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SOUND CIRCUIT


Sound Circuit - Building Audiences for New Music

Sound Circuit is a network of music promoters and producers formed in 2002 to develop new tools and to carry out research for building audiences for contemporary music. Through supported tours, the group also aims to create stronger partnerships between promoters, venues and producers to reach wider audiences and to ensure a high quality of presentation.

We were aware that as many promoters and companies specialising in new music operate on a small scale, few have specialist staff for marketing, audience development and education. Perhaps as a corollary of this, little information exists on good practice for promoting new music, and few studies have been made of current and potential audiences.

The Circuit's work focuses on developing industry-standard working practices and benchmark data for audience development, and on establishing good practice for touring work by building partnerships between promoters and producers. Our current priorities are:

- Data analysis using sales records from all members, to establish statistical benchmarks for contemporary music audiences nationwide, and for each venue / promoter on the Circuit;
- Tour-based questionnaire research, to gain comparative qualitative data on issues such as audience motivation and factors underlying people's attitude to risk;
- Producing two tours in 2005 (BCMG and Neue Vocalsolisten) and to explore the use of network marketing in a co-ordinated way;
- Action research projects, to focus on narrow objectives (student audiences, family audiences, audience ambassadors, crossover audiences etc.) that address local issues, providing a series of case studies at both large and small scale;
- Exploring the possibility of acting as a touring network and agency for tours of new music, receiving proposals of projects to visit / tour the UK and to disseminate these to interested venues and promoters;
- Sharing information with other promoters, producers, agencies and companies concerned with contemporary music, and providing a forum to meet and exchange ideas.

Members of Sound Circuit currently include:
Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival; Royal Northern College of Music; University of York Concerts; Birmingham Contemporary Music Group; Oxford Contemporary Music; London Sinfonietta with the Queen Elizabeth Hall; and Brighton Dome & Corn Exchange. Julia Haferkorn is Sound Circuit's Coordinator, and Paula Whitehouse is its Marketing Consultant.

Symposiums 2004 and 2005
In 2004 and 2005 Sound Circuit presented symposiums at the Contemporary Music Festival in Huddersfield. Please click for summaries of the 2004 and the 2005 symposiums. Another Sound Circuit symposium is scheduled to take place in early 2007.

Getting in touch
· We would be delighted to hear from any promoter/venue/festival who would like to share information on touring programmes or who would like to contribute to Sound Circuit's work
· Equally, we would be very pleased to hear from any ensembles/companies wishing to submit a touring proposal. Please contact Julia Haferkorn at info@haferkornassociates.com for a tour proposal form.


Sound Circuit is generously supported by Arts Council England