Live Music- can we make it more accessible
Was Glasgow’s Able2UK show a success…. Yes, yes it was. Hozier, Kodaline and Prides played to a crowed which accommodated a larger amount of people with disabilities due to larger raised platforms as well as other factors that improved accessibility to the show on a number of levels. A step in the right direction as usually, mainly in older venues the space for extra platforms and seating is very limited.
Having had a friend who was wheelchair bound for a number of years and who now struggles a bit with standing constantly for a long time I realise how important raising awareness for lovers of music who struggle at gigs.
However that being said the organisers of the Able2UK show have admitted that realistically having an accessible section as large as they had at the O2 Academy is unrealistic for everyone. As it was for charity the acts only received travel expenses and the venue didn’t take any money; however neither would’ve broken even if they had been payed. Due to platforms and other measures to make the show more assessable the capacity was reduced and tickets were priced higher than normal because of what I’m assuming was the law of ‘supply and demand’ perhaps…
Now this wasn’t a profit event but this does highlight what seems to be a catch 22. Give people with disabilities more accessibility to live shows at the cost of the band, venue, promotor etc… or keep it as it is with a limited amount of space and near constant situations of bands breaking even or profiting. Neither is ideal.
To me it seems that there needs to be an allotted percentage per venue (size dependent) of ticket sales that should be available first for those with disabilities. For example a 1000 capacity venue may have 100-200 tickets that’re released and only available at first to those with disabilities; then closer to the date of the show any remaining tickets become available for everyone. This way it would be possible to allocate a larger section of the seated or raised areas in venues to those who need to be there meaning that it’s a fairer system. Yes, everyone has the right to decide to sit BUT not everyone has the option of standing.
This article is mainly focussing on those who are physically disabled; wheelchair users, amputees etc…. However there’re also people who have learning disabilities, deafness or other non physical disabilities that struggle to go to gigs. Examples of this are people with HFA or Aspergers Syndrome which can cause sensory overload which can be caused by either too many people surrounding the person or too much noise both of which are common place at gigs. I personal have first hand experience of this as I have Aspergers and large crowds used to really overwhelm me to the point of having a meltdown, often having to leave due to too many different sounds becoming overwhelming. However I've managed to get over that problem by just getting used to it over time; sadly not everyone can though..... As well as Aspergers there’re conditions like SID and Chronic fatigue syndrome can cause physical and mental tiredness (CFS) and SID which can cause physical clumsiness as well as difficulties processing different senses.
So the measures venues are trying to make will benefit a lot of people. The simple pleasure of going to a gig should be a choice everyone can have the option of. However there’s still a lot of work needed so that gigs are assessable to everyone as well as working for the venues, promotors and bands on a monetary level.
Feel free to comment your thoughts about how venues could improve accessibility to those with dissidents and any thoughts on how to make it work for everyone