Ethos Public Relations Manchester

New website is music to the eyes

by Ethos public relations

Manchester music venue Band on the Wall has launched a new website which promises to provide a unique user experience for music-lovers.

The site combines the facility to buy tickets with a social network to help users discover new music, review artists, upload and share images, watch concerts and contribute to the venue's ongoing archive.

Malcolm Duffin, Marketing Manager at Band on the Wall said: "We really wanted to produce a site where users could explore, enjoy and expand into an international platform for the best music from around the world.

"By joining the venue?s social network - Bandwidth - we are able to see what kind of music you enjoy and use that information to send you recommendations for similar artists and events."

Ben Holden, Creative Director at Cahoona, the agency behind the new website said: "The brief supplied by Band on the Wall really captured our imaginations - it's great to see a live venue paying such close attention to their audience. We decided to use the latest web technologies, and looked to sites such as the BBC iPlayer, Facebook and Last.fm to inspire the social functionality."

"It's not just about the social web" adds Jon Grant, Project Director at Cahoona, "it's also about developing a platform that Band on the Wall can use to archive their extensive materials online. There's plenty in their stores such as old tickets, photographs and video. Users of the new website are also able to contribute to the archive by submitting materials they have from past gigs."

Unlike many other venues, Band on the Wall not only wants to bring crowds through the doors but is determined to let its fans influence the music it plays and the way it develops as a venue.

"It's the fans that make Band on the Wall what it is," said Malcolm. "They play a crucial role in telling us what they want to hear, artists they like and how we can improve and, in doing so, will help make us the best venue in the country."

Band on the Wall has an archive of material from the last 30 years containing images, audio and video and, by making it available to users who can add their own comments and memories, they will help build on that as well as create the future archive.

Users can also buy a Band Pass to get a free or discounted entrance on concerts and sign up for courses in tap-dance, improvisation, percussion and choir.

To get a preview of what?s to come when Band on the Wall reopens on 25 September, go to www.bandonthewall.org and click on Spotify to listen to the venue's own playlist for free.

Posted at 2^nd September 2009