Long Live Melting Vinyl

MELTING VINYL & ITS TEAM OF FREELANCE STAFF NEED YOUR HELP

If you love live music and live in Brighton and Kent, chances are you’ve been to a Melting Vinyl gig. We are Brighton’s longest-running live music promoter operating on a passion for arts and culture and a shoestring budget and, like many cultural organisations we have been hit hard by the coronavirus lock down. 

As a small independent business operating on tight margins, we are struggling to meet our outgoings during this prolonged period of live music silence and we are asking for your vital donations to help us through this juncture so we can see you on the other side and celebrate some first-rate live music together.

Since the government announced that citizens should 'avoid pubs and clubs and minimise social contact' Melting Vinyl has worked tirelessly to reschedule and postpone all our shows for the foreseeable future and we are incredibly grateful to the artists and local venues for their unending cooperation as well as the patience and understanding of the ticket holders.

While we are determined to make sure these gigs all go ahead, the lock down has had an enormous impact on Melting Vinyl, and the industry as a whole. This gap in business is potentially devastating for us, particularly for our talented team of seven core freelance staff and a further sixty freelancers who have seen their work disappear. Although the government has announced a package of measures for the self-employed, payments for those of them with profits and three years history of accounts,  will not land until June or later, leaving them in a very precarious position. 

Our monthly operating cost is just £5000 (including wages, utilities, and all the other demands small businesses are faced with). Sadly we have also been forced to give notice on our office due to the impact of the crisis.

Whilst we hope that this chapter will not last for too much longer we're preparing for the reality that we will not be back in full swing until September at the very earliest when we hope that the majority of the rescheduled shows start again. 

But this five-month gap in gig income means we are already faced with an alarming shortfall.

This is our call to arms… can you chip in and help us ride the wave?

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

We are asking for donations to help us face the challenge of closure until the late summer and possibly beyond. Every penny will help! 

Even if you've never come to a Melting Vinyl show but like the sound of what we're doing please do help to support arts, culture and live music and consider supporting us.

Carl is a huge music fan and early on, combined that love with his love of photography by photographing the now famous Hyde Park free concerts of the early 70’s.

More recently, he has shots for labels, agents, management companies and on occasion directly for the artist: www.carlewarren.com

MEET THE MELTING VINYL TEAM

ABOUT MELTING VINYL

Founded in Brighton in 1998 by  Anna Moulson, Melting Vinyl began as a one-woman business, with Anna programming up to 200 shows a year in venues like the Freebutt and Prince Albert and going on to showcase local, national and international talent, many of whom were championed by the late great John Peel and, more recently, BBC 6 Music.  

We are extremely proud to have worked with the likes of The Strokes, The White Stripes, Sigur Ros, Sufjan Stevens, Nick Cave,  Benjamin Clementine, Martha Wainwright, Ezra Furman, Laura Veirs, Fleet Foxes, Jon Hopkins, Beirut, Spiritualized, Calvin Harris, The Staves, Sharon Van Etten, Kimya Dawson, Wild Beasts, Johnny Flynn, Cate Le Bon, Joan as a Policewoman, GSYBE!, This is the Kit, Bat for Lashes, British Sea Power, Julia Holter, Gwenno, TVAM, LAU, Pom Poko,  The Handsome Family Anna Calvi, Laura Marling, Gruff Rhys… the list goes on.  

Over the last twenty or more years, Melting Vinyl has gone from strength to strength, despite the challenging market and competitive world of live music, and have been delighted to become firmly knitted into the fabric of Brighton's and Kent's vibrant music scene. We operate within tight margins but we have thrived thanks to the passion of our evolving team, the wonderful mix of local venues, and supportive music-loving audiences.

Melting Vinyl is also very mindful of inclusiveness, the modern music scene can often seem inaccessible to certain members of the community from either side of the stage, and Anna's name is synonymous with her work ethos, particularly in supporting up-and-coming artists and encouraging people of all ages.

 “It can be incredibly tough to make it in the ageist music industry, especially for women. It is very important for me that my staff, the artists I programme and the audiences that come to my gigs embrace people of all ages and give women a platform.” – Anna Moulson

A BIT MORE ABOUT US

From intimate sixty capacity shows at The Greys Pub to sold-out six-hundred capacity concerts at Kemptown’s St George’s Church, Melting Vinyl shows are all about attention to detail with quality performances, friendly staff, welcoming venues and both artists and audiences considered key to what we do.  

We encourage local artists to support established bands, to DJ on the night, or to give them a platform through our networks for their EP/Record launch. It’s good to be in a position where our taste is shared by Brighton and Kent audiences alike. Melting Vinyl has given the following artists, amongst others, their first shows Natasha Khan (Bat for Lashes), Emiliana Torrini, Jo Mount (Metronomy), The Go! Team, Penelope Isles,  Fujiya & Miyagi, and  British Sea Power. 

Over the years we’ve been involved in a spectrum of projects

• The programming of Brighton Live (Brighton band festival), The Great Escape ( programming the late gigs), Foxtrot ( Contemporary Folk festival with Willkommen label), Viva La France! (French music festival in Brighton), White Nights (European music initiative with a French town), Bike week /Brighton and Hove Council cycling initiative (Programming, producing), developing Towner and the Winter Gardens in Eastbourne, Revelation St Mary’s, Folkestone Quarterhouse and Gulbenkian in Kent as music destinations. We continue to supports St George’s church in Brighton with the infrastructure to make it a live event venue, including managing some of the larger concerts. 
• We never stand still, new for 2020 we will be working with the iconic Bloomsbury set retreat, Charleston House, to co-programme special live music events. 

Behind the scenes we actively encourage interns, especially women, to learn about event promotion. We are proud to have seen former staff go on to thrive in agencies, venues, ticketing companies and other arts organisations. Anna also shares her wealth of experience to teach on a concert promotions degree course at BIMM, inviting her students to shadow her at Melting Vinyl shows.

From buying local ale to hiring local venues MV works with more than twenty companies in Brighton & Hove, Kent and the surrounding areas.

Thanks for your time and support, and for sharing our passion for live music.

Arts and culture are the beating heart of Brighton & Hove. Those working in these industries in the city are working together to recover, rebuild and reimagine the future. This Crowdfunding campaign is one of the many led by a broad range of cultural organisations in Brighton & Hove. We hope you will support as many of us as you can in the knowledge that our organisations not only serve local residents but have national and international impact, and your contribution supports not just one organisation but a whole creative community.  Thank you for your support. For more information visit cultureinourcity.com

We will be back!

Anna Moulson, Melting Vinyl #longlivemv 

Please note: 

We are mindful that this is a huge global crisis and many people are also suffering both financially and physically, and many far more so than ourselves. Compassion and kindness for ourselves and each other are key at the moment, and our thoughts are with all those who have been affected. 

We've been closely following the news from the Treasury about Government-funded support for small businesses. We welcome the grants and suspension of business rates and the announcement that the government will cover 80% of wages for staff for 3 months is also a big reassurance to those who employ people. Plus the self-employment grant system.  

For a business like ourselves, the small business rates don't apply (our landlord pays the rates, not our company), our staff are freelance, not employed, so cannot be furloughed, the majority of our staff have only recently been employed/profit is low and therefore do not anticipate many grants from the government in June. It is good news that there is support for those hard hit by the lockdown through music-related industries/trade bodies such as Spotify, Live Nation, PRS, MVT, MU, but for us, these organizations are prioritizing musicians, venues, production crew than live music promoters like Melting Vinyl. Where you can apply, through organisations such as AIM, it is for canceled work, our work has been rescheduled and therefore not canceled. This is why crowdfunding is our main hope to stay afloat.