Disabled fans attending live music events up 26% in 2015

12 July 2016 - Press release

Music charity Attitude is Everything reveals new data in annual ticketing survey of 100+ venues & festivals signed to its Charter of Best Practice



Attitude is Everything has revealed a significant rise in the number of Deaf and disabled fans attending live music events in the UK - highlighting the positive economic impact to live music businesses that provide outstanding access facilities.   

Compiling sales from festivals and venues signed to its Charter of Best Practice, the charity found that almost 144,000 disabled tickets were sold in 2015, compared to 114,000 in 2014 - an increase of 26%.

The direct economic impact of these sales (including food and drink, and spend by Personal Assistants) is estimated at an impressive £7.5m.

The Charter of Best Practice enables live music businesses to make an ongoing commitment to improving accessibility, and encourages signatories to go beyond the legal obligations of the Equality Act. They also agree to be visited and ‘mystery shopped’ by Attitude is Everything’s extensive network of volunteers.

More than 100 festivals and venues have now signed the Charter, from large-scale events and arenas, including Glastonbury, Latitude, Download, Reading/Leeds and The O2 through to the 14 mid-sized venues owned by Academy Music Group and a diverse range of smaller clubs and student union halls.

2015’s ticketing increases can be partly attributed to 14 new Charter sign-ups during the survey period across a range of venues and events, including The Half Moon in Putney, Bristol’s Colston Hall, Pride Cymru, The Lowry in Manchester and Newcastle’s Metro Radio Arena. In all, these 14 businesses were responsible for some 11,000 ticket sales, and a £500k economic impact - although the existing 89 Charter venues and festivals also increased their combined disabled audience by 19,000 (13%) year-on-year, generating an extra £1.5m.

A full breakdown of these figures is provided below, along with case studies from Just So Festival, the Barbican and Cambridge Junction.

Commenting on the findings, Attitude is Everything CEO Suzanne Bull MBE said:

“The Charter of Best Practice is at the core of Attitude is Everything’s activities. Each year we accredit a wide range of venues and festivals, from the biggest in the country to the smallest, and see them make a commitment to improving their access provision. Meanwhile, existing sign-ups improve what they do and move up to Silver or Gold status.

“As well as encouraging innovation and best practice, this practical and straightforward process sends out an important message of inclusivity to Deaf and disabled fans across the UK, who are attending live music events in ever increasing numbers. With 14 new sign-ups in 2015, ticket sales across 103 of our Charter venues and festivals contributed more than £7.5m to the UK’s music economy. Which, for those live businesses not partnering with us, begs one simple question: what are you waiting for?”

Jon Drape, Attitude is Everything patron and Managing Director of event production specialists Ground Control, who have overseen dramatic increases in disabled ticket sales at Festival Number 6 (up 107% in 2015), The Parklife Weekender (up 55%) and Kendal Calling (up 30%) added:

“Ground Control is extremely proud of our long association with Attitude is Everything, and the fact that Parklife, Kendal Calling and Festival Number 6 have all reached Silver Status on the Charter of Best Practice. Suzanne and her team take a very pragmatic approach to their work, enabling us to tailor access facilities around each individual event and make improvements and innovations each year. The success of this approach is born out by today’s figures, which also highlight the growing demand for Deaf and disabled fans to attend live music events.”

BREAKDOWN

Venues
77 venues sold 135,894 tickets to disabled customers in 2015, up from 107,819 in 2014 (26% increase).

Festivals
26 festivals sold 8,053 tickets to disabled customers in 2015, up from 6,124 in 2014 (32% increase).

          FESTIVALS/VENUES  TICKETS     TICKET £   TOTAL   
2013  76                                  66,515         £2.1m         £3.4m
2014  89                                  113,943       £3.1m         £5.4m
2015  103                                143,947       £4.2m         £7.5m

CASE STUDIES

JUST SO FESTIVAL: CHARTER STATUS SILVER
189% increase in disabled ticket sales

"We have been proud to work with Attitude is Everything on this vital
initiative. We were one of the first festivals to sign up to the Access
Starts Online campaign and are thrilled to now be working to achieve the
Gold Standard in the Charter of Best Practice. Providing a named contact
person, developing comprehensive site descriptions, bookable access
facilities and pioneering new programme guidelines where audiences can make truly informed choices are just a few of the things we have implemented which have resulted in removing crucial potential barriers. Critically, we
are having much great feedback and dialogue with our audience.

“Just So aims to create unforgettable wonderlands for families and enable
them to step out of their day to day lives, take part in creative adventures
and experience the magic and lasting memories that world-class outdoor arts
can bring. It is so important that this is accessible to everyone."

Rowan Hoban, Director, Just So Festival

BARBICAN: CHARTER STATUS SILVER
Highlighting innovative access provision

“We are strongly committed to providing the best access possible for our Deaf and disabled customers and this longstanding commitment goes across the board to ensure everyone has the opportunity to engage with the arts. This commitment ranges from making sure our venues are physically accessible, to programming relaxed performances designed to engage those who may have an Autism spectrum condition or a learning disability.We also programme events with surtitles which many Deaf or hard of hearing audience members find beneficial and are proud to offer an increasingly popular access membership scheme. We believe that accessibility is an essential part of being a world class arts venue and remain determined to continue to go beyond equality law and achieve best practice, as demonstrated by our silver status on Attitude is Everything’s Charter of Best Practice.”

Louise Jeffreys, Director of Arts, Barbican

CAMBRIDGE JUNCTION: CHARTER STATUS BRONZE
55% increase in disabled ticket sales  

“Over the past year, we’ve proactively been developing how we respond to access requirements across departments. Our operations team and technicians work closely together to ensure all customers have a positive experience at Cambridge Junction - this encompasses everything from adjusting our ticket booking experience to the configuration of our performance spaces.

“Our venue is fully accessible, and this year we’ve made a conscious effort to publicise this and ensure our customers are aware of what we can offer them. We have also continued to offer both Relaxed and BSL interpreted performances as well as expanding our programme to include more work by disabled-led companies and shows focussing on accessibility and diversity. We feel that constantly reviewing the way we work and implementing positive change has encouraged return bookers with access requirements as well as encouraging new customers to attend events.”

Hatti Simpson, Operations Officer: Tickets & Data, Cambridge Junction
New sign-ups to the Charter of Best Practice:
Brixton Windmill
Colston Hall
Half Moon Putney
L Fest
Metro Radio Arena
New Cross Inn
No Tomorrow
NozStock
Pride Cymru
Purple Playhouse Theatre
St John at Hackney
Splendour Festival
The Lowry
Union Chapel