Alongside all the music you’d be forgiven for forgetting about the conference aspect of Gigbeth taking place during the day on November 1st.
The Conference will return in 2007, once again bringing education and industry together. The conference is for those who work in the music industry and education. By bringing both sectors together the conference will offer fresh approaches that can bring closer working relationships between education and industry.
This year’s subject will be how technology is affecting the way we learn, create and consume music…
As last year the conference will be a Powerpoint free zone with interesting speakers from both music education and industry to provide a different perspective for those already in the respective industries.
Tickets for the conference are £85+vat and include an iPod Shuffle loaded with West Midlands music.
This post was prompted by an Audiences Central post
Gigbeth, at a cost of 275k, is an absolute waste of tax payer’s money and nothing more than a government run ‘Micky Mouse’ series of small fry gigs.
What young person would want to pay £60 to see a bunch of ‘C’ list bands and students from South Birmingham College in half- empty venues, when, if they hung-on a week, they could see the likes of The Sugarbabes, Scouting for Girls, McFly and much more for free in the city centre – with a 30,000 strong crowd ?
Who’d want to pay £85 to hear Ruby Turner and Feargal Sharkey bore the anecdotal musical pants off everyone except a bunch of pencil-neck public servants ?
It looks as if the ‘X Factor’ has permeated the LSC, BCC, Business Link, AWM. Now it seems that every clumsy,public servant from the arts, leisure , entertainment and media sectors is aching to be the next Simon Cowell or Sharon Osborne.
Gigbeth: absolutely superfluous !
Um, a three day wristband for Gigbeth is £15, or £6 a day.
The only McFly gig in Birmingham I can see is a sold out NEC one on Nov 30th. Have I missed something?
I’m confused by several aspects of this. Even though I’m not particularly feeling very much of what Gigbeth appears to be this year (and question its use) and even though I quite like X-Factor:
1) The reason why people would want to attend smaller gigs is because they want to find out about and hear new and lesser-known music, rather than the music played on the radio all the time. This is so evident I can’t believe the question has even been asked.
2) Surely the big-budget big-production efforts the above correspondant has mentioned are much more like X-Factor than normal-sized gigs in normal-sized venues? I can’t understand the comparison in the slightest and would be intrigued to to see it explained.
I think what Mr B means by the X Factor jibe is that faceless bureaucrats see the music industry as a sexy toy to play with and not a serious part of the city.
He’s obviously never met Clare Edwards who runs Gigbeth.
Here I was seeking out this post in order to point out that we’ve got some brief biogs and links for the conference speakers listed over at Digital Central, I didn’t expect to find a debate raging.
Nothing to add to this really other than to say I’m looking forward to both the conference (this city should have a regular music conference or two) and the festival itself.
Dave
I think what Mr B means by the X Factor jibe is that faceless bureaucrats see the music industry as a sexy toy to play with and not a serious part of the city.
That doesn’t make a lick of sense as a metaphor though, does it?
That Gigbeth, it’s just like ‘Bob Says Opportunity Knocks’. Only sexy. or something.
Plus: Next time I see you I will hit you or tell you off or wag my finger or similar for falling into use of such a crappy stock phrase as ‘faceless bureaucrat’. You may have escaped from me on Saturday but this run of luck will not last.
I have a face – come talk to me!
clare.edwards@lsc.gov.uk
I would desire to be the last person to side with Mr B on this since his logic is faulty, his numbers wrong and his manner objectionable but I think I know where he’s coming from.
There is a sense, not just in Birmingham but across the country, that the music industry is seen by those in power as not a serious industry like, say, making cars. This is despite the millions it earns not just from the music itself internally and in export but in legal fees, publishing and licensing, plus the whole infrastructure needed for live performance. An example that might be cited in this could be the recent B1 CD thing done, apparently, with minimal consultation of local music experts.
Unfortunately Mr B makes the mistake of assuming all persons responsible for city-funded projects are faceless bureaucrats (hence my use of the phrase in parody) who are just playing around with the industry because it makes them feel more sexy than touring car factories. This is a daft attitude to take as while they are undoubtedly persons of that ilk within the establishment there are also those who are trying to bridge the gap. Having met Clare a few times and talked to her about Gigbeth I can state, regardless of the (I’d argue pretty unmeasurable) success of the weekend she’s coming at this from an intelligent, well thought out and, above all, useful angle.
I’d encourage anyone with an interest in this to take her up on the offer for a chat.
I think that for the price, Gigbeth is a fantastic opportunity to experience some new talent and do so within the atmosphere of collaborative appreciation and ears who like something asides from the norm. The sums are definitely wrong on Mr. B’s part. And as for this:
“What young person would want to pay £60 to see a bunch of ‘C’ list bands and students from South Birmingham College in half- empty venues, when, if they hung-on a week, they could see the likes of The Sugarbabes, Scouting for Girls, McFly and much more for free in the city centre – with a 30,000 strong crowd ?”
Hello. your chosen ‘acts’ are hardly inspiring me here….. me smells a promoter….
Touring Car factories aren’t sexy now, Pete? I thought motor racing was very fashionable of late. Arf.
Re-stating what we already understood from your first post still doesn’t change the fact that the metaphor he used to express it was a half-baked one, anyway.
It’s only just occurred to me that he mentioned a “30,000 strong crowd”. That seems even sillier than the silly fiscal numbers quoted. Which venue is this, now? I’d missed that bit.
Oh, I do hope he comes back.
I assumed the 30,000 crowd was some kind of BRMB / Heart FM Party In The Park style jamboree, given that it’s supposed to be free.
Ah! I’ve found it! He’s talking about the Xmas Light Switchon at Millennium Point!
http://www.brmb.co.uk/Article.asp?id=495887&spid=365
How could anything compete with that! We might as well all just give up and go home, I reckon.
“On Saturday November 10th, bestselling girl group, the Sugababes will ‘push the button’ on the Retail Birmingham Christmas Lights Switch”
I See What They Did There.
>£85 to hear … Feargal Sharkey
As long as he sings “a good heart”.
And there’s me thinking Push the Button was a Money Mark song / album.
What is this Sugary Babes of which you speak?
They did that one that was half “Freak Like Me” and half “Our Friends Electric” thus making it difficult to see how they themselves fit into it at all.
Hello,
I was present for a few of the Gigbeth days and i am afraid to say my opinions are very simular to Andy B’s at the top of the page…
Did noone else think it was a wash out?? And as for the opening ceremony… the small crowd was kept waiting for ages with technical faults, the acts were rushed – Nizlopi playing only 3 songs?? and it generally being a shambles on stage with the right hand speakers turning off and on!
Do all 34 sponsors experience the festival for them selves? and if they did would the invest next time?
I disagree. I saw some great stuff and I think that the music choices were good overall. yes the opening ceremony was a problem and I would like to know how the tech people thought that kit was up to the job.
I didnt go to the conference but have heard good things about it and I saw some great stuff at the Sanctuary at at the Adam and Eve.
If they sort the tech out I reckon Gigbeth is a good thing that I would go to again
Look, we can all criticise, thats by the by.
I think the main point here is that there was no one at the event.
For a supposed profit making event this would appear to be losing a whole lot of money and face to the midlands, so do we need it, i have yet to be convinced
x