Union Chapel May - October 2020 by tpr media consultants

Union Chapel Media Update

May to October 2020 Selected coverage Media Campaign conducted by tpr media consultants +44 (0)20 8347 7020 | sophie@tpr-media.com www.tpr-media.com

Media Evaluation overview From the start of our discussions with Union Chapel, tpr media were briefed to create a strategy to put the live music venue and its social impact work at the centre of wider postCovid discussions. Union Chapel has been committed to continuing its social action work and formed part of the first COVID task force at the outbreak of the virus. This work, including the Margins project, has had a renewed urgency during lockdown and beyond. tpr media’s aim was to engage Union Chapel in Londonwide and national conversations on the future of the arts and the importance of social justice work across both consumer and trade media. The results include major industrywide music and eventbased features, local, Londonwide and national TV and radio interviews: from the Observer to the New York Times the BBC Travel Show to BBC London TV and BBC London Robert Elms. We liaised with Union Chapel staff in order to maximise the PR potential of all events and activities at the venue – From Frank Turner’s fundraiser to Grief is a thing with Feathers – providing quotes from Michael Chandler and background on Union Chapel pertinent to each story. We have also advised on messaging, created documents against enquiry and provided briefings for interviews. Laura Marling’s streamed gig at Union Chapel provided a seminal opportunity to demonstrate how the venue was on the front foot in exploring new funding streams. According to Brian Message, who cofounded ticketed online concerts specialist Driift, which put on the show said: ”...it was two livestreamed shows by Laura Marling at the Union Chapel in London that really got the ball rolling.” We liaised with the management company PR team and offered the venue and Union Chapel staff for interviews and contacted specialist events and music outlets. The story gained momentum – with extensive TV and radio coverage and print coverage for the Observer to the New York Times – the Union Chapel was heavily branded throughout. Being the first venue to host live streaming commercially in this way, this interest has continued till now. Other priorities were building long term relationships with media from the Music Week to Islington Gazette, always demonstrating – through all PR activities – that Union Chapel is worth investing in for the long term. We have also contacted multiple outlets: from Woman’s Hour to Radio4, PM about the Margins’ project and edited a comment piece for the Evening Standard about the charity. While these pieces haven’t run, we now have contacts with highprofile outlets that we can go back to in the future. According to Kantar analytics there were 151 pieces of coverage, excluding TV and radio, with a total news value of £1.4m. While this is a rough guide (at least 30 pieces were reviews of the Laura Marling concert) it shows how wideranging the coverage was. This document contains key pieces providing a snapshot of the PR activity from May to October.

tpr media consultants – October 2020

Analytics Total News Value 07/10/2020

Total Unique Sources

Total News Volume 27/10/2020

27/10/2020

1.47m

151

89 Top 20 Sources by Value – 27/10/2020

Source Name

Value

The Independent Daily Edition

585,039

The Guardian.Com (Web)

260,930

Mail Online UK (Web)

161,784

Yahoo! UK and Ireland (Web)

110,672

The Observer

57,101

BBC (Web)

51,439

AOL UK (Web)

45,432

Total Production International

30,483.60

The Times (Ireland)

27,462.48

The Times

27,462.48

MSN Ireland (Web) IQ Magazine MSN UK (Web) The Guardian Inews (Web)

23,998 23,483.9 22,180 21,980.20 20,868

Financial Times

20,062.90

The Times (Scotland)

15,422.88

Radio Times

13,946.10

The Independent (Web)

13,717

Yahoo! Sports UK and Ireland (Web)

12,676

All Others

121

tpr media consultants – October 2020

Media Types 27/10/2020 94 Internet UK Additional Regionals UK Key Regionals UK Nationals Magazine, Consumer Magazines Trade and Other

1 2

Irish Nationals Unknown

5 5

Total News Reach 27/10/2020

Top 20 Sources by Reach – 27/10/2020 Source Name

Article Reach

Mail Online UK (Web)

2,009,108

The Guardian.Com (Web)

1,944,228

BBC (Web)

1,916,376

Daily Mail

1,133,268

Yahoo! UK and Ireland (Web)

1,030,766

The Mail On Sunday

966,299

Radio Times

529,263

The Independent (Web)

511,042

MSN Ireland (Web)

447,023

The Times

364,936

The Scotsman (Web)

273,782

Yahoo! Sports UK and Ireland (Web)

236,115

Ft.Com (Web)

226,904

I (The Paper For Today)

220,229

Evening Standard (Web)

171,109

MSN UK (Web)

165,252

Financial Times

163,324

The Observer

160,363

AOL UK (Web)

141,057

The Guardian

129,053

All Others

12.89m

125 tpr media consultants – October 2020

TV and Radio BBC Travel Show interviewed Laura Marling at Union Chapel for a feature on how COVID19 has impacted live music worldwide. The item was broadcast on the weekend of July 25 and 26. It was shown on BBC World Service, BBC News and BBC One to an audience of 90m people and is on their facebook page starting at 12:30

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ru5sy4NS10

ITV London TV piece Friday 12 June at 6pm and 10pm interview with Adam Lilwall at Union Chapel on how the live music industry will have to reinvent itself and the financial impact of socially distanced gigs.

https://www.facebook.com/ITVLondon/videos/184 091986346227/

tpr media consultants – October 2020

Sunday 19 July Sunday Live BBC One religious programme interview with former Union Chapel ambassador, Emy the Great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUA9qleVXIA

Tuesday 26 May BBC Robert Elms Michael Chandler was interviewed as part of a major conversation on the future of live venues in London after lockdown which took place on the show all afternoon. No longer available. 16 October 2020 Max Porter interviewed on BBC Robert Elms about his reading of the book to raise fund for the Margins project 2:11 to 2:22 multiple references to Union Chapel and the Margins Project.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p08t2k4v

tpr media consultants – October 2020

Print and Online â&#x20AC;&#x201C; National, International and Arts

tpr media consultants â&#x20AC;&#x201C; October 2020

Music and Events Trade The leading industry events magazines, IQ (Live Music magazine) and TPi (Total Production International) ran major features on the Laura Marling concert and both interviewed Michael Chandler. We had extensive coverage in NME and Music Week both outlets ran several articles. Below is a snapshot. The leading international live music business.magazine, IQ, ran a front cover of Laura Marling at Union Chapel to tie in with their major feature. tpr arranged the interview with Michael Chandler see p. 24:

https://issuu.com/gregiq/docs/iq90

90 An ILMC Publication JULY 2020 | £25 | €25

GREEN GUARDIANS GUIDE 2020 INDIA MARKET REPORT

tpr media consultants – October 2020

STREAMING OF YOU, MY LOVE

While the coronavirus pandemic has shuttered the live music business, pioneering artists and their representatives have been working hard to make the most of a bad situation. And it seems like pay-per-view, live-streamed concerts may be one silver lining to this particular global cloud. Gordon Masson speaks to the architects behind Laura Marling’s successful shows at London’s Union Chapel.

Photography © Joel Ryan hen the ﬁrst song was over and, of course, no applause followed… I found the awkwardness of it somewhat thrilling,” says Laura Marling of her groundbreaking 6 June live-streamed gigs – the ﬁrst for fans in UK and Europe, followed hours later by a second show tailored for fans in North America. “It felt similar to a sound check in that people

W 24

around you are getting on with their jobs and, in my case as a solo performer, you’re left there to get on with it, to do my job – there’s something I really enjoy about that. To sing in an empty church is a pleasure at any time. Also, my shows certainly aren’t famous for my mid-set one liners... so a lack of audience interaction didn’t factor too much.” While the thousands of fans who bought a ticket for the Union Chapel concerts were prob-

ably unaware of the historic signiﬁcance of the shows, the reaction to the format was almost unanimously positive, with Marling’s haunting lyrics, song choices and mesmeric performance complemented by the setting of the empty and silent venue. Indeed, the artist herself was one of the biggest fans of the format and she is already working with her management team – ATC Management’s Brian Message and Ric Salmon – on another bigger live-streaming concept. To that

iq-mag.net

tpr media consultants – October 2020

Laura Marling_Feature

“Without an audience, there’s tremendous possibility with what could be done in a space” Laura Marling | artist

Magazine

tpr media consultants – October 2020

Feature_Laura Marling end, Message and Salmon have established a new company called Driift to capitalise on the potential of the new ticketed live-streaming model.

Held down

“Great content costs money to create and deliver, so artists should not be ashamed of wanting to sell tickets to make a living” Ric Salmon | ATC Management/Driift

In terms of performance, thousands of acts around the world have found themselves redundant since politicians started banning mass gatherings and conﬁned live music to all but a memory of better times. Using a variety of platforms, however, numerous acts have been video live-streaming from their own homes, albeit with little quality control on either audio or visual aspects. And using the technology at hand, only those with huge followings have been able to generate revenues through the likes of advertising that, again, they rarely have any say about. Where Marling’s activity differed was in charging fans for a ticket to access the live broadcast of her show, which transported her out of the ubiquitous corona conﬁnes of the living room/bedroom/bathroom/home studio setting, to a proper, recognisable venue. There she could call upon state-of-the-art sound, lighting and camera equipment, and even an award-winning director, Giorgio Testi, and Pulse Films, to deliver something meaningful and give ‘attendees’ something lasting. “Without an audience, there’s tremendous possibility with what could be done in a space,” enthuses Marling. “An unforeseen bonus to an audience-free show, which of course means no front-of-house sound, is that you can get incredible sound – close to studio quality… With this set-up, we could use mics on everything without fear of feedback.” Manager Ric Salmon tells IQ, “The genesis of the idea was born out of frustration. Laura had sold out her solo, acoustic tour around Australia, North America, the UK and Europe. But then

Covid hit.” When it became clear that not just the North American leg was doomed, but the remainder of the entire tour, the Marling team, like so many others, announced the cancellation: 41 dates in total. Ever proactive, ATC Management convinced Marling to fast track the release of new album, Song for Our Daughter, and started revising plans for promo. “Laura is social media averse, but she was comfortable doing guitar tutorials for fans, so we sent her HD cameras to use in her house and she quite enjoyed performing remotely – culminating in a home performance for Later with Jools on the BBC. “For the tour, we’d refunded about 25,000 people who missed out on seeing her, so we came up with the idea of broadcasting a show from a proper venue, to tap into that demand. But then the discussion was about who would pay for it, as nobody had sold tickets for any live-streamed shows at that point.” Taking that situation as a challenge, the ATC partners set about pulling the necessary team together. “Laura suggested the Union Chapel because that venue means so much to her and, because we’re not technologists, we reckoned the best idea would be to aggregate the best companies in their class,” explains Salmon. Pulse Films and director Testi topped ATC’s wish list and having worked extensively with DICE in the past, the company’s new DICE TV platform also made them a clear choice. Finally, YouTube was added, given its global footprint, but that plan, Salmon admits, had one major flaw: “Being ad-funded, they don’t do paywalls, but Dan Chalmers at YouTube really championed the idea and before we knew it there was terrific forward momentum. “The primary function was not to make money, hence the ticket price of just £12 (€13). But Laura was mortified about cancelling the tour, so this was more about offering her the chance to perform to fans. And it worked brilliantly, as she is in her ele-

ment when it’s just her and her guitar. So it was some sort of replacement for the tour.”

Wild ﬁre As often happens with any new concept, when word started to spread about the Laura Marling pay-per-views, sceptics rattled out cautionary ‘you can’t replicate live’ adages. But with locked down fans desperate for any kind of shared experience, demand for tickets uncannily replicated ‘normal’ sales patterns. “The level of interest around the announcement was incredible,” reports DICE chief revenue officer, Russ Tannen. “Just like a normal ticketed gig, people were nervous about missing out so they decided to buy early.” Another familiar aspect was a sales spike on the day of the event – a whopping 16% of total sales for the UK show. “A substantial proportion happened in the ﬁnal hour before the show,” says Tannen. “And

iq-mag.net

tpr media consultants – October 2020

Laura Marling_Feature

nen says, “It was great to do back-to-back shows – a ﬁrst as far as we’ve seen but it will be a model that’s replicated, as we’ve learned that time zones are more important than geography.” As well as the price of the ticket, purchasers were also given the option of adding a charity donation to Refuge and The Trussell Trust, with whom Marling has long relationships. “Great content costs money to create and deliver, so artists should not be ashamed of wanting to sell tickets to make a living, and I think it’s important to break away from the notion that live-streaming is free to watch,” says Salmon. “But Laura saw an opportunity where people could opt to add a donation on top of the ticket price – £2, £5 or £10 add-ons – and we were

“Yes, it was a live concert without an audience, which was quite strange, but that helped to make it timeless” Giorgio Testi | ﬁlm director

for people who bought their tickets after the concert had started, they were able to rewind so that they did not miss the first couple of songs.” The North American show was slightly different. “ATC wanted to cap sales, which helped to create a scarcity around the tickets,” says Tannen. Salmon confides that about 200 people were on a waiting list for the North American-timed gig, and on the day of the show that loyalty was recognised when a final batch of tickets was released. Delighted by the results, which saw around 6,500 tickets sold between the two shows, Tan-

thrilled to see that 60% of people who bought tickets also made donations, raising nearly £7,000 [€7,700] for the charities.” He adds, “Interestingly, for the Sleaford Mods show that is coming up, so far 80% of the buyers have added donations.”

How can I At the time of the shows, the lockdown regulations in the UK had been somewhat relaxed, but social distancing rules of two metres existed – as they still do at press time – complicating the normal etiquette for both the artist and crew. Fortunately, Marling’s choice of venue provided the project with an unexpected bonus in the shape of Union Chapel CEO Michael Chandler. “We’d been thinking about doing something in the Chapel since we were forced to close, so early on we looked at reconﬁguring to work out just how many people we could safely accommodate while meeting government guidelines,” Magazine

tpr media consultants – October 2020

Feature_Laura Marling

Chandler says, revealing that the legislated two-metre rule decimates the venue’s capacity: “It goes from 900 down to just 84.” Nonetheless, the Chapel’s homeless service has remained functional under social distancing procedures since the end of March and Chandler says extending that programme to the rest of the building provided ATC with a template. “We worked out a way for a production team to safely get in and around the venue, and once we could show that to the local council, we obtained approval.” Recalling the stringent regulations, Salmon lauds Pulse Films, noting they will also be partners for Driift’s future live-stream projects. “Pulse walked us through the government-issued guidelines for TV and ﬁlm, which meant everyone on the crew had to sign a health declaration stating they had no symptoms and had not been in contact with anyone with symptoms.” Personal protection equipment, such as face masks and gloves were mandatory, with director Giorgio Testi making a stark pandemic observation. “There were three or four people who I hadn’t worked with before and it was only when I was walking home afterwards I realised I could just pass them in the street, because the masks mean I have no idea what they look like…” Other restrictions, Salmon discloses, were

“There are a lot of distractions normally – people coughing, or coming and going to the bar or the toilets or whatever. But Laura did not have any of that and it was a deeply powerful performance” Ric Salmon | ATC Management/Driift

more speciﬁc. “Catering had to be brought in individually for each member of crew, who had to observe the two-metre rules at all times.” Such obstacles result in other compromises. “I found that I could not use a dolly because the grip who operates it would not be able to stay two metres away from the person with the camera,” says Testi. “Other than that, it was a normal shoot,” laughs Salmon. “We had two outside broadcast trucks, which were brilliantly managed by our friends at Jackshoot, and all the technology worked perfectly.”

Master hunter For her part in the historic event, Marling is refreshingly modest. “It took some complex logistical manoeuvring to get this done, from a lot of people; I just showed up,” she says. “It’s ex-

citing that it shows some possibility of being an alternative mode of income. It will never replace touring, and it could be argued that it should be considered a totally different thing – but when touring comes back, I think there will be people who now prefer to watch from home.” Of course, where there’s a hit, there’s a writ, and Driift’s principals are all too aware that monetising live streams will result in others looking for their share of the pie. “It’s a simple model,” says Salmon, “we run all aspects of the show – we produce, we promote, we do the marketing and we contract people to do the ticketing, ﬁlming, etc. And then on the back end of the proﬁts, we have a revenue split directly with the artist. That seemed the easiest solution, as there was no precedent for this. “From a rights perspective, the deals will depend on the contract that each act has with

iq-mag.net

tpr media consultants – October 2020

Laura Marling_Feature

Fortune

their record label regarding performance footage ownership. Then there is the publishing and master side of the synchronisation framework, and performance payments on the writer’s side of things, for which we are collaborating in a really open and progressive way with PRS. But there are no constructs in the ﬁeld as yet and maybe we should be paying a bit more than the 4.5% of the ticket gross that currently exists for live shows, so that songwriters can get a bit more. It’s a discussion that is in progress and we’re holding a percentage of the ticket gross in escrow for the time being.” Certainly, with a number of projects already lined up, including shows by Lianne La Havas, Sleaford Mods and Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, Driift is off to a busy start. And with Marling herself predicting that post-Covid some fans may be reluctant to risk attending shows, then the future for operations like Driift could be very bright indeed. Drawing parallels with the way sports havecashed in on live broadcasting, DICE’s Tannen comments, “We’ve been talking a lot about pay-per-view recently. Going to Old Trafford is not the only way that people can see Manchester United live – there are multiple platforms around the world where people can watch the game live and experience some of that atmosphere. But in live music, the model has been that if you cannot go to Old Trafford, then you don’t get to see the game. “A lot of factors have got to line up to allow people to go to a gig, so I really believe we have been underserving huge numbers of people in society who, for any number of reasons, could not access the live show. With live-streaming, we can change that: a superfan in Paris might be able to pay to watch the last night of their favourite band’s world tour in Los Angeles, for instance.”

The shows themselves extended a lifeline to Union Chapel’s charitable endeavours, which rely on revenues from the venue rental to fund projects such as its homeless outreach programme. “It was beautiful and the social media response was fantastic,” says CEO Chandler of the shows. “The production team did an amazing job and Laura just brought the Chapel to life in a stunning way.” He adds, “We’re very excited to find out who will be next and how we can maybe develop a ‘Live from Union Chapel’ concept, as it could open all kinds of doors when it comes to accessibility and the affordability of tickets.” One of the biggest beneficiaries of live streaming has been DICE which, before launching DICE TV, was in six countries, but is now global, having sold tickets in 130 countries. And learning from the ticketing platform’s past experience, Tannen is confident that many more people will be turning to DICE TV as live-streaming grows. “Fans tell us that the number one reason they don’t go to a gig is that they don’t know anyone else who is going. As a result, we created a feature that tells users who out of their friends is going to a gig, and that feature has completely blown up through live-streaming.” Director Testi also is a big fan of the format. “Laura was a breath of fresh air, because we had a crew and a team who were all involved in filming it live. It was the first job in a while that I’ve done in person with other people. “Yes, it was a live concert without an audience, which was quite strange, but that helped to make it timeless. In fact, normally you have to find compromises for filming when there is an audience, but the beauty of this project was that we had creative freedom. We were able to position Laura right in the middle of the venue and she was able to perform with her back facing where the audience would normally be. “We did something very classical with Laura, with references to the 60s and 70s rather than something more contemporary. We only had three operated cameras and one locked-off camera. That’s very unusual for me because I often use more than 20 cameras on projects, but to be honest, I would have done the same thing if this was June 2019 – it was the right approach for the concert, the artist and the venue.” While some musicians might find the lack of audience a hindrance, Salmon counters, “Being able to perform in that silent setting was fantastic for her, as you could see she was totally im-

mersed in her music. There are a lot of distractions normally – people coughing, or coming and going to the bar or the toilets or whatever. But Laura did not have any of that and it was a deeply powerful performance.” And railing at those who sneer about the lack of audience interaction, Salmon says, “When you put on an album at home, you don’t applaud between songs, so I think the live-streaming shows allow fans to enjoy things in a different way.” He concludes, “Going forward, Driift is going to be a big focus for us – it’s an exciting new format and a brand new model. And the great thing is that this doesn’t eat anyone else’s lunch, so we’re not bulldozing another business – it’s an additional thing, which, if anything, can amplify record sales, touring activity, etc. Nothing is cannibalised.” Indeed, that constantly chased concept of a new revenue stream could have multiple elements. “For Laura, it was very simply about the performance, but for Lianne La Havas and probably Frank Carter we’re looking at exclusive merchandise, just for the shows. We’re also exploring bundling tickets with party hampers and other ideas, which opens up additional revenue streams and potential sponsorship or branding deals. The possibilities are endless.” The last word, of course, goes to the artist. “As an event, it was very much like any other gig,” states Marling. “I wanted to get the set list right, to not faff around tuning guitars too long, to stare at the ceiling and allow myself to disappear into the songs, as I always do. I guess you could say it was surprising how quickly you adapt and carry on...very much in the spirit of the pandemic itself.”

CONTRIBUTORS

MICHAEL CHANDLER | UNION CHAPEL RIC SALMON | ATC MANAGEMENT/DRIIFT RUSS TANNEN | DICE GIORGIO TESTI | FILM DIRECTOR

Magazine

tpr media consultants – October 2020

Michael Chandler interviewed by TPi in a major feature on Laura Marling’s live streamed gig. The editor, Stewart Hume, is keen to build a relationship with Union Chapel. P 2630

https://issuu.com/mondiale/docs/tpijul20_digitallr/26

TOTAL PRODUCTION INTERNATIONAL

A VIRTUAL WORLD LIVE EVENT DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY • JULY 2020 • ISSUE 251

Live productions enter the digital realm

I #LETTHEMUSICPLAY

LAURA MARLING • LOCKDOWN TV 2020 • THE FLUFFY CLOUD • THE COLLECTIVE SESSIONS • PSA #LETTHEMUSICPLAY • MARKET FOCUS: OUTDOOR LED • GEAR HEADS: ADAMSON SYSTEMS CS-SERIES

JULY 2020 #251

tpr media consultants – October 2020

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.

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.

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. FROM A, T, C “The history of this event really goes back to Laura’s tour that was cut short,” regaled ATC Management’s Ric Salmon, speaking to TPi following 27

tpr media consultants – October 2020

LAURA MARLING

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 well 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. Having 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. Talking 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 28

tpr media consultants – October 2020

LAURA MARLING

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. “The 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. “Audience 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. 29

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LAURA MARLING

“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

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NME: Laura Marling and gig directors explain what it takes to put on a ticketed livestream show (6/08/20)

tpr media consultants â&#x20AC;&#x201C; October 2020

(14/09/20) AccessAllAreas: comment piece with big mention of Union Chapel.

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Music Week mentions Laura Marling and Union Chapel (3/08/20)

Music Week Â Frank Turner on repaying his ''debt'' to the grassroots scene (Union Chapel)

tpr media consultants â&#x20AC;&#x201C; October 2020

Music Week comment piece Â (28/09/20) View Point: Mention of Laura Marling at Union Chapel:

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Musically.com mention Laura Marling and Union Chapel: How to successfully livestream a music event (13/08/20)

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Bookseller â&#x20AC;&#x201C; an authored piece by Max Porter.

tpr media consultants â&#x20AC;&#x201C; October 2020

LiveUK following up on Union Chapel Crowdfunder press release.

tpr media consultants – October 2020

TPI magazine: Frank Turner: Live From Vans for Bands: “charity stream in aid of the Union Chapel”

tpr media consultants – October 2020

Local Press Ham and High – Frank Turner and Jess Guise raise £40,000 for the Union Chapel

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A followÂup to the Union Chapel Crowdfunder release was covered in the Islington Gazette

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Islington Tribune interview with Max Porter on mourning the death of the arts.

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Islington Gazette news story on Max Porter at Union Chapel.

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Camden New Journal covered the performance in their theatre news section.

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