Access for people with disabilities - a work in progress

Attitude is Everything, the charity dedicated to improving deaf and disabled people’s access to live music, has released its 2016 report on the state of access in the events industry. The launch of the report, which was attended by venues, organisers and other industry professionals, also featured a panel discussion on best practice accessibility. The report covers onsite and online access information, as well as the challenges deaf and disabled people often face in the immediate environment around a live music venue.

Attitude is Everything chief executive Suzanne Bull MBE told reporters: “Or aim is to highlight areas of good practice and progress” and  “At the same time the report is an opportunity to reflect on the barriers faced by deaf and disabled people” adding “A lack of decent online access information websites has become a constant source of frustration to millions of disabled fans” and “Evidence suggests that many will not risk attending an event if they are unsure about access facilities. We should not be letting these online failures hold back the tide of progress, especially when they are so easy to fix.”

Glastonbury’s Emily Eavis, who wrote the foreword of the report, said: “It is a vital that all festival goers can easily access clear information about how to buy tickets, what facilities are available onsite and how they can arrange for the necessary support in order to be able to attend. We’re very pleased to be continuing our work with Attitude is Everything to ensure this.”

More here http://www.accessaa.co.uk/attitude-is-everything-launches-2016-disability-access-report/

Attitude is Everything hits 100!

Attitude is Everything (AIE), the charity that campaigns to improve accessibility at live music events for deaf and disabled fans, is celebrating the 100th sign-up to its Charter of Best Practice. Guildford venue The Boileroom – capacity 300 – has joined the likes of Glastonbury, Reading Festival, The O2, The Roundhouse and Brixton Academy in committing to attracting and welcoming disabled audiences.  “For Attitude is Everything to be awarding the 100th sign-up to the Charter is a real milestone, and I’m particularly excited that we’ve recognised a small venue like The Boileroom,” said AIE founder Suzanne Bull MBE.

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FESTIVAL NEWS

The 80,000-capacity Rock am Ring in Germany has been forced to move from Nurburgring, where the festival has been held since 1985, after organisers failed to agree terms with new site owners Capricorn Automotive. Not only has promoter Marek Lieberberg Konzertagentur (MLK) to find a new site for RaR, which is twinned with its Rock im Park (cap. 70,000) in Nurnberg, it will face competition from a new DEAG backed festival to be launched at Nurburgring.

Live music charity Attitude Is Everything has launched a new campaign this morning, calling on more venues and festivals to sign up to its Charter Of Best Practice for providing better access to deaf and disabled music fans.  The Music Without Barriers campaign is backed by musicians including Robert Smith, Alex Kapranos, Frank Turner, Tom Odell, Alt-J, Slow Club, Anna Calvi, Enter Shikari, and Stealing Sheep, who will be promoting it on their social media accounts via the hashtag #MusicWithoutBarriers and 90 venues ad events have already signed up for the campaign,

Scottish festival T In The Park is set to move to a new site for its 2015 edition. T's present base in Balado, Kinross, where the event has taken place every year since 1997, sits above a major oil pipeline which The Scotsman says has caused some problems for organisers DF Concerts and "substantial concern" from health and safety executives. 

One Love. The reggae-weekender-with-camping-facilities, which is happening between 15-17 August , is setting off for a new, bigger address at Springfield Farm in Milton Keynes, only ten mins drive away from its old post at Stockwell Farm. A confirmation on the One Love website states: "At Stockwell Farm (our old venue) we were really struggling with where to put everything and everybody! So we came to the conclusion that a change of site would be necessary to see the festival grow and protect the future of the genre".

Big Day Out, the troubled Australasian touring festival, will not return in 2015, and its long-term future seems far from assured. The news follows a deal that seemingly makes US-based Lollapalooza promoter C3 Presents the sole owner of Big Day Out, it having bought out co-owner AJ Maddah (and having already acquired half the event from Vivian Lees back in 2011). Following much speculation about the future of the festival, it put out a statement yesterday saying: "While we intend to bring back the festival in future years, we can confirm there will not be a Big Day Out in 2015".

Marilyn Manson has had two shows in Russia and Ukraine cancelled - both part of the twin-sited Park Live festival. A rally in Russia against "Western anti-culture" - and specifically Manson - kickstarted problems two weeks ahead of the first show - but it was a late bomb threat  that sealed the cancellation. The performance in Ukraine was  cancelled a week ahead of its scheduled date on the 29th June, when the entire edition of the festival was scaled down, with organisers saying that "today's political and economic conditions created insurmountable obstacles for large-scale outdoor events".

Michael Eavis has told the Guardian was that Glastonbury's 50th anniversary might be the right time to personally retire from active involvement in the enterprise. He told the newspaper "I think I can run on another six years, which would take me up to 50 years, then [I'll] see what happens after that" adding "Every single person here last night wanted to shake my hand and say it's the best thing in their life. It really is quite phenomenal that appreciation of the event - 44 years and people love it more than ever". Eavis also told the paper that 2017 would be the festival's next fallow year, and that the Pyramid Stage headliners for 2015 were already booked, although he said the much rumoured Prince wasn't in the frame saying "We're always having a go at [getting] Prince", he admitted, talks seemingly getting further this year than most. "Most of the people in the world want to play here, so I did ask him to hop on the train and come down to Castle Cary station and I'll show him around the farm some time. [That offer] hasn't been taken up yet though".  Eavis's daughter Emily Eavis said that her father had been enjoying the event, saying on the Monday "He got back at 4am last night! I think he got caught up in a singalong in the Underground Piano Bar, or something. But I think he’s thrilled with how this year went. He still absolutely loves it" and confirming that she and husband Nick Dewey "are already pretty far along with next year’s line-up" adding  "we’ve nearly confirmed all three headliners. I couldn’t be happier with how it’s shaping up" and added on the future of the Festival "We’ve got an incredible wave of young people who are now heavily involved with this festival, along with all our fantastic long-term team. It’s an amazing position to be working alongside so many great creative minds, spending an entire year planning these hugely ambitious shows that exist for one weekend! So, yes, I’m very excited about the future. And not just for next year, but for many, many years to come."

Live sector needs to make tickets more accessible

Live music accessibility charity Attitude Is Everything has said that the live sector is missing out on 2.5 million ticket sales a year - equal to about £66 million in annual revenue - because while promoters make events accessible to deaf and disabled customers, they are not making it easy for those fans to buy tickets. In the group's latest State Of Access report, Attitude Is Everything says that 83% of the disabled gig-goers it surveyed were put off buying tickets because of inaccessible booking systems. So called 'accessible tickets' are often sold via telephone booking lines, rather than online, which make it harder for customers who require such tickets to make a purchase.  AIE is now working with the Society Of Ticket Agents & Retailers to facilitate a working party involving the likes of Ticketmaster, See Tickets, Ticketline and Eventim to tackle the problem.

Live event challenges highlighted in Muscular Dystrophy Campaign

Venues and promoters are not doing enough to ensure that disabled people can easily attend live music events, a new report by UK charity Muscular Dystrophy Campaign has found.

Often, says the report, disabled tickets for shows are only available via premium rate telephone numbers, rather than online, and sometimes an event has passed before venues agree to accept 'proof of disability' required when providing some tickets. Those who do make it into venues often find that they are unable to sit with friends and family, due to limited number of extra seats in accessible areas, and toilet facilities are often lacking. The study also says that in some cases people in wheelchairs have been asked to leave before a performer finishes in order to "avoid disruption" for able-bodied customers.

The Academy Music Group last week confirmed that eight of its venues have now achieved silver status with the Attitude Is Everything scheme to make live music venues and events accessible to deaf and disabled gig-goers; the remaining six have bronze plus status.

Reconfirming his company's commitment to the scheme, AMG's COO Graham Walters told CMU: "Ticket sales for disabled patrons to our venues have increased significantly over the last two years. By working with Attitude Is Everything, we have created a realistic action plan to work through each stage of their Charter. A number of our venues were built in the early 1900s, thus we identify solutions for the best practical options that are achievable with each General Manager, taking on board feedback and training from Suzanne Bull and her team at Attitude Is Everything".

Festival Awards recognise access and disability

The UK Festival Awards are supporting the Attitude Is Everything campaign to improve deaf and disabled people's access to live music events. They have included disabled access in the criteria used by judges assessing this year's music festivals, and have teamed up with Festival Republic to offer the winner of the best "Grass Roots" festival award a £1000 grant to enable them to improve accessibility.