Laura Marling

LAURA MARLING: LIVE FROM UNION CHAPEL

The English folk singer, in collaboration with ATC Management, embarks on a livestreamed production like no other. Is this the new formula for live events in the coming months? TPi’s Stew Hume finds out.

With her 48-date world tour cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Laura Marling and ATC Management concocted a plan to produce a livestreamed production. With an audience comprising fans who had paid a ticket fee for exclusive access, this was to be a one-off, for-onenight-only, live performance unlike any other.

Since the lockdown came into effect, ‘streaming’ has been the word on everyone’s lips. In our industry, streaming has varied from manufacturers filming training sessions all the way down to the artists confined to their bedrooms and living rooms for low-tech acoustic sessions in an attempt to keep connected to their fans.

One of the common themes across the majority of these options is that they have been free. In fact, there are many who simply don’t believe that you can recreate the ticket model for a streaming alternative – especially when you are talking about live music performances. However, Laura Marling’s latest set, shot at the iconic Union Chapel, and viewed by a loyal paying audience gathering online on both sides of the Atlantic, may prove the naysayers of this new form of entertainment wrong.

Curious about the rapid development of this style of show, TPi caught up with the team responsible for putting the pieces together, which included: ATC Management, Pulse Films, Jackshoot, DICE and the staff of Union Chapel. the singer’s streamed performance. “It was a 48-date tour taking her to Australia, the UK, Europe and finally America.” Marling was in Australia when the global community began to collectively shut down, meaning that the main focus was simply to get the English singer-songwriter back to the UK. As soon as she arrived home, ATC brainstormed alternative solutions to resurrect the ongoing album campaign.

“Like many others, we were slightly overzealous in our ambitions, thinking that the lockdown would only last a few weeks and therefore set about booking an intimate UK run of shows to make up for those we had to postpone,” reflected Salmon. “Very quickly, however, the penny dropped that this would not be the case. Our attention then turned to the possibility of Laura doing a performance in one of the booked venues, which could be broadcast live.”

Salmon pointed out the caveats for this project were two-fold; first, the event would have a full production and the second, the event would be a paid-for performance. “The collective music industry has never really gone for this style of a paid-for, full-production performance to be streamed exclusively,” he stated. “Artists have obviously done livestreams – especially during lockdown – but up until now, these have either been free or as part of a charity campaign.”

In fact, a few days prior to Laura Marling’s show, Scottish singer, Lewis Capaldi had performed a show that was behind a paywall – although the format of that performance was still very much from his home. What Salmon asserted was that the Laura Marling performance would be very much on another scale when it comes to production.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION The choice of the location came from the singer herself, who had performed there a number of times over the years. “As soon as Union Chapel was on the cards, we got in touch with their team, who were immediately receptive to the idea,” Salmon recalled. Putting on an event – even without a live audience – is not a simple task at this time, with endless social distancing regulations in place to keep those working safe. “Thankfully, we had a head start on all those elements,” explained Union Chapel CEO, Michael Chandler.

As w ell as a popular music venue, Union Chapel’s other focus is charitable work, including The Margins Project, which offers a range of services to support people facing homelessness, risk of homelessness and crisis in Islington. “Profits from the venue when we are running normally are sent straight into our charitable work,” explained Chandler, outlining the issues faced by the organisation, as the venue wasn’t making a profit while the doors remained closed.

“Once lockdown came into effect, one of our main focusses has been the most vulnerable and we’ve been working on a number of things, including helping to house individuals, as well as advice and support packs, for example,” he said.

“We have adopted stringent social distancing rules and practices, which are easily transferred to the Chapel,” he commented, adding that during load-in, there was a strict one-way system in place for the production, as well as strict space around the performance area.

“The timing of Laura’s show really could not have been better,” reflected Chandler. “We had been considering streaming options for some time – even pre-lockdown – and we have had a few one-off performances in the past. Regrettably, we had to furlough a number of staff during the

pandemic, but ATC’s request to use the Chapel gave us the option to bring a few members of our team back to aid in the production.”

As the CEO of such an iconic independent venue, Chandler was enthusiastic about the possibilities that these projects could bring to UK event spaces. “What the rules will be in the coming months for indoor gatherings is still up in the air,” he stated. “But if, for example, a 2m policy was enforced, here at Union Chapel, due to the architecture, that would mean a crowd of 84 people, instead of our usual 900. This is evidently not financially viable.” However, Chandler suggested if the paid-for steaming model proved popular, which could take place alongside a limitedcompacity audience size, “live events suddenly look more viable”.

ROLL OF THE DICE With the venue and date set, there was still the major question of getting the infrastructure in place to create an exclusive portal in which fans could pay for access and watch the show on the night.

Ha ving worked with ATC Management for a number of years, DICE was brought in to create the digital infrastructure that would enable audiences to get the live event experience from the comfort of their homes.

Ta lking through the company’s involvement with the project was Russ Tannen. “When DICE launched six years ago, one of our main aims was to create a better experience for those purchasing tickets to create a more rounded experience at a show,” started Tannen.

This ethos is what brought about features within the DICE app such as sending information about bands and artists in the lead up to the show as well as letting users know, via their contacts, which of their friends would also be attending. “The fact is, we are a tech company, and as soon as the lockdown was announced, we began developing strategies and solutions

for artists to keep a connection with their fans,” he said. During the first few weeks, the company was heavily involved in several streamed projects, which were either free or open to donations, but according to Tannen, the proposition by ATC was of a different calibre.

“From our first chat, they explained how they were looking at putting on an event that was in a great venue, had higher production values thanks to the work of Pulse Films, and was to be sold to the audience for the price of a regular ticket,” he reflected.

Once on board, the company moved through the gears quickly, pulling all the necessary infrastructure together. When the tickets went on sale, customers were sent a link that would be made active 15 minutes prior to the show, along with a unique code that allowed them to watch the show on another device.

“T he feedback we have got since the show has been incredible,” stated Tannen. “It’s a weird thing to explain, but the event created a feeling of ‘being there’ and witnessing something special, which was akin to a real-life show.” It should also be noted that once the show was over, the stream could not be re-watched so, in essence, creating a live experience. Once the performance was over, it really was over.

“A udience members were also able to interact with the show through the DICE app,” added Tannen. “They were able to fire off emojis, which acted like applause. We also found that many people were interacting with the show via two devices, so watching the show on their TV and speaking to their friends via their phones, creating quite sociable event.” This played into DICE’s existing invite features when fans were purchasing tickets. “On average, for each ticket sold, the buyer would invite 2.4 friends to the events as well,” he stated, outlining the potential reach of this style of event.

“This trend really will be the lasting legacy of this outbreak from the live events world,” concluded Tannen. “The way I’ve been explaining

it to people is that – can you imagine if the only people that got to see Manchester United play were those sitting in Old Trafford? People across the globe for a long time have either payed for TV subscriptions or visited pubs who pay for an annual licence. There are a number of logistical challenges in going to see a show, from travel to accommodation, and this type of infrastructure where you could simultaneity stream a show could really open up live music to a far bigger audience.”

FINGER ON THE PULSE Pulse Films provided a camera package and lighting for the performance. Director, Giorgio Testi, was excited by the myriad options this project presented. “I’ve been filming live music as a director for close to 15 years,” he stated. “I usually find this type of work when you film a band or artist is a blend of cinema and TV. What can limit you in these projects can be an audience – there may be a shot you really want to get but you don’t want to create any sightline issues. Thankfully, this is no-longer an issue.”

Testi explained how he had done some similar projects before – such as a rooftop shoot with Blur back in 2012 – but that doing a shoot for over an hour was new challenge for him. “I knew I didn’t want to use a huge number of cameras for the project,” he stated. “The goal was to create an intimate, cinematic feel. For example, for the first part of the set, there were 12 to 15 minutes shot on one camera, which roamed around the space gently.”

The three operators manning the camera used ARRI ALEXA Minis with a final locked-off wide shot at the other end of the venue. The camera feeds were then sent to the OV trucks set up outside and streamed out to the audience thanks to the work of Jackshoot

Jackshoot’s Joint Managing Director, Abi Hemingway, discussed the company’s involvement in the project. “Onsite we had four of our crew alongside one remote broadcast engineer,” outlined Hemingway.

“Obviously the impact of social distancing and enhanced hygiene procedures mean that some tasks simply take longer now – preparing the kit for use by other people, for instance. For this particular show, we were situated outside to help reduce the number of crew in the building, which meant enduring a mighty thunderstorm during soundcheck.”

Although working under vastly different conditions, Hemingway was pleased to report how everyone involved had adapted very quickly and incorporating hygiene measures such as the use of face masks and frequent use of hand sanitiser into their workflow.

“We are renowned for our focus on quality and reliability, and we have refined our workflows over many years of delivering live events for online broadcast,” continued the Managing Director. “This project was no different, with our onsite team taking Pulse’s beautifully crafted video feed and transmitting it over multiple connections (for redundancy) to our Manchester facility at BT Tower. From there, the feed was encoded for onward distribution via the Dice PPV platform.”

To close, Hemingway gave her final thoughts on the project, which she described as “a pleasure from start to finish”. She added: “After months of remote broadcasting, it was great to be in a real venue again. We hope it’s not too long before everyone can experience real music in venues again, but until that day, we’re committed to helping as many artists deliver their performances online so they can still have that connection with fans.”

Testi concluded: “You have to have the right performer for this type of project. From start to finish, during both performances, she was fantastic. It was a really interesting project and, as bizarre as it might seem, from the resonance we’ve seen on social media, it seemed like people got a really ‘live experience’ and felt like they were witnessing something special.”

Salmon credited Dom Monks, who handled the audio feed being used for the steam. Monks has collaborated for a long time with Marling, producing a number of her studio albums including her latest release, Song for Our Daughter. “He is a brilliant engineer and tech and he was very excited to be involved,” commented Salmon. “We put him and his broadcast tech in a backroom – isolated from the venue sound so they were mixing for that purpose.”

WHAT’S NEXT? Speaking to the collective team who pulled together the pieces of the project, all of them seemed to be excited for the future of this new style of live performance. Indeed, ATC Management has already announced similar projects set to take place, featuring the likes of Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes and Sleaford Mods .

“To be clear, I’m not saying that consuming a live performance through a screen is the same as seeing it at a venue,” Salmon delineated. “I believe we have proved that there is another viable option and revenue stream, both now and perhaps for many years to come.”

As of now, the ATC team are busy speaking to a number of other acts and one thing they have made clear is that they are encouraging artists to involve as many of their production team within the projects as possible. “We’re hoping for all these projects to be as collaborative as possible and keep people busy during these uncertain times.” TPi Photos: Joel Ryan www.lauramarling.com www.atcmanagement.com www.dice.fm www.unionchapel.org.uk www.pulsefilms.com www.jackshoot.com