The Crash Collective & Forestside 2023
Context
- Crash is a music management company based in Belfast which represents emerging and established artists across the country.
- Forestside is one of Belfast's most innovative shopping centres, with an active interest in propelling small businesses and supporting the arts.
Challenge
We started the bigLOVE initiative in response to a lack of local support for emerging talent in Northern Ireland. There is an absence of 'industry' in Belfast, making it harder for local artists to get seen and receive support. Although there is funding available through the likes of the Arts Council, reaching the threshold where you are eligible to apply can seem really daunting for new and emerging artists. Without mentorship, forging crucial relationships within the local and wider community is also difficult.
“Forestside are delighted to be working with and supporting the bigLOVE project with Crash Management. This has been a great learning curve for all involved and has neatly connected with our “Roots” programme for young Artists. Having run the “Roots” programme for over 5 years with artists from as young as 10 years old up to 21, we have seen these artists develop and grow. However, it became clear that we didn’t have the skills or industry knowledge to help them to the next level and that’s where bigLOVE fitted perfectly. We are now excited to see what’s next for these artists with the support from the Crash Management team.”
Forestside
Solution
In response to these challenges, we launched the bigLOVE initiative. Our first objective was to showcase underrepresented talent through our unique ‘live at midnight’ platform. Here, we received hundreds of applications from artists across the country who wanted to take part in this unique bi-weekly event. After selecting the acts who we thought would benefit most from the platform, we rolled out 10 live music nights across the summer.
Our second objective was to provide support (both financial and strategic) to the participants who need it most. Once the run of showcases had come to a close, we selected 3 acts who we thought would benefit most from our help. We then opened a bespoke artist development grant of £3K tailored to the artists’ needs. This has gone on to cover everything from song production and live session recording, to merchandise and PR. A huge part of this support has been the strategic partnerships we have helped the artists to build through our own connections as a management company.
Results
The club nights were a huge success and we are pleased to have helped build the fanbases of 10 amazing local artists. The three performers who received the funding/mentorship are also going from strength to strength. The Indie pop band Fat Munk have just finished filming the music video for their forthcoming single Alaska. The grime artist EMBY is about to start filming a live session for his forthcoming EP. And finally, the singer songwriter Batesy is filming an ambitious music video for his forthcoming single later this month.
“The bigLOVE initiative has changed the way we interact with the wider creative community. Crash Management wants to break down the barriers that emerging artists face and with the help of Arts & Business NI, we have found a way to both give back and better ourselves at the same time.”
Crash Management