PRS for Music today launches Music Makeover 2012 ahead of the implementation of the Live Music Act in October.
The Music Makeover competition gives music-friendly pubs the chance to win £5,000 to "help create the right space for music so they can remain competitive and crucially, a key destination for locals to enjoy".
The passing of the Live Music Act means small venues in England and Wales (under a 200-person capacity) will no longer need local authority permission to host performances of live music.
PRS for Music will be contacting 41,000 pubs with a comprehensive guide to making live music work including tips on genre choice, stage lighting, jukeboxes, gig promotion and ticketing.
Research conducted by PRS for Music with pub-data specialists CGA Strategy Ltd. identified a significant positive impact of live and recorded music on sales in pubs – an increase of £667 on Fridays and Saturdays and 36 more units each day during the week.
Francis Rossi of Status Quo remarked: “Don’t even start me on the importance of the pub circuit. In the early days we were always gigging in local pubs, throwing our kit in the back of the van and motoring from town to town. We pretty much mastered our live sound and style in those old pubs.”
Horace Trubridge, Musicians’ Union stated: “Pubs play such a vital role in many musicians’ careers and provide an essential platform from which talent can grow. Demonstrating how music can really benefit pubs underlines how intertwined the two industries are. We need to protect and support the pub sector and the live music circuit as they are both such an integral part of the UK cultural scene.”
Last year’s Music Makeover winner David Pott of The Market Inn, Faversham, said: “We were extremely pleased to win – pleased for us and for the pub. The prize money will be a great boost for the pub and the community. This will put The Market Inn on the map for music. We’re already receiving demos from local bands who want to play here.”
Pubs looking to enter the Music Makeover complete the application form online, or by printing off and returning it to PRS for Music by 30 September 2012.
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