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7th April 2010.
The General Election 2010
There has never been a better time to ask questions about the arts of our political leaders. Between now and 6th May, we have a great opportunity to fly the flag for the arts, both nationally and in Leicester/shire.
The politicians want our votes. As fans, followers and consumers of the arts and as artists, we want their support. So, let's ask them 'what are they going to do for us'? Us, the people who produce arts and entertainment and the people who benefit from the what artists give to our society and our community.
Arts in Leicestershire intends to ask questions at the hustings. We want to know, from the main political parties, how they see the arts, what policies they would implement, what support they would give and what commitments they would see their party entering into, where the arts is concerned.
Why is the arts important? In our view the arts is more than just the icing on the cake; it is much more than a luxury. Arts and entertainments of all kinds benefit the economy, the community and society. Art is not a sideline or a marginal add-on: art is something much closer to the well-being and soul of society and to the life blood of our local community
We urge both artists and the public who benefit from the arts, to ask questions of the candidates. Ask them to think about the arts. Ask them to say what their policies are for the arts.
The Artsin blog is where we will post the answers that we get from the hustings. We hope that readers will ask questions of the candidates and post their findings through the comments to the blog postings.
Our editorial on what lies ahead for the arts and live music in Leicester/shire.
The year ahead will present many challenges to Leicestershire artists. In a city that has one of the worst rates in the UK for poverty and deprivation, spending on the arts and entertainment will be in short supply for many people. If things are to stay the way they are, lots must change.
People struggling to survive on low incomes will not be able to afford much money for tickets and shows. Even going to the many 'free' events that take place throughout the year will be difficult for a lot of people.
The arts can be uplifting for people facing the depression and deprivation. For those in work, and kids whose pockets depend on their parents, there will always be a great deal to do and to enjoy throughout the year. But spending will be tight, with the economy being what it is.
For producers of shows, costs might increase but increases in ticket prices should be carefully considered. People are not likely to have a great deal to spend and most venues are already struggling with low attendance. Simply putting up door charges is not the best way to ensure that audience figures hold up. Cost management is more likely to be the successful option.
2010 will be an election year. Governments both nationally and locally are likely to change. This will bring changes to policy about support for the arts and an opportunity for artists to ask questions.
The chances are that public spending on the arts will be cut in real terms. Deciding on spending priorities will be particularly difficult for local authorities having to tighten their belts, as national government faces the task of managing the burden of debt. As Councillors juggle their priorities, they are likely to see the Arts as a soft target. This has happened before.
Arts and music producers will have to manage with less public funding. They will not be able to go cap in hand to the Council for solutions to their need for funds. There are some segments of the local economy that are doing well. Businesses and companies could well do more to sponsor the arts.
Many of our local arts venues have been rocked by financial problems. Things might get better for the De Montfort Hall, Curve, The Peepul Centre and so on but the press has been full of copy about the financial difficulties they have faced in 2009. The small music venues could also be in for a rough ride as Councils try to charge their way out of money problems by increasing business rates and licensing fees.
Over-taxing struggling arts and music venues is not going to be the right way of serving the interests of local people.
With elections imminent, the arts community and the voting public should be asking questions at the hustings. Will candidates support the arts? Do they recognise the value of arts and entertainment to well being and social cohesion? Where will they place the arts in their hierarchy of priorities? Do they really know what is happening on the local arts scene and recognise how valuable it is to the economy of Leicester/shire? Do they see art and entertainment as being one of the drivers of economic growth? Will they promote Leicester/shire's arts and music as being one of Leicester's greatest assets?
We should be asking candidates to make clear where they stand with regard to the arts and entertainment and, if they cannot open the public purse too widely, can they at least allow people who do have the talent and experience to manage the arts successfully, to take over the reigns of our key venues.
Given the pressures on the Council's budgets, is there any reason why the key arts venues should continue to be a drain on the public purse? We would like to see these venues being privatised. Many private sector music and entertainment companies have performed better throughout 2009 than most.
We would like to see these key arts venues being transformed into social enterprise companies, with their profits being ploughed back to community benefit.
The Minister of State for the East Midlands, Phil Hope MP, is a known champion of social enterprise companies, where profits are fed back into the business rather than into dividends for private investors.
What ever strings are left, that moor the big arts venues to the dock of local government, should be cut and their management should be placed in the hands of experts who know what they are doing. A well run arts venue that is fulfilling a public need/demand, can flourish if properly run by people who have experience in arts management.
The Charlotte is a social enterprise and so is Soft-Touch Arts. We would argue that De Montfort Hall, Curve, The Peeple Centre, the LCB Depot and Phoenix Square should follow this example and be allowed to carry on their work as community businesses, transformed into independent, social enterprise companies. There are some notable examples outside of the arts, such as Stride and The Trees Group.
The East Midlands and Leicester in particular is home to some of the most successful social enterprise companies in the UK, involving their stakeholders and service users in what they do.
The artists and musicians of Leicester/shire have achieved a great deal over 2009 and will continue to provide the public with achievements of high standards and quality over the year ahead. Ours is an area that is rich in creative talent and we deserve national recognition for this.
Leicester stands out as a powerhouse for new music and is one of the UK's most prolific cities for the creation of top class bands and singers.
Actors, dancers, painters, writers and poets have all contributed to making Leicester a cultural success story. We need our politicians to recognise this in the year ahead and to play their role is taking this message out to the rest of the world.
Art and entertainment is part of the life blood of our community and plays a part in building and sustaining solid communities and economic growth. We just want to see politicians of all flavours doing more and doing better to realise the importance of this.
Our artists are putting Leicester on the map. We would like to see companies acknowledging this by sponsoring artists, musicians and bands. Sponsorship makes good business sense. There is a lot to be gained from private sector support for artists and music. Blackberry, Orange and Talk Talk are well known examples at national level but local businesses could well replicate this success.
Big challenges face live music producers over the year ahead. They need to get the bigger picture and work together in the interests of the music community. Self interest will sink the boat.
If 2010 is to be an improvement on the successes of the previous year, a lot must change in the production of live music. The local economy will not be able to sustain the level of live music events we have seen in 2009. In our view, the venues will have to throttle back on the number of gigs they put on. Some hard decisions will need to be made, both for the venue managers and the bands they hire, about what is feasible.
There should be collaboration amongst the venues rather than the present picture of competition and fragmentation. Venue managers and promoters have organised shows in isolation from each other, doing their own thing as it suits them, rather than working in the interests of the whole music community.
Unless the providers bury their hatchets and start working together, everyone will loose out. There have been far too many dud gigs this year, with minimal attendances and losses being made. That needs to stop.
If live music is to be sustained, there will have to be fewer gigs and much more planning and co-ordination of gig dates. Bands will need to fall in behind this regime by only committing to playing shows that they can genuinely support with realistic ticket sales.
It is unlikely that there will be any sizeable increases in the gig-going population. The opening of the Leicester University venue for the big bands end of the market and the emergence of new venues for the smaller end will place even more stress on the wallets and purses of the fans.
Leicester still has to compete with the attractions offered by Birmingham and Nottingham. What we are competing for is a slice of the ticket buying public's budgets for the year. It will be up to the only big enough venue in town, to see if it can win that slice of the market.
Our local festivals - Glastonbudget, Summer Sundae - compete with Download, Leeds and Reading for the commitment of fans. Let's hope the climate rewards them well this year as it did last year. Festival organisers need to play their part in putting on line-ups that will be seriously interesting to the fans.
It's the ticket-buying fans that keep live music alive. As long as there are enough fans with enough money, it will work. Both the bands and the music producers need to know what "enough" adds up to.
