Somerset Music Hub

Yesterday there was a trade show held at The Perfect 5th in Taunton to help spurr on the development of the Somerset Music Hub.

In attendance were some of the local venue owners, promoters, and various other music and creative industry types from around Somerset. The idea was to create abit of a networking opportunity during the day, followed by a discussion on the Somerset Music Hub, and what it could potentially do for the local music scene.

I'm all for the idea of linking up the various businesses and organizations which are dotted around Somerset and its surrounding areas. It's surprising how a short 20 minute drive can completely separate different scenes and mean that bands from say, Yeovil, struggle to gig or gain popularity in somewhere like Taunton, and visa versa.

There was a lot of talk last night about government grants and Arts Council funding and how people in the South West can tap into that money to help their businesses. There seemed to be more of a focus on that then there was on the idea of linking good business ideas with potential customers.

What Somerset needs is not funding from the Arts Council or a singular grant from the government. It needs a sustainable structure to support its creative businesses. If there aren't the willing paying customers wanting to see live music then your venue wont succeed as a business. Simple as. Government money wont solve that. It just helps you to continue with a bad business model. It encourages lazy musicians and artists to avoid reality and the long term effects run deeper then the purely financial.

I am very encouraged to see people with a passion for music trying to make things better for the local music scene and I will be getting involved and trying to help as much as I can. I just pray that people look for realistic solutions to their problems and don't just turn towards the Arts Council.