#md5212

Financially, we were aware that we only had £30 of the university's money to run the event without breaking into our bank. We weren't interested in gaining any profit from the event as we wanted to donate it all to charity. This means we only paid for fairly lights and drinks for artists. This is because we didn't have to hire out the venue, therefor, giving more money to the charity. We drew £20 out for our float and we thought that was a good amount. If we needed anymore we would have drawn some more out from The Swan's cash machine.  

We wanted our broadcast event to not only promote Streetwise Sound but to also promote the actual live event as well. We actually dabbled with the idea of having our live broadcast event linked in with our busking promotion which would link in with the overall theme of the event.

However, Daisy is currently running a small livestream ‘company’ on Facebook which promotes up and coming artists with their new music. We thought this would tied in well with promoting the event. Enclosing details such as where, when and who would be playing and it would act like a teaser.

Our vision for this tour through Europe is to raise our profile through busking on the streets and performing in hostels and venues from country to country. We want to up our social media fan base and inform people of our up and coming plans with an EP so that they know where to look when it is released. The idea is also to be able to write music as we travel, and meet other musicians from which we can broaden our musical style. We will be offering to play live music at hostels in return for our stay or even just a meal, in the hope that this keeps our expenditure to a minimum.  

Tech Specs

2 x mic

2x mic stands 

1 x ukulele 

1 x guitar 

2 x DI

1 x Mixer

Cables

Staff 

There wouldn't need to be many tour staff. We have 2 members in the band with relatively light instruments. We'll have a tour manager which will be useful for venue, accommodation and general awareness of keeping schedule. We also need a sound engineer for higher tier venues. Any money received from busking will go towards the band members as the other "tour staff" won't be needed for this area of the tour. However, paid money from high tiered venues will be split amongst the team evenly. We feel that having a small staff is important to the fluidity of the tour as the more team members you include the more hectic the atmosphere becomes. But contrasting to that, the artists need support from others to tackle the stress and issues of being on the move. 

Travel - Cost, parking?

We wanted to be as cost efficient as we could for travel expenses. Making sure that we were only spending as little as we needed to. This is why we opted for trains as our main form of transport which completely removes parking cost and fuel expenditure. A single interrail ticket for 2 weeks is £280. Paying the travel in one lump sum is a great idea as it removes the worry of spending money on parking and fuel during the tour. Once it's paid, it's paid! The main fall back for using public transport is that you have to carry all your equipment around with you and can often be quite hectic. However, I feel that the money saved is worth this slight hassle. In my personal experience I know that, unlike the UK's public transport system, Europe's is incredibly reliable with every train arriving and departing almost exactly to the minute.  

During the tour we'll have to use other forms of public transport which can include, boats, busses and trams. A safe budget for these public transport systems would be around £40 for each person but, again, from personal experience we found that we didn't need to use these too much as the train station is quite often right in the middle of town. Making almost all the hostels a short walk away.  

Correct train times for this Europe tour are below. We made use of the Interrail train times app which is free and very easy to use. A life saver!

Travel (Trains)  

London St Pancras- Lyon Part Dieu (10:14-16:00, 1 change)  

Lyon Part Dieu – Milan Centrale Station  (10:37-17:37, 1 change)  

Milan Centrale Station -Venice S. Lucia  (16:15-18:40, 0 changes)  

Venice S. Lucia – Ljubljana (16:41-21:05, 1 change)  

Ljubljana – Vienna Centrale (10:50-18:02, 2 changes)  

Vienna Wien Mitte – Prague Hlavni Nadrazi (13:10-17:07, 0 changes)  

Prague Hlavni Nadrazi – London Heathrow  (Flight, 13:45 – 14:50)  

Venues  

Lyon:  

Venue name - Sonic Lyon

Address  - 4, Quai des Étroits, 69005 Lyon, France  

Phone number - +33 4 78 38 27 40  

Milan:  

Venue Name 1 – Blue Note Milano  

Address - Via Pietro Borsieri, 37, 20125 Milano MI, Italy  

Phone Number - +39 02 6901 6888  

Venue Name 2 - Teatro Verdi (A short walk away from the main train station in Milan. It's a perfect medium sized venue for a budding duo!)

Address - Via Pastrengo, 16, 20159 Milano MI, Italy  

Phone Number - +39 02 688 0038

Venice: (x3)  

Venue Name – Generator Ostello Venezia Hostel  

Address - Fondamenta Zitelle, 86, 30133 Venezia VE, Italy

Phone Number - +39 041 877 8288

Ljubljana -  

Venue Name – Prulček  

Address - Prijateljeva ulica 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

Phone Number – n/a  

Vienna:  

Venue Name - Replugged (Situated right in the middle of Vienna making it very accessible. Another good medium venue for an acoustic night.)

Address – Lerchenfelder Str. 23, 1070 Wien, Austria

Phone - +43 676 6943954Phone: +43 676 6943954

Prague:  

Venue Name – The Czech Inn  

Address - Francouzská 240/76, 101 00 Praha, Czechia  

Phone Number - +420 210 011 100

Health And Safety 

Health and safety is really important when embarking on a Europe tour. Taking all risks into account is also important.

One of the main factors that needs to be taken into account is moving equipment around. We will be using public transport so there will be a lot so the heavy equipment can take its toll on every member. It will be important to have breaks when moving equipment round and make sure everyone can switch and work as a team. If someone is lagging or in pain it’s really important to help them rather than getting frustrated with them keeping the moral of the team up.  

Illness is also a factor to be thought about on tour. If someone comes down with an illness then actions must be taken to help. Reducing their movement and strain by taking some of their equipment, having early nights and drinking lots of water can help too. Illness does happen unfortunately so it’s also important to bring the right medication to counteract it.  

10 VENUES – 14 DAYS  

Buy Interail for each of us £280 each, this saves money in the long run, so that we have more money for food, drink and accommodation.  

DAY 1 - 25th

Eurostar from London to Lyon Part Dieu.

(PRICE FOR 3 PEOPLE) ^^

Once in Lyon, have a rest day, nice meal to start the tour off.  

Sleep.

DAY 2 – 26th  

Busk in the day, try to earn as much spare money as possible.  

Get train to Milan Centrale Station

Walk to New Generation Hostel to drop un-needed gear off.

Sleep  

DAY 3 – 27th  

Busk in the morning.

Get train to Venice (Stazione Di Venezia Santa Lucia)  

Get boat to Generator Hostel.

Sleep.

DAY 4 – 28th  

Busk in the day.  

Perform at the hostel in the evening.  

Sleep.  

DAY 5 – 29th  

Rest in the morning.

Perform at the hostel in the evening.  

Sleep.  

DAY 6 – 30th  

Busk in the day.  

Perform at the hostel in the evening.  

Sleep.  

DAY 7 – 31st

Wake up early and get train boat to train station (Making sure you buy a boat ticket)  

Get train to Ljubljana drop gear off at Tresor Hostel.  

REST DAY

DAY 8 – 1st  

Perform at the hostel in the evening.  

Sleep.  

DAY 9 – 2nd  

Busk in the day.  

Perform at the hostel in the evening.  

Sleep.  

DAY 10 – 3rd  

Busk in the day.

Catch train to Vienna Central Station.

Drop gear off at the hostel then perform in the evening.  

DAY 11 – 4th  

Perform at the hostel in the evening.  

Sleep.  

DAY 12 – 5th  

Wake up early and catch train to Praha hlavní nádraží.  

Take the tram to Czech Inn.

REST DAY

DAY 13 – 6th

Busk in the day.  

Perform at the hostel in the evening.  

Sleep.  

DAY 14 -  7th

Pack everything up ready for the flight home.  

Get train to Václav Havel Airport Prague (Airport). Roughly 1 hour.  

Get flight to Heathrow. Roughly (2 to 3 hours)  

I feel that the live event went really well, with a good turnout, positive vibes and a really cosy atmosphere. Our soundcheck started at 6pm and all the artists arrived on time. This was so Guy Daws (sound engineer) could get levels for each musician and so they could sound their best. The money intake was quick and easy, making sure we had enough float to last the evening and had no problems with transactions. I feel that we could've added wristbands if we had planned it but we had to make use of our coloured pens which worked well. Another aspect of the live event that went well, was the layout of the venue. We had performed at The Swan a couple of times and each time had commented on how poor the layout was. They had long benches along the side of the room facing inwards, making an awkward space in the middle of the room that no-one wanted to fill. We changed this by moving the benches in the middle of the room facing inwards. A good deal of planning was involved to make sure the benches were safe and far enough apart to walk through. It was really important to check this as we were working with low level lighting. Lots of people actually pointed out how nice the room looked and preferred our different approach to the layout.  

We had one issue with some of the equipment, at the sound check Ben Cipolla asked for a DI box, but I didn't book one from the university. I had originally thought we would just be able to link the guitar in to the PA system along with the vocals. However, I neglected the sound quality of the DI box. We had to make use with what we had and plug the guitar straight through the PA and after some mixing by Guy we achieved a good quality sound.  

I was quite disappointed with how our promotion went. We had some great ideas but we could have made use of the university more. We didn't print our posters off in time, meaning that we couldn't place them around the uni due to lack of planning.

From our very first talks with P3 charity we had an idea of involving the homeless as part of the event where homeless musicians were going to be playing in intervals. Alan Chattel had clearly stated to us that this would be a possibility so we included it in our USP when planning for the event. However, at our meeting with P3, Sophie had said that they wouldn't be able to supply the musicians. We were saddened by the news but we still held the event and still achieved our goal of spreading awareness about homelessness. To help us, P3 had also given us a banner, some merchandise and even some balloons to use as decorations.  

One aspect of the event that wasn't thought through properly was getting the equipment from university to the venue. We had to carry all of it to the nearest bus stop, and then had to walk to the venue. In hind sight, this put the equipment in danger and we should have thought out better transport for the day. Luckily, there were no problems caused by this apart from having aching arms!

We had a slight hiccup with the poster of the event. When we first promoted the event on Facebook we didn't realise that we spent our headline acts name wrong. We put Ben Cippola rather than Ben Cipolla. This was quickly rectified as we wanted to stay as professional as possible. The Swan kindly drew up a chalk board for the event and accidentally wrote 'Hop Beige" rather than 'Hot Beige' but luckily this fit with Hot Beige's humour so we ran with it as a bit of a gag throughout the night. 

Overall, I'm really happy with how the live event went. With a great turnout, good sounding music and a cosy looking venue. The entire vent ran really smoothly with people coming and going through little intervals, reminders of why we're promoting P3 charity and seating for everyone. Apart from little hiccups throughout the day, I feel that our planning and execution of the event was great! 

It's important to make note of these little hiccups because it's not how many issues you have, it's about how you move forward. 

BORADCAST EVENT REFLECTIONS  

In our original business plan for Streetwise Sounds, we wanted our broadcast event to be before the live event, therefor using it to promote the actual event and use it for promotion. Time just seemed to run away from us on this so we had to do the livestream after the live event. This did actually benefit us though. Being able to promote our company rather than the event itself helps us in the long term. We stated in our GANNT chart we stated that social media and promotion after the event is just as important as before. So being able to say a thank you for the people that performed and explain how much money we raised added a nice touch to the live event.  

Daisy runs a small live streaming company called Giggle on Facebook that we thought we could use as a platform for our broadcast event. This worked perfectly for us, as the site started to get over 600 views per video!  

We decided to use Jack Cooper to promote Streetwise Sounds as he was releasing his EP at the same time. He also played at the event so gave a chance for people to listen to what they missed! We kept the setting/atmosphere the same as the event with a tapestry behind and occasional chat/laughter between songs.

Planning/Meetings  

Daisy had met with a member of P3 charity while working at a local ice rink in Gloucester. She had explained to him that we were planning an event for charity and they exchanged contact details right away. One of the benefits of working with P3 charity would have been that they could supply some homeless musicians to play in intervals so we were keen to get a plan in place.  After exchanging a couple of emails, we attempted to organise a meet. This became challenging as Alan Chattel was on holiday at the time so communication became scarce and difficult at times.  

When a meeting could not be planned, he forwarded the email of Sophie Wijesinghe who's the service co-ordinator for P3 charity and she was a lot more reliable than Alan. We finally organised the meeting after weeks of 'radio silence' from Alan! 

Booking artists

Booking artists was relatively easy for us. I am part of the popular music course so I know lots of talented musicians that would come along for the event and play. We wanted the event to be acoustic, however, allowing for an electric guitar if the artist would like it. We needed 4 musicians to play for the event to fill the allotted time we wanted. We had originally asked Dom Watton, Hot Beige, Jack Cooper and Ben Cipolla. There was a bit of confusion as well also asked Ben Tibbits to play but decided a couple of weeks before the event to not include him.  

Dom availability message^ 

Hot Beige availability message^

We had a slight issue with Ben Cipolla as he wasn't available at the date we had asked for. However, we knew that he was an up and coming artist in Cheltenham and thought he would bring in a wider audience. Therefore, we made the decision to change the date of the entire event to the 26th. This is why you can see the difference in date. Messaging with artists was quite laid back as I knew them personally. It was a big decision for us to change the date for one artist, but after weighing up the pros and the cons, we thought it was worth the move.

The Venue  

Booking the venue was one of the most important areas of this event. Without a venue, there just wouldn't be an event! Daisy and I had previous experience of playing in The Swan in Cheltenham and distinctly remembered how nice the atmosphere was. With cosy fairly lights and long benches. We loved the idea of putting on a "cosy" event and we thought it matched the theme nicely too. After getting the availability of all the artists, I rang The Swan to check their availability. In hindsight, I should have checked the availability of the venue first but luckily, they had the date we needed. As we were putting the event on for charity, they didn't charge us the usual £30 for hiring the venue. Meaning that we could put our £30 budget on fairy lights or to the charity itself. The Swan is situated right in the middle of Cheltenham, making it very accessible for people living here, being a walk away from most university students. On the other hand, the venue wasn't completely taken over by Uni students, meaning that it wasn't too intimidating for the general public.  

Promotions

Our man form of promotion was through social media. Creating a Facebook page for Streetwise Sounds and also creating a poster. We had actually worked with a media student called Harry Butler who I had personally worked with on previous events and promotional work. I asked him to create a poster for the event and told him to keep it simple but include all of the relevant information. This included where the event would be taking place, when it was taking place and who was playing. We also added the charity we were working with, making sure their emblem was clearly visible. We wanted to stay true to our original idea so including this was important to us. Here is the Poster we finally came up with.

We also advertised on Snapchat the time and place of the event and wrote frequent Facebook posts promoting the event. Here is the link to the Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/Streetwise-Sounds-187812078684615/

We also went out and busked during the day about a week before the event. We thought it was a good way to promote the event and it also tied in with the theme. We handed out posters to any of the public that seemed to be friendlier.

It's important to talk about word of mouth in these situations as usually it's overlooked, but we feel we did a good job of getting the news across of our live event. We not only revealed who was playing but also the reason for the event. P3 charity itself were going to promote the event for us too by posting our poster on their Facebook page, twitter and snapchat. This gave us the opportunity for people outside the Uni to arrive making our event more than just a Uni project. We wanted people to know that we wanted to make a difference to homelessness in Cheltenham.  

Tech Supply

Our tech was supplied by the university which was perfect for us. I had no issues hiring out the equipment. However, we had to get a bus from university to the middle of town and then had to carry the equipment to the venue. This was a bit tricky, but with the help of our sound engineer (Guy Daws) we managed to get everything to the venue in one piece. Our Tech list included, 2 mic stands, 2 PA's, 2 PA stands, Kettle leads, XLR cables, 2 dynamic microphones and a small mixer. Here is the email for the booking confirmation.  

GAANT CHART

I created our GAANT chart when we were making our business plan as we thought it would be a good way to keep track of our progress and making sure we were running to a deadline. A lot of things changed from our original plan but we felt it was useful nonetheless.  

This kept us in check and helped us keep all of our tasks in order.  

SWOT ANALYSIS  

We also created our SWOT analysis around the same time, making sure we had taken into account all of the threats as well as the opportunities. It was important to keep our head outside the 'bubble' for this event as it's easy to get sucked into what you're doing. Keeping an outside look on the planning was also important on the smoothness and professional edge.  

STAFF