Stuart WoodPeople from across the UK’s live music industry gathered on 12 March at Islington Assembly Hall, for the inaugural Outstanding Attitude Awards.
Attendees heard from fans and influential industry figures on why access to live music is so important, and celebrated the fantastic work being done across the sector to improve the accessibility of live events for deaf and disabled audiences.
The Customer Service Award was given to British Summer Time, for its dedicated access line and contact centre team, while Soundsense picked up a Tech Innovation Award for its work developing a rumble/vibration pack to be used by the hearing-impaired at gigs.
The Accessible Infrastructure Award went to GigLoo Ltd, which provides accessible portable toilets for disabled customers. The Ticketing Without Barriers Award was also given to British Summer Time and AEG Presents, for its accessible booking and plans to include sign language across all shows.
The ten winners were selected by an independent panel of music fans, artists, journalists and industry experts from a wide-ranging final shortlist of entries.
The judges included Alex Taylor of the BBC, James Hanley of Music Week, Jon Chapple of IQ magazine, Caroline Clift of Stand Out Magazine, and Sammy Andrews of Deviate.
Jacob Adams, Attitude is Everything’s head of research and campaigns, commented: “The Outstanding Attitude Award shortlists sum up two key messages –first, that access is something everyone in the industry can and should engage with.
“Second, that breaking down barriers it is a natural extension of qualities the industry has in spades – creativity, teamwork and immense passion for creating, sharing and enjoying live events with others.”