developing a
MusiC Venue
IN YOUR CHURCH
TEMPLATE 2
A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO DEVELOPING
YOUR CHURCH BUILDING AS A SUCCESSFUL
CONCERT AND PERFORMANCE VENUE
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
3
ASSESSING NEED
4
THE BUILDING
5
FORM PARTNERSHIPS
6
THE BUDGET
7
MARKETING
9
FUNDRAISING
11
PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE
13
LEGAL ISSUES
14
CASE STUDY: A CONCERT FOR SUTTON
18
STEP-BY-STEP SUMMARY CHART
19
WEB LINKS
21
DISCLAIMER
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INTRODUCTION
Why stage a concert in your church?
Holding a concert in your buildings makes a lot of sense to us. For a start, most
churches were built to have good acoustics and are natural performance
venues so staging events in them is often an easy way to make the most of
the space. In addition, music has always been an important part of worship
so having people come to a performance at your church should just be a
part of expressing a wider Christian tradition.
Staging a performance creates a chance to talk to local people and invite
them into your church. This will help to establish it at the heart of your community, particularly if concerts become a regular feature, and will make people
reassess what the church means to them. This increased involvement can
help to create useful contacts and opportunities, which you can develop further to become a community hub (see Template 1).
Finally, when these events are well-managed they can help the church to
make a modest profit, and fund essential repairs or mission work.
3
ASSESSING NEED
Some initial questions to ask
You may wish to hold a concert as a ‘one-off’ event, to launch a new service,
a piece of mission, or perhaps just for fun. If you wish to set up your building as
a regular concert venue, it may be worth considering some of the questions
below before you start. If there are a lot of local venues then you may wish to
reconsider the extent of the plan. However, you may find that there is a gap
in the market for a regular concert venue that could be filled by your church.
The most important point is to talk to local people and sound out whether
they think that it might be a good idea for the community.
SOME INITIAL CONSIDERATIONS
•
Does your local community have a concert venue that is regularly used?
•
Perhaps local schools would benefit from the heritage and acous-
tics of a church interior for one of their regular performances?
•
Are there any local music groups that are looking for a ‘home’ to
practise in and perform from?
•
Do you or members from your church have any personal contacts
with musicians or event organizers in the local community that may
be able to help?
4
THE BUILDING
Thinking of your church as a concert venue
Visualize the kind of concert that you would want to take place there, and
think through how this might be possible. This will give you a basis for working
out the logistics of putting on a show.
Many church buildings have fantastic
acoustics and often have beautiful
pews to sit on. However, you must consider the performance area too - how
big is the stage space? Could you fit a brass band there? Or is it suitable for
solo performers only? Could using choir stalls solve your space issues?
Often churches have a fine organ
and/or piano at the front of house.
What condition is it in, and how suitable is it to the kinds of concerts that
you would like to stage?
Do you have adequate disabled access, tea/coffee facilities, etc. What
kind of extra help or equipment might
you need? What is the legal maximum capacity of your building? Do you
hold the required licences? Be sure to check with your Synod and Local Authority.
5
FORM PARTNERSHIPS
Find the individual(s) you need
You need to identify the skills that you and your team have and those that
are lacking to make your event a success. We
all have different skills, and identifying weaknesses will mean you can address them and
produce a high-quality event. For example,
you may be comfortable marketing the event
but are not confident enough to be able to
curate the music of the event. Or perhaps
you have good links with local groups and are
happy to invite them to play and create the
program, but are unsure about how to approach media or produce a flier?
Ask around the congregation to see if anyone is interested in coming forward
to take the lead on specific aspects of planning the event. If no-one is forthcoming, speak to people outside of the church and see what relationship
you can grow with local people interested in working with you. Alternatively
you could invite a high-quality performer to play, and help to strengthen your
team’s weak spots. There are many helpful and multi-skilled people in the
world of music who would happily do this. They may cost money, but if you really want regular attendance moving forwards, going for high quality from the
start is important.
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THE BUDGET
How and what to consider
What is the main reason for the concert? Do you want to break even and get
as many people into the building as possible? Or is the concert part of your
wider plan to raise money?
Whatever your reason, an accurate costing will be essential. Each situation
will present different costs but it may be worthwhile bearing in mind the
following items:
•
Printing/distribution of marketing material
•
Performers fee & expenses
•
Extra heating and lighting for the event
•
Purchase of refreshment provisions before sale (only do this if you have volunteers and the equipment to do so, also check whether you are allowed to sell drinks/snacks from your facility)
•
Travel costs associated with volunteers/performers
Once you have agreed a maximum budget for the event, know how many
seats you can fill, and what an appropriate ticket price may be for such an
event in the local area, (bearing in mind concessions for OAPs and kids, family
tickets, etc. as you see fit) you will be able to do a simple calculation that will
help to estimate some important things, namely…
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THE BUDGET
“What is the minimum number of people we need in attendance to break
even?”
“What is the maximum amount of profit that we could hope to achieve from
the event?”
“How effective does the marketing need to be to make the event break
even, or make a small profit? Does that seem likely or possible?”
“Do the figures stack up?”
“Is it sensible to continue?”
“Do we need to scale up/down the event?”
You should know then where you stand financially before proceeding.
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MARKETING
Creating a flier and how to promote your event
Anyone with a computer will be able to create a simple flier, however if you
are going for high quality and want to make a statement, producing a welldesigned and balanced piece of marketing material will be essential.
Consider the example above from Sutton-in-Ashfield URC. What message do
you want to give about your building and what you are trying to achieve?
Below are the key pieces of information which should clearly be displayed on
a flier:
•
Name, address, date and time of the event
•
A brief description or list of music/performances along with prominent performers
•
Ticket information, for example the cost and how to purchase,
including any concessions
•
The organization(s) involved in the event
Everyone in your church will be able to help in some way with marketing and
inviting people to your event. The most effective form of marketing is word of
mouth and a personal invite, but you may also want to try some of the
following methods.
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MARKETING
MARKETING METHODS:
•
Print 1,000 fliers and agree with people in your church, performers, or local partners (library, school etc.) how these may be distributed.
•
Ask local businesses if they may be able to place a flier in their window. Make sure that the important information is visible.
•
Attach the flier to e-mails and send personal invites, and encourage others in your group to do the same.
•
Don’t be afraid to invite your local MP, councillors, school heads etc. If you want regular events you will need support and partnerships
moving forwards.
•
The internet is a good free way to reach a lot of people. Try and get your flier out across local social media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, etc).
•
Advertise the event through local print media. There will sometimes be a free area for charities that will let you advertise in the classified
section. You may have to pay for a prominent advert or in a large
distribution paper. A good way to approach the issue is to get the newspaper to write a piece of editorial about the event and the
wider context of why you are doing it. Do you have a newsworthy
story? Perhaps you are having the event to launch a fundraising scheme, (a new roof, new building, piece of mission etc.) or perhaps you just want to pass on the message that the church is looking to find ways of partnerships that will make it more open. Make sure that the concert is mentioned in the editorial and you will have some free advertising.
•
Get a local radio station involved. Many will mention your concert for free as a good-will gesture towards the community. The BBC has a
special provision for local charities to make announcements for free
using the radio. It is well worth giving this a go, especially if you require a large number of people to attend the event.
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FUNDRAISING
Be financially creative
Think of other ways that you could raise funds at the event in a creative way.
People don’t mind giving to a good cause, especially if they are encouraged
to do so by something fun and interesting. Some ideas that were tried in the
Sutton-in-Ashfield concert venue launch project can be found below. These
may or may not work for you, but should help with some initial ideas to get
things started.
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FUNDRAISING
HOW TO RAISE ADDITIONAL FUNDS
•
Sell advertising space on the back of your flier to local businesses (see example on previous page). Offer them free tickets, a mention in your newsletter, a good space to advertise and show support. Be persistent if they say “no”, leave them with a flier in their hand or in their shop
window!
•
Create a fundraising scheme on the night which is light-hearted and engaging. An example that worked well in Sutton-in-Ashfield was ‘Sponsor-a-Tile’, where attendees were encouraged to have their names written on the roof tiles for £1 (the concert was raising funds for the new roof).
•
Some kind people will offer their support by giving a small donation as they leave the concert. Make sure that there is a well-positioned (and supervised) contributions box at a prominent place near the entrance/
exit of the church building.
•
Do you have the capacity to sell any refreshments? Encourage people to stay after the event for a cup of tea and a slice of cake.
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PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE
Contact lists: keeping in touch with partners.
During the course of the marketing process, e-mailing, selling tickets, and of
course the event itself, try and create lists of people and their contact details
who may be interested in hearing about future events and about becoming
partners. Send a friendly e-mail thanking people for their attendance, and
informing them of future events. Hopefully someone in your church may be
able to set up a facebook page for the concerts, or put fliers for future events
on your local church website and guide people towards it.
Now you have had your successful event, where do you go from here?
•
Set the date of the next event.
•
Involve partners that were a success – would they like to do it again?
•
Assess what did and didn’t work from the marketing strategy, for example, does selling cakes actually raise money? Is it worthwhile to contact the radio? Marketing the next event with the contact lists you have already made should make life a lot easier.
•
Let other churches know what you are doing through journals, etc.
•
Could the newspaper write an article about the event?
•
Did you make any money?
If you find it hard first time, then don’t give up! Eventually once the partners
and a routine are established, putting on events should become a lot easier.
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LEGAL ISSUES
Licences
Whilst staging a concert in a church should be natural and uncomplicated, the
law tends to see things differently. It is very protective of audience safety, and
performers’ and publishers’ rights. However, churches have their own rights to
performance, which confuses matters. Here is a summary of the situation with
regards to musical performance.
Currently, a church does not have to be licensed as a place of public entertainment (Local Government Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1982). You may put
on concerts of literary and musical works in church, but it must comply with the
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
Public entertainment is highly regulated in places other than a church (including parish and school halls). If you are putting on a performance of a play or
showing a film, video, DVD; an indoor sporting event; a performance of live
music; an event that includes playing recorded music; a performance of a
dance, a disco, a karaoke session; anything similar then you will need a public
performing licence (Licensing Act 2003). This licences your building for public
use and can be applied for at your Local Authority. It might take up to 28 days
to arrive, so to remain legal it is best to give plenty of time before your event.
Your local authority will need to be satisfied about public safety. Your premises
must have:
emergency lights which will come on during a power failure;
working fire exits, as advised by the Fire Officer;
fire extinguishers installed, as advised by the Fire Officer;
annual certificates of inspection of these items;
seating that is properly planned and limited in number.
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LICENCES
Licences (cont’d)
Also, the police will need to be satisfied that the entertainment will not cause:
unreasonable public nuisance;
crime and disorder;
harm to children.
There are two types of public performance licence:
1) Temporary Event Notice (TEN) allows up to a maximum of 12 events a year.
At time of publication, these cost £21 per event.
2) Premises Licence (PL) is free for churches. This covers more than 12 events
a year. Ask your Local Authority about the most appropriate licence for your
event(s).
Outside of acts of worship, you need permission from the copyright holder for
protected works you want to perform in public. They have the right to performance royalites as well as to have their name printed on the programme. To
cover these obligations you need a PRS Church Licence from Christian Copyright Licensing International (CCLI).
The PRS Church Licence covers the live performance or playing of recorded
music on church premises outside acts of worship, including concerts and
background music. For further activities in the church hall you may also need
to get a licence directly from PRS for Music and possibly a Phonographic Performance Licence (PPL) too.
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LICENCES
Licences (cont’d)
MCPS-PRS Alliance
Copyright House
29-33 Berners Street
London
W1T 3AB
Tel: 020 7580 5544
www.prs.co.uk
Tell the PRS exactly what circumstances you might need a licence for.
Community users might also need a PPL. The law permits recordings to be
played by charitable bodies for the purposes of the advancement of religion,
education or social welfare but only if it is a non-commercial activity. Money
can be raised as part of the event but it must all be given to the charitable
cause. If the event is commercial, you will need to purchase a PPL to have recorded music played in your space.
To be granted a PPL, apply to:
Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL),
1 Upper James Street,London.W1R 3HG
Tel: 0207 534 1030
Fax: 0207 534 1363
e-mail: GLD.info@ppluk.com
web: www.ppluk.com
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Fire Safety
The exact details of what precautions you need to take depends on your building, but you should consider:
•A fire alarm.
•Automatic fire detectors might be needed in some buildings.
•There must be fire extinguishers in the building, which should be marked with
signs, and simple to use.
•There must be enough fire exits in the building for the numbers of people who
use it and exits must lead as directly to safety as possible.
•Exits must be clearly marked with signs including the ‘moving person’ symbol,
and they must be kept clear and readily available.
•Fire precautions must be maintained and looked after, and a record of tests
should be kept to show that this has been done.
•There must be a fire procedure for the building, outlining people’s responsibilities and the evacuation plan in case of fire.
For further information and greater detail, follow the links below:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/fire/firesafetyrisk7
http://www.methodist.org.uk/static/rm/reformfiresafety.pdf
http://www.birmingham.anglican.org/upload/pdf/SafetyInChurches.pdf
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CASE STUDY
A Concert for Sutton
REFORM MAGAZINE ARTICLE-27/07/11
On July 1st, on a sunny Friday evening in Sutton-in-Ashfield at the United
Reformed Church on High Pavement, a magnificent concert took place in
celebration of the town and its people. Over 300 people attended the launch
of this church becoming a new concert venue for the benefit of the whole
community. The concert was hosted by Lord Mawson, social
entrepreneur and founder of ‘One Church,100 Uses CIC’, the regeneration
agency responsible for organizing the event. Michael Bochmann, world-class
violininst and protégé of Yehudi Menuhin gave a spellbinding rendition of
Vaughn Williams’ ‘Lark Ascending’, and an unforgettable virtuoso
performance of Paganini variations. Other performers included the martial
artists’ group Ashfield Dragons that runs from the extension of the church
building, and David Butterworth, a fine local organist who is also kindly
helping the church to keep its organ in a playable condition. The Cantamus
Training Choir gave a beautiful display of harmony in their two sets, and
displayed the high standards that are present locally within Sutton-in-Ashfield. Local Heritage groups organized a display at the back of the church, and
Minister Colin Bones launched their new heritage trail leaflet of the town, of
which the church is now a part.
There has been a Reformed church presence in Sutton-in-Ashfield for over
350 years, and in that time the church people and buildings have become a
significant element of its history. The historical significance of the current Victorian building lies in its rare curved pews and fine Keates organ in original condition. Recently, as is common in many situations nationally, the small congregation has found it difficult to maintain their large buildings, with
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CASE STUDY
REFORM MAGAZINE ARTICLE-27/07/11 (cont’d)
costly high-level roof repairs now necessary. Their persistence in searching for
wider solutions for their building has borne fruit, with the award of a Heritage
Lottery Fund grant of £164,000. The concert also helped raise funds towards
the remaining £24,000 needed to complete the project. Local businesses
contributed by purchasing advertising space on the concert programme,
a ‘sponsor-a-tile’ initiative was launched where, for £1 each, people could
have their names written on the inside of a slate tile. The main roofing project
is in its planning phase with construction due to start in the second half of 2012
, when scaffolding and a temporary roof will be erected around the entire
building.
The church is being supported by One Church,100 Uses CIC, a
regeneration agency working nationally within the United Reformed Church
to help churches create mutually beneficial situations by forming partnerships
with local service providers and entrepreneurs. The aim at Sutton-in-Ashfield
United Reformed Church at the moment is to raise more grant funding for the
buildings on the back of this success whilst continuing to open out the
buildings for wider use by a variety of local community groups. The church is an ideal concert venue for the town given the high quality of
music in the area, and the lack of suitable premises locally to hold major
events. The project recently featured on a BBC radio piece, as well as in
local newspapers. The congregation plan to hold their next major event in the
sanctuary around Christmas.
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STEP-BY-STEP SUMMARY CHART
8 weeks
Why put on concerts?
Assess potential
Think about building logistics
(Accoustics, facilities, the appropriate
licences, etc.)
Form partnerships
MARKETING MATERIAL
Create a flier and explore
ways to advertise
CREATE A BUDGET
An accurate costing will allow you
to gauge financial feasibility
4 weeks
Deciding on a target audience
(or theme) will help you market
the event effectively and book
performers.
8 weeks
MARKET EVENT
Posters, fliers, local radio and
newspapers, social media.
EVENING OF CONCERT
Experience
gained
used to
improve
future
events
Additional fundraising
initiatives
Photographs and recordings
of the concert for publicity
and future grant applications.
4 weeks
Contact lists
Follow-up-marketing to raise
awareness of future events
NEXT EVENT
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Web Links
Resources
http://www.parishresources.org.uk
http://www.fundingcentral.org.uk
http://www.governmentfunding.org.uk/Default.aspx
Churchcare information http://www.churchcare.co.uk/building.php?CD
asbestos http://www.churchcare.co.uk/building.php?CDA
disability http://www.churchcare.co.uk/building.php?CDC
fire safety http://www.churchcare.co.uk/building.php?CDE
health and safety http://www.churchcare.co.uk/building.php?CDH
Direct Gov Health and Safety
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/HealthAndSafetyAtWork/DG_4016686
Ecclesiastical Insurance Guidance
https://www.ecclesiastical.com/ChurchMatters/Images/PDF%20-%20church%20insurance%20guidance%20notes%20-%20health%20and%20safety.pdf
Ministry of Justice Guidance on Burial Grounds
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/docs/safety-burial-grounds.pdf
Wiring in Churches
http://www.churchcare.co.uk/building.php?CDT
Sound Systems
http://www.churchcare.co.uk/building.php?CDQ
Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
http://www.spab.org.uk/advice/statements/spab-statement-1-church-extensions/
English Heritage New Work in Historic Buildings
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/content/publications/docs/placesofworshipweb.pdf
Citizens Advice Bureau in Churches
http://www.churchcare.co.uk/pdf_view.php?id=250
Case Studies of development
http://www.churchcare.co.uk/develop.php?FE
Guidance for Post Office in Church
http://www.churchcare.co.uk/pdf_view.php?id=31
Alterations to buildings
http://www.churchcare.co.uk/develop.php?FJ
Community Shops Guidance
http://www.churchcare.co.uk/develop.php?FN
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LICENCES
Web Links (cont’d)
Food Standards
http://www.food.gov.uk/enforcement/enforceessential/startingup/#h_2
Business Link Food Advice
http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?r.l1=1073858799&r.l3=1074191
900&type=RESOURCES&itemId=1073793639&r.l2=1074450665&r.s=m
Business Link Alcohol License Advice
http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=1074441915&type=RES
OURCES
Church Insurance Specialists
http://www.accessinsurance.co.uk/charity/church.html?gclid=CLj3x6jPvq4CFUcTfA
oduhGPIw
http://www.fishinsurance.co.uk/care-cover-plus.php
http://pibim.co.uk/charities.html
http://www.churchinsurance.org.uk/
http://www.ansvar.co.uk/
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Disclaimer
Any views or opinions expressed in this document may not represent those of One church,100 uses CIC. One church,100 uses
accepts no liability for any damage caused by actions taken resulting from advice given. The information given in this document
should not be construed as professional advice. You are stongly
advised to consult professional services to ascertain the legal implciations of using church buildings. This document may not be copied without the express permission of One church,100 uses.
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