the question of how streaming of music should be classified. Is the music purchased, rented, or is it equitable to radio airplay? Artists currently are paid via ER for radio airplay and this method is split 50/50 and therefore can be fairly summarised as equal pay for equal work.

One of the most common ways to consume music from the likes of Spotify is to use Playlists such as our own ‘Hot List’. Spotify even label these as radio such as their Artist Radio functions. So would it be reasonable to class streams in the same category as radio airplay?

As we come to a close, I want you to once again go back to our earlier analogy. Having binged that new album whilst working from home, how would you like your money to be distributed. If this month that artist was the only artist you listened to, and you pay for your Spotify, who do you think your subscription money should go to?

At present it would be added to the overall pot and divided between all artists on the platform. Would you think it would be fairer if all your subscription money was divided just between the artists that you personally listened to this month, in our case just that one band? This would be the case if streaming platforms moved to a User-Centric Model.

There are many questions here and I won’t pretend to have all the answers. What is clear is that something needs to change and that change has never been more necessary. With the combined wreckage of the pandemic and Brexit upon us, artists can’t rely solely on the Live side of the music industry. The Record Industry must act now.

The light has been shone on this issue and all stakeholders must step up and take action to fix our #BrokenRecord Industry!

Be sure to help spread the word and raise awareness of the #BrokenRecord campaign. You can share this article by clicking the icons below!

The #BrokenRecord campaign is the creation of Tom Gray, be sure to follow Tom on Twitter for the latest updates on the campaign! When discussing the subject remember to use the hashtag #BrokenRecord.

Tags #BrokenRecord, Live Industry, Live Music, Livestream, mental health, Music, Music Industry, Record Industry, SaveOurVenues, Spotify, Streaming

Features

The Year in Review 2020

Photo by **Expect Best** from **Pexels**

Full Pelt Music looks back on 2020 for our Year in Review

What a year to pick to review. It’s been a year like no other and not for good reasons.

On a personal level as detailed within my first blog, ‘The Reluctant Blogger’, I was made redundant from a job I loved, just before Christmas and during a global pandemic! Not nice, but realistically I wouldn’t be writing this blog on this website if that hadn’t happened! The decision to return to writing about music also allowed me to take a look at the relationship between music and my mental health in ‘Mental Health, Music and Me’.

For the world it has been a year of pain, struggle and despair. From the fires of Australia to the flooding of the UK early in the year and now again just before Christmas; there has been no restpite in the year of the coronavirus. Unprecedented is the word of the year, but with Brexit and the ongoing pandemic looming large, the word for next year is probably uncertain.

Everybody has struggled this year, personally and professionally. This struggle is not limited to the music industry but our industry has struggled greatly. The live side of the industry is built on bringing people together and of course that has not been possible since March. The recorded side of the industry has also struggled with delays in recording, producing and distributing.

Recovery for the grassroots of the industry is far from guaranteed. The stark and sad reality is that many musicians and hard working crew members will have needed to have sought alternative employment and the actuality here is that many will never return to the music industry. The fact is many government schemes setup to alleviate the financial pressures on individuals and businesses simply bypassed these people.

Unfortunately the pandemic has also hastened the plight of many grassroots, independent music venues. We have sadly already lost many venues and there are still many more at imminent risk of permanent closure. We have written extensively about the issues surrounding our industry in our blog ‘Why We Need To #SaveOurVenues’, and we encourage you to get involved in the initiatives highlighted.

This is of course a creative and innovative industry and through struggle we evolve. Much like the loss of my own job bred this website, the loss of touring and live shows has seen the evolution of the livestream. Many musicians have embraced technology and sought new ways to engage with their audiences. We have looked at the rise of this phenomenon in our blog ‘Livestreams: Good or Bad for the Music Industry’.

When looking back on 2020 in the future, the memories will fill everybody with dread. There has however been some fantastic musical highlights despite everything else. We recently revealed our Album of the Year in our ‘2020 Album of the Year’ blog; and the Top 20 list was highly competitive.

2020 has produced some incredible music and that’s where we are going to focus this end of year review. In order to celebrate the successes of a very difficult year we going to look at the following awards – Album of the Year, Single of the Year, Gig of the Year, Festival of the Year and Artist of the Year!

Album of the Year

As mentioned we recently listed our Top 20 Albums of the Year here. This was a highly competitive list as 2020 saw some truly phenomenal releases.

We said “It has been a crazy year, and this list has been heavily influenced by that. As mentioned the top of this list is massively impacted by new music I heard during the height of the initial lockdown. ‘Ultra Mono’ was an album that I was already extremely excited to hear; and the stream of songs released during Lockdown only served to raise that excitement to a fever pitch.

Thankfully IDLES didn’t disappoint and when the album arrived it was a pure masterpiece. It shows a natural progression on the bands first two records and grows the bands sound. It still captures what made us all fall in love with the band but by incorporating new elements into the bands sound the album shows that IDLES are no one trick pony.

Above all other releases this year and those that feature in this list, this was the album that we needed this year. In a year where we have all been knocked down one way or another, IDLES and ‘Ultra Mono’ has been a call to arms, to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves down and keep going.”

WINNER: ‘Ultra Mono’ by IDLES

The Contenders: ‘A Hero’s Death’ by Fontaines D.C., ‘Post Human: Survival Horror’ by Bring Me The Horizon, ‘Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible’ by Enter Shikari, ‘A Celebration of Endings’ by Biffy Clyro, and ‘Sex, Death & the Infinite Void’ by Creeper

Single of the Year

It’s been a good year for both Bring Me The Horizon and Yungblud, with both releasing stunning new records. Yungblud recently hit the number one spot with ‘weird!’ which we reviewed here, and Bring Me The Horizon silenced their doubters with ‘Post Human: Survival Horror’ which we reviewed here.

It shouldn’t therefore be so much of a surprise that their collaboration together is our standout single of the year. Accompanied by an over the top video, ‘Obey’ is a rip roaring tale of corruption and brainwashing, so perfectly fitting for 2020!

WINNER: ‘Obey’ by Bring Me The Horizon feat. Yungblud

‘Obey’ – Bring Me The Horizon feat. Yungblud

The Contenders: ‘Model Village’ by IDLES, ‘Space’ by Biffy Clyro, ‘Trouble’s Coming’ by Royal Blood, and ‘Protect The Land’ by System Of A Down

Gig of the Year

I was lucky enough to catch some fantastic shows early in the year, you know BC (before Covid!), and Stereophonics, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, Kaiser Chiefs and Fontaines D.C. all deserve special mention.

For my Gig of the Year however I’m again looking to the Covid era.

When life has drastically changed and you’ve been deprived of the opportunity to do something you love, you learn to savour those moments more. For me, as somebody that in 2019 attended some 93 gigs, the loss of live music was devastating. Of course, many people have endured much worse in 2020, particularly at the height of the initial national lockdown; for me however, I was just desperate for live music.

The opportunity to watch real, live music again thankfully emerged (if only for a short time) at the end of summer. Frank Turner lives by the moto “Always on Tour”, and he wasn’t going to let a global pandemic get in the way. An innovative location for a socially distanced gig was Nottingham Arboretum, basically a bandstand in a park. The result was a stunning if unusual setting for a gig which came to life when night fell and Turner serenaded the sold out crowd with his biggest hits.

A great supporting cast including Tash Bird, Holly Carter and Beans On Toast helped to make this show one to remember. The musicianship on show was fantastic, as was the togetherness and gratefulness of an audience desperate to once again forget life’s stresses and enjoy an evening of music. It was a powerful evening that brought tears to many an eye, and that’s why it wins our Gig of the Year award.

WINNER: Frank Turner @ Nottingham Arboretum (20/09)

The Contenders: Stereophonics @ Kentish Town Forum (21/01), Kaiser Chiefs @ Brighton Centre (30/01), Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes @ Alexandra Palace (15/02), and Fontaines D.C. @ Norwich UEA (24/02)

Festival of the Year

The coronavirus pandemic completely obliterated the 2020 festival season, as early optimism that some festivals would survive was eventually swallowed whole by this horrible virus. With social distancing in place, festivals just were not possible. But didn’t I say that the music industry is the most creative and innovative industry? Whilst some promoters attempted to arrange socially distant shows, tours and festivals, few succeeded; with even Live Nation cancelling a huge programme of drive in shows.

I was lucky enough however to venture to two such festivals at the Norfolk Showground near Norwich. A mixture of entertainment was laid on in a specially designed arena with socially distanced ‘pods’ maintaining the necessary safety measures. Brickfest was a one day festival focussing on covers band with a handful of original acts like headliners Bad Touch thrown in. The day was a huge success given the circumstances, as was our 2020 Festival of the Year – Wild Fields Festival!

Wild Paths Festival debuted in Norwich last year with acts gracing venues across the fine city. This year the event embraced the outside arena and rebranded as Wild Fields Festival over two days was an eclectic line-up on offer. The first day featured great sets from many young artists including Lauran Hibberd, Indoor Pets, Another Sky and headliners Gengahr.

Even through the greatest adversity the power of the arts shines through and Wild Paths was a shining example of how to put on a safe, fun and thoroughly entertaining festival during a global pandemic.

WINNER: Wild Fields Festival

Brickfest at the Norfolk Showground, also host of Wild Fields Festival

The Contenders: Brickfest

Artist of the Year

Our final award is for Artist of the Year. In a such an unprecedented and difficult year this award is going to an act that has considerably contributed to making the year better. Fantastic new music has played a hugely positive role in improving a hard year. With this in mind that means that IDLES, Biffy Clyro, Enter Shikari, Bring Me The Horizon, Fontaines D.C. and Yungblud are all in the running for this award.

Beyond that however real live music when possible has been an even greater high than normal. As such Frank Turner enters the running as an act I somehow managed to catch live this year some four times including the aforementioned Gig of the Year.

But this year is different, new albums and live shows whilst normally the lifeblood of our industry almost feel insignificant when you look at the horrors witnessed across society, both inside and outside the music industry. One saving grace for many this year has been the arrival of the music livestream. A number of those already mentioned have dabbled if not excelled in this activity.

Our winner however has taken this new outlet to heart. They have provided joy and distraction to thousands of people during what must be a record setting number of livestreams. More than that, they have managed to raise an amazing amount of money for a cause I have already championed in this blog. That cause is of course the Save Our Venues campaign and our Artist of the Year is clearly that man again, Frank Turner!

In 2020, Frank Turner has probably played more real shows and more livestreams than anybody else. He has recorded and released new music including collaborations with NOFX and Jon Snodgrass. He has produced the fantastic new Beans On Toast record. He has thoroughly entertained and provided much needed distraction from the real world to thousands; and he has raised an incredible amount of money for charity.

In reality Turner deserves a medal, but what we can give him is our Artist of the Year award!

WINNER: Frank Turner

The Contenders: IDLES, Biffy Clyro, Enter Shikari, Bring Me The Horizon, Fontaines D.C., and Yungblud

2020, a year we will all be hoping to forget very quickly, but there has been some great music released. All focus now however is on 2021 and those vaccinations. We hope that sooner rather than later we will be able to safely gather again in those venues and fields to watch our favourite artists in the flesh.

There will also likely be an avalanche of new music coming our way with artists having been isolated with their creatively for company. Let’s just hope that not every song is about lockdown!

Live Reviews

FIVE4FIVE FEST

Post author By fullpeltmusic
Post date December 23, 2020

Friday 18th – Saturday 19th December 2020

Five4Five Fest makes triumphant return to help #SaveOurVenues!

Back at the height of the initial national lockdown, a streamed festival entitled Five4Five Fest did two things. It provided much needed entertainment to struggling music fans and raised money for heroic NHS workers.

Now in Lockdown version 364 or something like that, the festival returns to once again provide an escape from the horrors of real life. This time the event is raising money for a cause close to home for music lovers, the Music Venue Trust and the Save Our Venues campaign. We recently wrote about the reasons why this support is desperately needed in our blog Why We Need To #SaveOurVenues.

As with the May event, Five4Five Fest takes place over a Friday and Saturday night with an array of musical talent performing from their homes/garages and this time even a school! The festivities are streamed across multiple channels and at present you can still catch up on demand on Youtube here.

There are probably fewer ‘household’ names on the line-up this time around, but there is no lack in talent. The Friday kicks off with a gentle performance from Paper Mill who include former Lower Than Atlantis guitarist Ben Sansom. There are more sombre moments to follow with both Holiday Oscar and Rob Lynch serenading us with emotionally charged songs including Lynch’s hauntingly festive school assembly set.

There is plenty of rocking to be done too however, with headliners Yonaka particularly bringing the party with the likes of ‘Rockstar’ and ‘F.W.T.B.’. Yonaka are stars and deservedly close the Friday night. To end night one, we are treated by the band to a festive outing of ‘Last Christmas’.

Both nights include afterparty DJ’s for those at home looking to continue the party. In true festival fashion there is also merch available at five4fivefest.com. There are also numerous raffle prizes all raising money for the Save Our Venues campaign.

Onto Saturday and the lineup for day two is certainly louder with the fantastic Haggard Cat blowing away any cobwebs. Nova Twins and Hacktivist both also deliver the goods before a slight change in pace with the brilliant Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.

The event is closed out by two fine young bands Normandie and finally Holding Absence. Again both performances provide great entertainment for those watching from home and whet the appetite for the return of live music.

The sad reality is however that many of the venues that these bands will frequent may not be around when music can finally return. They haven’t been properly supported by the government and they desperately need support. The good news is that you can help, by donating to the #SaveOurVenues campaign.

Once again Five4Five Fest has been a massive success and over the two evenings has showcased some amazing young talent. With your support and with hopes of battling this virus raised by recent vaccine announcements, lets hope and pray that soon enough we are able to return to watching these bands in our favourite venues!

You can still watch Five4Five fest and until Monday 27^th December 2020, you can still donate, buy merch and enter raffles at five4fivefest.com.

Tags five4fivefest, get cape wear cape fly, hacktivist, Haggard Cat, holding absence, holiday oscar, Live Music, Live Review, Livestream, Music, Music Venue, Music Venue Trust, Normandie, Nova Twins, paper mill, rob lynch, SaveOurVenues, yonaka, youtube

Features

Livestreams: Good or Bad for the Live Music Industry?

Post author By fullpeltmusic
Post date December 3, 2020
2 Comments on Livestreams: Good or Bad for the Live Music Industry?

Photo by **Andrea Piacquadio** from **Pexels**

With the removal of live music due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, musicians and fans alike have been forced to find new ways of getting their fix. The arts are by their very nature creative, so it should surprise nobody that new avenues to engage the connection between artist and fan evolved very quickly. The jump in popularity of livestreams has been one of the most startling effects of the pandemic restrictions.

Initially at the height of the worldwide lockdown these livestreams were generally through the likes of Facebook Live. Musicians (usually solo) playing to a camera set up somewhere in the home. For some that meant the comfort of their living rooms, for others it meant being strategically located in front of their trophy shelves. Either way it was a basic way for artists to play their songs to their fans when true live music just wasn’t possible.

One of the issues with this method of livestream is that of price. On one hand the fact that they are free for fans to watch is great. It provides a chance for those on low incomes, who may otherwise be unable to afford to see live music, with the ability to see their favourite artists perform. The price point therefore offers artists the opportunity to gain exposure to those who may not normally pay to see them. Then when live music returns, perhaps those individuals will invest in a real show.

On the flipside for artists who have seen their primary income source taken away, giving away their art for free isn’t going to help them pay their next bill. Remember not all musicians are millionaires, and in reality those engaging in livestreams from home are most likely not. Some artists have sought middle ground by continuing for free but asking those that can to donate or purchase merchandise. Whilst this provides a modest income for the artist, it isn’t viable in the long term and most artists feel awkward asking.

So, is there any way to make livestreams financially successful for artists? We are now seeing more and more artists trying their hand at the professional livestream; with easing restrictions allowing full bands to get together and stream a live performance. Filming from actual music venues and often featuring full production, these streams offer a product for consumers to purchase; thus providing a greater source of income to artists.

With many bands incorporating full production values however, we see increases in ticket prices. With prices for some streams now sitting at a similar value to real live shows however, you have to wonder at what point fans may be turned off. Looking at it from the negative point of view, it’s not really live in its truest sense. As a fan, I’m not there. I’m not listening to the actual sound or seeing the real in person artist. I’m not struggling to get a good view or having to buy expensive beer…

…actually, come to think of it, from the positive point of view, I’m not there. I’m not struggling to get a good view or having to buy expensive beer. I do not have to drive or catch the train and when it finishes I can go straight to bed! Of course, different people will see livestreams differently. Even ticketed livestreams give those who might not normally be able to attend the chance to see the show; whether that is due to travel or work commitments. You can watch the livestream anywhere with an internet connection.

There is another stakeholder involved also, and that’s the venue. Venues lying empty due to restrictions can receive a fee to host a livestream, which is good. In reality however, that fee would be a drop in the ocean compared to a real concert and everything that comes with it, such as overpriced beer!

So far we have identified both positives and negatives to both types of livestream event. Right now there is no perfect answer, no ideal scenario. Not for fans, artists, venues or the rest of the live industry ecosystem. Ultimately though we aren’t in an ideal scenario, far from it in fact and until real gigs can safely return we need to be creative and find ways to form a connection.

In my recent blog, ‘Mental Health, Music and Me’ I spoke of the need to have a distraction from the real world. Gigs are my distraction, but they are not possible right now. Livestreams therefore present an opportunity to scratch that itch. The same can be said of artists who are missing playing shows.

So, livestreams do serve a purpose and they are a short term solution to a hopefully once in a lifetime problem. But, how do they fit into the future? Are they here to stay? I’m sure we all hope that live music returns sooner rather than later and realistically nothing can recreate the experience of a live concert. I don’t therefore see livestreams as the future of live music, but even in the future they can play a role.

They provide artists with a chance to reach audiences they may otherwise struggle to get to. They provide fans with a chance to experience artists live that they may not regularly get the chance to see. I don’t see livestreams going anywhere anytime soon, especially as technology continues to develop. That however isn’t a bad thing, as long as they don’t become the “new normal”!

Until real live music can safely return our beloved music venues remain in trouble. To find out more you can read my recent blog ‘Why We Need To #SaveOurVenues’.

Tags Blog, Facebook Live, Live Music, Livestream, Music, Music Venue

Features

Why We Need To #SaveOurVenues

Post author By fullpeltmusic
Post date November 27, 2020
2 Comments on Why We Need To #SaveOurVenues

#SaveOurVenues Crowdfunder: click here to donat e

If you read my last blog ‘Mental Health, Music and Me’ then you know that I place a great deal of dependence on music, and in particular live music. The live entertainment industry provides a release to millions of people.

There is a famous song that says…

Workin’ 9 to 5
What a way to make a livin’
Barely gettin’ by
It’s all takin’ and no givin’
They just use your mind
And they never give you credit
It’s enough to drive you
Crazy if you let it
Dolly Parton

…and she’s right. Life is tough and we all need something to distract us, or we will go crazy. For some it’s a hobby, for many it is supporting a sporting team and for millions of people its live music.

The coronavirus pandemic has affected every person and every industry in varying ways. For the live music industry it has had disastrous consequences. For the vast majority of people employed in this industry there is no option to work from home and little financial support. Whilst some may qualify for furlough, a large group of freelancers and zero hour workers have been forgotten. People are having to change career in order to be able to live and this opens the very real possibility that if/when venues reopen they won’t have the staff to operate.

You may think that is an exaggeration, but consider the specialist skills required to operate the various technical requirements for a live show. It’s the invisible crew behind the scenes that make the shows happen and these skilled workers will be hard to replace. You can find out more by heading to www.wemake e vents.com.

This alone is a major threat to the future of an industry that contributed £5.2 billion to the UK economy in 2018. Sadly even that concern may be irrelevant however, if there are no venues left to host events. Yes, you are right, large venues like the O2 Arena in London are unlikely to disappear, but huge arenas are the tip of the iceberg. The live music industry is cultivated by its grassroots venues.

These largely independent venues provide the foundations of the live industry. If these foundations are rocked hard enough, for long enough, then the whole house will come down. The sad reality is that many of these venues were facing significant challenges prior to the pandemic. That’s why the Music Venue Trust had to be founded in 2014 to support and champion these venues.

Since the first national lockdown took hold, the Music Venue Trust has put in a superhuman effort to help to save these venues. The Music Venue Trust has launched the #SaveOurVenues campaign and they have been at the forefront of fundraising efforts to help to protect our grassroots infrastructure. Well over 500 venues have been recognised as under threat since April, and there are presently 30 venues on the trusts ‘Red List’. Part of a traffic light rating system for venues, ‘Red List’ venues are regarded as at imminent danger of permanent closure.

You can help #SaveOurVenues by donating to the trusts current fundraiser (www.crowdfunder.co.uk/save-our-venues-red-list).

Here you can donate either to an individual venue or the overall campaign. These venues need our help, and if we want to be able to head straight to a gig when safe to do so, we need to act now!

So, why do we need to #SaveOurVenues?

As discussed, millions of people rely on these venues for entertainment or employment. These venues are of immense cultural and economic importance, and simply put, if they close they won’t reopen. One of the biggest threats to these venues under normal circumstances is developers buying venues from landlords and building new flats in their place. It can’t be assumed that if a venue closes it will ever reopen and therefore we must protect these cultural landmarks before it’s too late.

If we look at the bigger picture, not all major artists shoot to fame via a TV talent show. Most artists start out playing to virtually nobody in the back room of a pub before slowly climbing the ladder to larger venues. It’s during this time that bands and artists get to hone their craft and earn their stripes. Consider it a rite of passage. Ed Sheeran, Adele, Radiohead, even The Beatles all started their careers in these venues.

The collapse of the affectionately known ‘toilet circuit’ would have catastrophic effects on our future stars. It would stifle many artists before their breakthrough moment. It would also repress an avenue of influence on young people. How many artists were motivated to pursue music after witnessing their favourite artist pass through town?

A very stark fact is that the closure of these venues will have an unfair effect on the lowest earning members of society. We can’t all afford to travel to other cities or pay for high priced tickets. For some, bands passing through local venues is their only opportunity to enjoy live music. To see these venues close could have harmful effects on entire communities.

There are very real, very serious consequences of our venues closing; consequences for people, for businesses and for the entire music industry. The music industry by its very nature is creative and I will look at the rise of livestreams in my next blog; but for this industry to rise and hopefully thrive post-pandemic, we need to #SaveOurVenues!

How can you help?

You can learn more about the issues facing our venues at the following links:

Save Our Venues
Music Venue Trust
Independent Venue Week
We Make Events

You can donate to the cause:

Save Our Venues National Campaign
Save Our Venues Red List

You buy merchandise to support the campaigns:

Save Our Venues Merchandise
We Make Events Merchandise

You can also write to your local MP about the issue:

Write to my MP

Finally, spread the message! Tell your friends and family, head onto Social Media and encourage others to get involved in the campaign and together we can #SaveOurVenues!

Tags Adele, Dolly Parton, Ed Sheeran, Live Music, Music, Music Venue, Music Venue Trust, Radiohead, SaveOurVenues, The Beatles, We Make Events

Features

Mental Health, Music and Me

Post author By fullpeltmusic
Post date November 25, 2020
3 Comments on Mental Health, Music and Me

Photo by **Daniel Reche** from **Pexels**

Until recently I was employed in a role that I’d describe as near to my dream job (corny, I know). As you can imagine being told that the job no longer existed didn’t have a positive effect on my mental health. Losing a job you have a great passion for is always going to hurt, but for this moment to occur both just before Christmas and in the midst of a global pandemic… to say stress levels are high would be a significant understatement.

I have naturally experienced numerous emotions since receiving this news – anger, confusion, dread, worry, fear, bitterness, rage, sadness, regret and despair to name a few. My mind of course has considered many negative connotations of this outcome including financial, vocational and personal concerns.

One positive repercussion however is that through one particularly difficult sleepless night, an urge to write emerged. What did I want to write about exactly? Music. My biggest passion in life has always been the combination of “guitars, drums and desperate poetry” as Frank Turner so eloquently put in ‘I Still Believe’. After all, life is full of ups and downs and in-betweens and so is music, with a song for every occasion and every feeling.

My relationship with music started early. I still hear certain songs (see ‘Sultans of Swing’ by Dire Straits) that immediately place me as a small child in the back seat of my parents’ car with my dad driving. The thing with music is that it is visceral. As I listen to the song even now, not only can I picture sitting in that car, I can smell that car, I feel as vulnerable like a child and feel a connection to my father.

We probably all have that one song that they just can’t listen to anymore. You know the one that takes you back in time to a painful moment. Simply walking through a shop, the background music can suddenly put us in a bad place – a traumatic memory, a breakup, the loss of a loved one or perhaps relevantly the loss of a job?

The power of music to control our emotions is immense, it’s uncontrollable even. The right song at the right time can pull you out of the darkest pit of despair. Equally, the wrong song in the wrong moment can destroy even the best of moods. For me it is all about engaging with the music and learning what songs or albums help. Just as we all have that one song that we can’t listen to anymore, I bet we all have that one song or album that is our go to tune when we need a pick-me-up.

I personally have a rather eclectic taste in music, driven mainly by guitars. Put my playlist on random and you’ll find mellow acoustic numbers intermixed with heavy metal numbers so noisy you struggle to decipher the lyrics. No matter my mood, no matter the environment or occasion I find myself in, I can pull myself back with the right melody. Music truly is a powerful elixir.

Live music has particularly played a huge role in fighting the darkest periods of my mental health. I can now openly concede that music has saved my life on a few occasions. In the depths of my despairs, in times gone by, the calendar entry for a potentially great gig has been just the light at the end of the tunnel I’ve needed to step back from the ledge. This may seem irrational to some, but often there is no rationale with mental health. We all need to grab onto the one thing that can centre us when the rollercoaster of life (Ronan Keating – told you my taste was eclectic!) threatens to go off the rails.

Standing in a crowd, watching a band, and getting lost in that moment is a magical experience. It can strip away all the worries in the world, if only for one night. At times of struggle, live music has provided solace to me. Now I find myself in troubling times; job worries, the world in turmoil and a family to support. What I would give to stand in a crowd right now; to watch a band and get lost in the moment. Sadly the universe has other ideas and the very industry that my mental health relies on is standing precariously close to the ledge (thoughts on this situation coming soon!).

Where is the light at the end of the tunnel? Well, the moral of this story is that where there is a will there is a way. As my desire to blog manifested from a dark place, the music industry has found a way to adapt within its dark place. The concept of livestreams and socially distanced gigs would have sent shivers down my spine just six months ago, but now they are a beacon of hope. Hope that we can evolve and rise above any challenge.

Our mental health is a cruel mistress and it will play tricks on us. We can learn to help ourselves however and importantly we can learn to help each other. To quote Mr. Turner again – “Be More Kind”. It’s a simple message but a mantra which benefits everyone and can’t be argued. When the world is cruel, we evolve, and with kindness we can heal wounds, mend relationships and eventually emerge from this mess.

For me music is a crutch. It supports me when I falter. It keeps me going through rough times and it offers hope that things can and will get better. I however am the first to admit that I struggle to talk about mental health. This hasn’t been easy to write, but it’s been cathartic. Talking helps and support is available:

SAMARITANS: Samaritans | Every life lost to suicide is a tragedy | Here to listen

MIND: Mind | Mind, the mental health charity – help for mental health problems | Mind, the mental health charity – help for mental health problems

I’m hopeful that everything will work out for me. Things seem bleak now, but I have hope.

Tags Blog, mental health, Music

Features

The Reluctant Blogger

Post author By fullpeltmusic
Post date November 25, 2020

For the last few years I couldn’t help but kick myself for not pursuing the art of the blog. Having first dabbled with the form of contemplative writing as early as the early noughties, I couldn’t stop thinking I’d messed up in not continuing even when blogging hit mainstream popularity. Then for years I cut off my nose to spite my face; I decided I’d missed the boat and therefore I ignored constant pressure from peers to try my hand again at the written missive.

That’s not to say I wasn’t writing. I have written live music reviews and articles for a couple of music websites for the last eight years. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has sadly taken this from me for now (more on that over the coming weeks!). Alas, although not the same, my passion for writing was still being satiated by my day job. With a weekly internal newsletter and other ad-hoc communications within my remit, I continued to practice wordsmithery.

That is until now; with an unfortunate if not completely unforeseen change in employment circumstances removing this outlet for writing. So now what? No live music to review, no newsletter to create and nowhere to fulfil my desire to articulate. Enter the rather reluctant blogger…

So, here we are some fifteen plus years after first dabbling with a keyboard and an online presence, from the ashes of two cruelly stolen channels of verbation, rises Full Pelt. A former outlet for live reviews not featured on known websites, now a new opportunity to express my inner thoughts and feelings.

Going forward you can expect blogs, reviews and articles galore; and who knows perhaps some video content if there is enough demand.

As I enter into the new endeavour I hope to entertain and enlighten. If you’d like to know when new content is posted, simply follow us on our social media channels.

Tags Blog, Music, The Reluctant Blogger

Live Reviews

Beans On Toast

Post author By fullpeltmusic
Post date November 24, 2020

Sunday 22nd November 2020 Livestream

Livestreams have become a staple of the coronavirus pandemic for passionate music fans. COVID-19 has a lot to answer for and for some the rise of the livestream is a negative, for others however it has been a small light in the darkness. Enough about that for now however, as you can expect a full blog on the subject shortly.

There have been two types of livestream – firstly, the basic home-based setup that has seen a large uptake from individuals with acoustic guitars. However, with this setup not conducive of a full band, we have more recently seen a swathe of full band streams from inside actual venues. Tonight is the first, one man, an acoustic guitar and a plethora of items for sale!

That man is Jay McAllister, known professionally as Beans On Toast. This is a gentleman who has amassed a cult following from years of relentless touring, and it’s clear that this whole situation is uncomfortable for him. That’s not that say that he isn’t thoroughly entertaining, and ultimately the evening is free and the audience don’t even have to leave their homes!

As unusual as the show must be for the artist, it’s also a different experience for the audience. With Facebook Live however there is a live chat which makes the experience more engaging. You feel you are part of a moment, as opposed to simply watching an old video on Youtube. Plus, like I said, it’s free! But that’s not to say that Beans On Toast isn’t hoping to make a living.

With not one but two new albums out shortly, there are plugs galore for both albums and their associated merchandise. We even get his wife modelling the new clothing items for sale. As cringe worthy as that may sound, it actually adds to the quaintness and intimacy of the evening.

Musically Beans On Toast treats those listening to a good mix of old and new. We get old favourites like ‘I’m Home When You Hold Me’, ‘Watching The World Go By’ and ‘Things’ interspersed between new tracks from across his two new albums. The story of the two new albums is that every year on his birthday we get a new Beans On Toast album. This year that album is ‘Knee Deep In Nostalgia’ produced by the one and only Frank Turner.

With yearly albums, Bean On Toast is very topical in his lyrical content. With these tracks mostly written prior to the world turning upside down however, a locked down Beans On Toast sat and wrote some topical tunes. The outcome is a second album of songs inspired by 2020, ‘The Unforeseeable Future’.

A number of tracks from both albums have already been released as singles and already the likes of ‘The Village Disco’ and ‘Album Of The Day’ feel like classic Beans On Toast songs. Tonight we get to hear ‘My Favourite Teacher’ and ‘Patience?’ as the festivities come towards a close.

All in all, tonight will only have solidified fans opinions that these two albums threaten to be two of Beans On Toast’s best yet. An “encore” of ‘On And On’ closes the evening at around half past nine just in time for fans to chill out before bed – one of the big positives of a livestream!

Of course I want real live music back as soon as safely possible, but in the mean time livestreams provide the escape sought from reality. As discussed in my recent blog ‘Mental Health, Music and Me’, music is an escape; and those looking for an escape could do worse than the two new Beans On Toast albums!

Tags Acoustic, Beans On Toast, Folk, Gig, Guitar, Live, Live Review, Livestream, Music