Tennent’s Lager Urge Fans to ‘Get Voting’ Before Deadline
By Richard Mooney
Music fans are being urged to join in at www.tennentsmutual.com as the deadline approaches to sign up as a founding member of The Tennent’s Mutual and get voting on the who, what, why and where of brand new live music shows.
Facilitated by Tennent’s investment and seed funding of £150,000 for live shows later this year, The Tennent’s Mutual is a brave new venture designed to give fans genuine influence and control in Scotland’s live music scene. Only members of The Tennent’s Mutual will have the right to vote on all the decisions involved in the creation of an exciting new live music programme happening in October/November. But fans wanting to get their opinions heard on how the money should be spent need to be quick - registration for this first phase closes on Monday 30th June, just over a week away.
After more than a year in development, Tennent’s Lager unveiled The Tennent’s Mutual in April to enable and inspire music fans to genuinely and collectively influence live music programming in Scotland – the artists they want to see, where they want to see them, when and even how much they want to pay – with all proceeds from ticket sales going back to The Tennent’s Mutual fund for music fans to re-invest in support of the live music scene in Scotland.
So far members have debated and determined where to invest the money, the voting structure for which bands they want to see, and most recently how best to provide gig opportunities for unsigned acts. Next up members will be asked to decide on the type of gigs they want to programme, the acts they want to see play this year and ticket prices.
Artists featuring in the current Top 40 include MIA, Sufjan Stevens, Cat Power, Bon Iver, Crystal Castles, Malcolm Middleton and Fleet Foxes reflecting the eclectic tastes of the founding members of The Tennent’s Mutual community.
Elaine Forbes of Tennent’s, and one of the organisers of The Tennent’s Mutual said:
"We’re delighted with how music fans have responded to The Tennent’s Mutual, as it’s captured people’s attention and imagination – the online hub is buzzing with lively debate, which is exactly what we wanted. We have put £150,000 on the table for music fans to invest in the live music programme that they want to see in Scotland but there is only a couple of weeks left for those who haven’t already joined up, to get registered and help shape the very first Tennent’s Mutual shows. We want as many music fans as possible who care about the scene in Scotland to get involved."
After 30th June, music fans will next have the opportunity to sign up as a member – and receive the all-important voting rights – with the sale of tickets to The Tennent’s Mutual gigs, when all ticket buyers will be invited to join The Tennent’s Mutual community. Ticket prices for The Tennent’s Mutual live shows will be decided democratically and collectively by members who have registered by 30th June, and no booking fees will be charged on Tennent’s Mutual tickets.
To discuss, debate and vote on The Tennent’s Mutual and get your voice heard, log onto www.tennent’smutual.com before Monday 30th June.
