Increasing numbers of customers leads live music venue Albert’s Shed to pilot a new safety scheme in Shrewsbury.

Instances of anti-social behaviour in the town centre along with an increased footfall into the venue, which plays host to many of Shropshire’s rising musicians, has led management to increase security measures.

Working alongside West Mercia Police, Albert’s Shed’s management hope to encourage other businesses to follow suit, improving the experience for all those enjoying live entertainment.

‘The enjoyment and, above all, safety of all our customers has always been at the forefront of what we do’, states David Gregg, General Manager at Albert’s Shed,’but we’ve seen a huge increase in the number of people visiting the Shed. It’s for this reason we’re stepping up to the mark and leading the way for improved security for our customers’.

Random searches will be performed on entry, although voluntary, they do represent a condition of entry. Alongside the existing fixed location CCTV cameras, body-worn cameras will also be used, not only acting as a deterrent but also to provide evidence of anti-social behaviour when required.

As a licensed venue serving alcohol, Albert’s Shed will continue to show vigilance towards preventing under age drinking through the Challenge 21 scheme.

MUSIC VENUES TRUST, which represents hundreds of Grassroots Music Venues, has issued an urgent warning to the UK government that an immediate cash injection of £50m is needed to prevent mass closures in July, August and September.

The live music industry in the UK, which generates £5.2bn for the UK economy and a further £2.7bn in export revenues, is facing a substantial loss of infrastructure, with 90% of venues and festivals currently facing permanent closure. This would result in the total collapse of the sector and thousands of job cuts including promoters, production companies, managers, agents, artists and others, which form part of an inter-dependent eco-system that is the UK music industry, alongside the loss of very substantial VAT and income tax receipts by HM Government.

Mark Davyd, CEO, Music Venue Trust
“When we eventually emerge from lockdown, Grassroots Music Venues, the absolute bedrock, the foundations, the cornerstone on which our world beating £5.2 billion per year industry has been built, are going to be essential to live music bouncing back. It is therefore economically short sighted and frankly ridiculous to put a £5 billion a year industry at long term risk for lack of a short term £50 million investment.

The generosity shown towards our #saveourvenues campaign since we launched it in April has been staggering. The £2m we have raised to date has saved literally hundreds of venues in the short term, but the situation is still dire and relying on donations simply isn’t sustainable as we move into a recovery phase. With that in mind let’s act now and protect what we have, because what we have is incredible and it is ridiculous to put ourselves in the position where we might permanently lose it for less than 1% of the income it generates for us every single year. £50 million in financial support and a temporary tax cut, that’s all we are asking.

Who loses if this doesn’t happen?

Not just the venues, not just the artists, not just the audiences, not just our communities. The government is the biggest loser of all here; billions of pounds of future tax revenues is on the line. Every other serious cultural country in the world is acting to protect its future talent pipeline…. and they don’t even have the incredible talent and the vibrant pipeline we have in the UK. We need our government to step up we need them to do it now.”

The UK also has the highest rate of VAT on tickets for cultural events for any similar country in Europe and this proposed cut would ease the intense financial pressure on the sector as it returns to normality.

Music Venue Trust launched its #saveourvenues campaign in April, which has so far successfully raised over £2m to help support Grassroots Music Venues through this crisis.

SOURCE: Music Venues Trust (accessed July 2020)

TREBLA SECURITY take on the role of managing Telford’s first dedicated music venue following the expansion of Albert’s Shed beyond Shrewsbury.

Albert’s Shed Southwater aims to bridge the gap between Birmingham and Manchester on the touring circuit. The venue will be open to the public from Thursday 21st November 2019.

Building on the runaway success of the first Albert’s Shed, based in Shrewsbury, whose mission has been to develop a scene which champions original music in Shropshire, Albert’s Shed Venues have upped the ante by designing the first purpose-built music venue in Telford, one of the fastest-growing towns in the UK.

The venue features a custom-built Blue Acoustic PA system (from the original designers of the highly respected Shermann Audio brand) with flying speaker arrangement and delays throughout the building. A 20’ stage and dedicated lighting rig add to the overall experience on and off the stage.

Just like Albert’s Shed Shrewsbury, the Southwater venue will host a diverse range of entertainment where live bands and DJs are accompanied by light shows and performance spectacles which adds to the whole experience; all held within one of the most quirky venues in the West Midlands.

David Gregg, Managing Director of Albert’s Shed Live Music Venues said “Our vision is to become a destination venue where people will come and experience something more than just a gig. That requires a lot of energy and input from a large number of people”. He goes on to say, “And along the way we want to support our local artists; build them up and help them develop networks so that the UK can see what a wealth of talent we have in our county”.

Albert’s Shed Southwater first opens its doors on Wednesday 20th November 2019 for an invitation-only event and will be open to the public from Thursday 21st November 2019.