Joe GallopIndependent Venue Week (IVW), the UK’s annual week-long celebration of independent music and arts venues, has unveiled initial plans for 2024, including a new steering board.
With IVW due to return from 29 January – 4 February, full details of next year’s event will be presented at a launch party taking place at Manchester’s inaugural Beyond The Music conference on 12 October.
Hosted by BBC Radio 6 Music’s Huw Stephens, it will be the first IVW launch outside of London. The identity of IVW’s 2024 artist ambassador will also be revealed.
On 13 October, IVW will host a panel discussion at the conference titled The Evolution Of Independent Venues: Reinvigorating the UK’s Cultural Health.
The inaugural board of Independent Venue Week Ltd is as follows:
- Claire Courtney, co-founder, Earth Music Agency
- Dom Frazer, founder, The Boileroom
- Natasha Gregory, co-founder, Mother Artists
- Sarah Jones, general manager, Songkick
- Ben Lovett, CEO and founder, The Venue Group
- David Martin, CEO, Featured Artists Coalition
- Christine Osazuwa, chief strategy officer, Shoobs
- Adam Webb, PR consultant and campaign manager, FanFair Alliance
IVW founder Sybil Bell (pictured) said, “Having celebrated 10 years of IVW in 2023, we decided it was high time to shake up our organisation and structures, get back to our roots, and ensure we can continue to deliver the maximum impact for our community. The new board will be pivotal to that process, and I’m delighted we’ve attracted such a diverse and experienced group, including venue owners, booking agents and technology specialists. Collectively, their input and expertise will be invaluable to IVW’s future.
“Fundamentally, Independent Venue Week is a celebration of the non-corporate spaces that underpin our musical culture. Wherever they are situated, we want to boost any venue that provides a stage for the next emerging subculture, the next exciting artist, the next industry professional and the next entrepreneur. The unsung heroes who run and work in these places are the foundation of the UK’s music business.”
IVW’s legacy has been presented in detail in a newly published Ten Year Impact Report, produced and compiled by Sound Connections.
The report, which can be downloaded here, outlines the growth and evolution of IVW – from partnering with 17 venues in 2014 and surviving the pandemic, to building a community that has now hosted almost 5,000 individual shows and helped sell more than a million tickets.
The report also explores the creation and growth of Independent Venue Community (IVC), an initiative supporting their network of independent venues to innovate by exploring the day-time use of their spaces.