I recently uploaded a podcast focusing on how the local music scene impacts the community within Huddersfield, along with the local economy. I was pleased to see that all the responses agreed that live music positively influences the local area, and that there should be more funding put into the scene in order to mirror this.
Many of the comments called for longer episodes, which although not possible in this context, I found interesting as I didn’t think that people would be invested to the extent that they wanted to hear more on the subject. This was because local music scenes are often scene as niche places, so for people who aren’t necessarily as involved, wanting to learn more- I think echoes the idea that more funding and support needs to be given to them.
One comment, from Yvonne Jackson, stated how smaller events often get sporadic advertising as opposed to the events put on by the council or University which I had never really thought much into, but it is interesting as there is clearly an intent to bring in visitors to engage with the music scene- but possibly only when it directly benefits the council?
The comments did echo many of my concerns, such as the way that the whole arts and music scene is underfunded and that more advertising and financial help would be a positive for not only music- but for the whole community. I think that this is particularly a concern in current times due to the economic worries from the uncertainty that has arisen since the election. The support for more funding in the arts was very encouraging to see.
I decided to see if Thomas, the guitarist I interviewed, had any further thoughts on the subject (based on the comments available at the time), and from his perspective, the encouragement for an increase in government support for the local music scene gave him hope for the community and for furthering his bands career and success.
In conclusion, as a music journalist, I was glad to see that there was no negative reactions to the podcast and its content as I was worried that (albeit due to personal assumptions), many people would not be passionate about the subject as it often appears to be a lesser thought. I still stand by the fact that more funding needs to be provided, and hope support continues.