Sound City will this month showcase Liverpool’s thriving music industry. Alistair Houghton reports
One Liverpool company taking advantage of the change in the record industry is Sentric Music, which helps small and unsigned bands collect royalties from radio play, live gigs and online sales.
As revenues from traditional record deals keep falling, companies like Sentric are increasingly looking to secure synchronisation or “synch” deals to use music in adverts, on television or in video games.
PHIL ROSE, Sentric’s head of artist liaison, said: “A lot of record labels are finding they’re not selling as many tracks to the public. Synch deals and sponsorship deals can be a good way to make money.
“We’ve just done a deal with Lexus for one of our acts – a Liverpool band called MinionTV – for one of their tracks to be used in an online advert, which will also be shown at motor shows and in dealerships.”
Martin O’Shea is a man who knows about taking Liverpool music to the world. He took Scouse trio Atomic Kitten to global success, and last year led the Number One Project to celebrate Liverpool’s 57 number one hits with a concert and album.
Mr O’Shea, who runs entertainment company Integral RPM in Liverpool, agrees music is still central to the city – but says Liverpool needs to produce another world-beating act.
“Music, along with football, is one of the backbones of this city,” he said.
“What Liverpool needs now is another big act to break out of the city, doing something that hasn’t been done before.
“We’ve got the best venues we’ve ever had and the best infrastructure for bands to develop that we’ve ever had. What we need are the bands.”
But the industry isn’t just about the people on stage. Andy Dockerty, managing director of Adlib, in Speke, says a growing demand for live music also offers job opportunities for young people who want to go into the music industry.
Adlib, which employs more than 50 full-time staff, provides sound and lighting equipment for some of the biggest names in music.
This year it has worked with Bob Dylan, the Kaiser Chiefs and the reformed Ultravox, and is working with John Barrowman on his current tour.
Mr Dockerty regularly visits schools to tell young people how they can get involved in the music industry without ever brandishing a guitar.
“Everyone focuses on the guy on the stage,” he said. “But, for every one performer on stage, there could be eight backstage.
“On a small arena-level tour, you might have five or six people in a band and 60 people behind the scenes.
“We want to highlight that work. At school, I never wanted to be on stage, but I loved the environment, so that’s why I ended up here.”
Liverpool is still a key point of call for recording artists, with Parr Street Studios and Elevator Studios regularly visited by many of today’s biggest artists.
The main studio in Parr Street is run by Pete Byrne, and Echo and the Bunnymen manager Peasy. Since they took it over in 2007, they have attracted stars including Scottish singer-songwriter Paolo Nutini and R’n’B star Rihanna.
Cllr Gary Millar, chief executive of the Parr Street Studios complex, which also includes a boutique hotel and the 3345 lounge bar and restaurant, agrees that music and sport are crucial to Liverpool’s visitor offering.
Cllr Millar, Liverpool City Council’s executive member for enterprise and tourism, said venues such as the Echo Arena and events such as Sound City and the Mathew Street Festival meant Liverpool was still firmly on the world music map.
OPINION: P10
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