This video is the keynote address from the Live Music Exchange: Cardiff event, November 10th, 2012. Professor George McKay gives a wide ranging presentation, which covers the history of music festivals in the context of the music industry, and also deals with its relationship to a sense of place in terms of both society and geography.
Jeff Thompson explains the concept behind the Off Axis Network, a proposed UK-wide network of musicians, promoters, and venues. The network aims to empower grassroots musicians by establishing a national ‘gig swap’ system by which musicians can build credit via an online system, which will then enable them to play all over the country.
Findings of the report First Step: UK Music Industry Greenhouse Gas Emissions 2007 which identified that annual audience travel to music events accounts for 43% of greenhouse gas emissions from the UK music industry. Of this, music festivals contribute 24% of all music audience travel emissions, 68% of the festival sector’s total emissions.