From a quarterly showcase to a monthly must-read, Access has changed a lot in 200 issues – and so has the events industry. Take a trip down memory lane.
How do you contextualise 200 issues? It’s a landmark number, a number that didn’t come easily or without its own winding journey. And just as Access has evolved and changed – from a newsletter-type paper to a feature-led magazine – so has the industry it covers.
When Access All Areas launched – first with a pilot issue in 1993, followed by a Spring edition in 1994 – the European Union was just a year old. The first-ever cover feature focused on that newly formed body and its potential effect on the UK and European events industry. Fast forward 23 years and we’re facing the potential exit of the UK from the EU and wondering what new challenges an isolated Britain may have to tackle – what a difference two decades can make.
It’s not the only change Access has been here for.
From the early ‘90s, when mega-festivals like Glastonbury and Reading dominated the scene, to the noughties and beyond, the live music and entertainment industry has evolved with the rise of boutique and niche festivals that feature everything from music and acrobatic performances, to highbrow theatre and top-tier comedy.
An out with the old, in with the new approach has dominated the past two decades, starting first with the election of New Labour to government, signalling an end of austerity and the start of an almost 10-year-long celebration of everything consumer. We were spending more, doing more, borrowing more and taking more – perhaps a little too much. From the hedonistic party and club scene emerged new genres of entertainment – acid house, raves, glow sticks, questionable dance moves based around Big Fish, Little Fish, Cardboard Box… shudder – that birthed a new demand for different types of music events. Some of today’s biggest festivals like We Are FSTVL, Beat Herder, Creamfields and SW4 can directly trace their roots back to the explosion of ‘90s dance music.
And who in those days knew that the Blur vs Oasis uber-rivalry would eventually fizzle out, with both bands if not mellowing then at least settling into ‘cool dad’ territory, and Noel Gallagher and Damon Albarn playing gigs and festivals like Latitude and Barclaycard British Summer Time with nary a naked groupie in sight.
We’ve also watched the evolution of feminism and gender equality. The 14, 15 and 16-year olds who listened to The Spice Girls’ pop-infused battle cry of ‘Girl Power’ are now grown up, helping shape the events industry and beyond. From Beyoncé performing in front of a giant screen with the word ‘feminist’ blazing behind her, to the open discussion around preventing sexual violence at festivals, to the rise of important voices like Attitude is Everything’s Suzanne Bull and Zibrant’s Fay Sharpe, there are issues that the events industry has bravely faced head on. Access is proud to have been there all along to help champion key issues and to have broken down barriers for the betterment of our industry.
Access was also around to see the launch of London’s Millennium Dome, that supposedly ill-thought government over-spend, a signal of the trouble ahead for Tony Blair and his New Labour. While we watched Labour devolve into in-fighting and leader quarrels, an American billionaire took over the Dome, renaming it The O2, transforming it over the past 15 years into what is now the most well- attended music venue in the world, surpassing even New York City’s Madison Square Garden, and pouring money into the UK’s economy.
Consumerism gets a bad rap most of the time – but The O2 stands by the Thames as one of its greatest triumphs.
The UK has become a major player on the events stage. It would be remiss of Access not to mention London 2012. The elation in 2005 when the host city was announced, that feeling of pride in both our capital and our country, buoyed us through the immediate tragedy of the 7/7 terrorist attacks on London. We, as a proud nation and industry, came back stronger and together in celebration. The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games rejuvenated our industry, which had been wounded by the 2008 financial crisis, and left a lasting economic legacy in both cities.
Yes, 200 issues is difficult to put in context. So many things have happened in the 23 years since we started – remember ‘Gangnam Style’? Remember how angry we all were about Jay Z playing Glastonbury? It’s impossible to talk about them all. Luckily, Access has been there through everything, and we have the magazines to prove it.
Thank you for reading and supporting our magazine – we can’t wait to see what the next 200 holds.
Access All Areas: Under the industry’s skin
Graham Brown, founder of Access All Areas and managing director of Bristol-based PR firm Plaster, takes a look back at the magazine’s evolution and the rise of industry veterans
Access All Areas was born out of a need to build a bridge between event producers and suppliers.
I ran a small PA alongside running my band, often collaborating with other PA and lighting companies around Bristol. We all got work through advertising in a magazine called Venue (the local equivalent of TimeOut), so when we wanted to start connecting to the developing festival market, we looked for the best outlet.
We found a directory called The White Book – the go-to contact directory – but there was no magazine doing the job. After 18 months persuading the publishers of Venue that my ‘fag packet’ business plan was a goer, we launched our pilot issue. The next day we received a call from the National Outdoor Events Association (NOEA) about working together and before we knew it we had our first issue out in Spring 1994.
It was a great team; they had a passion for the local live events scene and understood publishing. I soon developed a passion for how events were put together and we connected with and followed the growth of innovators such as Melvin Benn, John Probyn, Dick Tee and, of course, our local organiser Michael Eavis. The first HSE Pop Code was being launched at the same time so these guys were making the rules up as they went along – and they didn’t always get it right – or agree.
The magazine’s appeal stemmed from our willingness to get underneath the skin of industry issues, follow and support new legislation, as well as our broad inclusion of all of the service elements that contribute to an event, which were largely ignored by the more technical trade press.
The next milestone was the acquisition of Access by Inside Communications, part of Trinity Mirror in 1998. They had already bought the successful Outdoor Event Exhibition, located at Wembley Arena every January, and were also buying The White Book from Dick Tee and Andy Ayres, so I was optimistic enough about our prospects to relocate from Bristol to Coventry.
I remember, when we were settling into life within The Mirror Group, being asked to take my director Tanya to meet our top 50 clients. I will never forget her amazement as she entered the alien world (to her) of companies like Eat to The Beat, Skan PA, Star Events and LSD (whose evolution led them to merge with PRG). From her corporate background she found it incredible that this was the cream of our industry.
I think that disconnect was at the heart of why I eventually moved on from Access All Areas. It was tough, but the decisions being made at the time didn’t have the live events industry or the products at their core.
I have been fortunate to continue working with Access as a PR with my company, Plaster. There have been some great memories along the way, from huge gigs like Led Zeppelin re-forming at The O2, Bowie bringing The Isle of Wight Festival crowd back to life after the England Euro’s semi-final defeat to France had been beamed out on the giant screens, to the smaller gems like Pulp playing the Forestry Commission tour to promote their album Trees. There are too many to list them all. While all that was going on, Access became part of Mash Media and it’s been great to witness the team make its mark on the magazine and take it forwards alongside The Event Production Show, Awards and The White Book.
With Emma Hudson newly installed as editor, I expect the magazine will flourish and I’m looking forward to many more adventures with Access. That’s one of the joys of the live events sector – you’re never sure what you’re going to meet around the next corner, but chances are it’ll be fun, bringing with it inspiration and opportunity.
In your own words
Access has been writing about the events industry for 23 years – and even with our elephantine memory, that’s a hell of a lot of years to cover…
Chris Tofu, Continental Drifts
UK festivals are now the best in the world
“When Access All Areas first started, there were a few festivals, a feeling that they could be the new ‘Holiday Camp’ and on the whole concepts like sponsors, boutique camping and world class chefs in a field were yet-to-be-thought-of ideas. With tiny steps across all the UK festivals and through communicating, sharing and mass pilfering ideas, we’ve reached the admirable position of being the best in the world. The Holiday Camp concept was lost years ago, as so many festivals are central to the cultural and social life of a majority of the youth of the UK. 23 years ago there were tribes of people making free festivals way beyond all licensing and authority. Commercial events were cold and unfriendly experiences for punters. One can hardly imagine where we’ll be in another 200 issues.”
Chris Haywood, Topher
A platform to share best practice
“Firstly, congratulations to Access on the 200th issue, hard to believe it’s been 23 years. Since the first issue, the industry has increased in professionalism and Access has been ever present in showcasing how the industry delivers against customers’ increasing expectations and the innovations we have adopted to achieve this. It has provided a platform to share best practice, news and challenged a few misconceptions. Here’s to the next 200 issues.”
Kevin Thorborn, Mojo Barriers
More integrated security
“Over the past 23 years, we’ve seen a change of attitudes from event organisers placing more importance on the crowd barriers they choose. People understand the product more and there is a much more integrated approach with security, health and safety and production all working with us from the beginning. There is now a deeper understanding of site layout and barrier designs, plus how the music genre, audience demographic and the actual science behind the barriers effects audience safety at events.”
Chris Johnson, Shambala Festival
Pushing boundaries
“It’s inspiring to see the proliferation of festivals in general, and the creativity that audiences are increasingly expecting – it’s keeping the UK festival scene world leaders. Back in 2005, when Shambala was firmly on the map, there were only a handful of festivals that were coined as ‘Boutique’. Now the diversity in programming an experiences which the term represents is common place at UK festivals, and the boundaries are being pushed in every direction.”
Toby Bennett, GL events Owen Brown
A more professional industry
“Its difficult to sum up 23 years of amazing events across the UK and to track how far we have come. But overall, I think we’ve become a lot more professional and respected industry. We’ve always been a responsible industry, with high standards of implementation, but we’re also now better than ever at selling our worth. As an industry we’ve attracted more brand sponsorship, encouraged more businesses to buy into the sector, and shown the tangible results of what we do to those that finance us. This means our worth as an industry is higher than ever.”
David Hornby, Why Not
Some things are still the same
“A great deal has changed over the years since Access was first published. The world around live events has gone digital and social, making the access, pardon the pun, to customers easier for organisers! In the UK London has hosted the Olympics and Scotland has emerged as a wonderful setting for some amazing events and continued to grow its International Festival to be the best in the world. I think it more interesting to think about what has not changed. We still have major issues around secondary ticketing and ticket-touts have gone online. It’s still incredibly hard to get past the red tape and restrictions to make great experiences happen. In some ways, it’s even harder now.”
Mark Davyd, Music Venue Trust
Hard times for small venues
“It’s been a tough time for the grassroots music venue circuit in the last 20 years, with many of the iconic names that make up the UK live music scene disappearing from the map. A recent groundswell of popular opinion has caught the attention of the UK music media, which has in turn resulted in the music industry identifying this as one of the key areas that needs support in the coming years. The opportunity is there to take advantage of that and work together to deliver a truly world class touring network for breaking and emerging artists.”
Graham Stephenson, AEV/Business Design Centre
The Olympics showcased UK events
“In the 23 years that Access has been in print, live events have become a highly professional and successful industry. The Olympics in 2012 must have been the largest live event held in the in UK in last 23 years, with many AEV member venues at the heart of the whole spectacle, it showcased venues, organisers and suppliers working together to deliver an amazing experience. It once again demonstrated to the world our capability to deliver world class events.”
John Cochrane, De Boer
Supplier-client bonds are stronger
“Over the last 20 years, innovation and strong supplier-client relationships have proven time and again to be the key to successful events. Our recent survey amongst 100 senior event professionals showed that over 80 per cent of participants highly valued their suppliers’ breadth of experience and technical expertise when it came to project delivery. At De Boer we are proud of our long-standing partnerships with clients and suppliers, and we are looking forward to our 10th appearance at The Farnborough International Airshow.
Graham Crisp, GT Trax Ltd
A rise in environmental awareness
“One subject that has grown in prominence is the rise in the importance to address environmental issues. Championed by such organisations as Julie’s Bicycle and Powerful Thinking, an increasing number of event organisers, and in particular festival managers, are engaging in best environmental practice by using recycled material in their infrastructure, low carbon emission products for power and in the general recycling of waste products. The number of environmental awards supported by the Event Hire Association, the Festival Supplier Awards, the Showman’s Show and the Event Production Awards has reinforced this.”
Eric Janssen, Intellitix
Big Data is big time
“Technology has seen huge advancements over the years and we’ve witnessed a shifting of attitudes towards RFID technology. RFID has broken into the mainstream with events of all types and sizes turning to cashless payment technology for its proven benefits in enhancing events. Over the years, ‘Big Data’ has also become important for event organisers, allowing them to leverage the wealth of data and audience insight gathered from RFID technology to continue making improvements to their events and tailoring content to specific audiences.”
Will Poole, Troxy
Social media changed everything
“Having been in the events industry for almost as long as Access All Areas, the biggest change is in how we communicate both internally and externally. Back in the day, I remember memos, faxes, pigeonholes and the post. There was no email, no social media and very few mobile phones. I did have a computer on my desk, but with the exception of a diary management system, it didn’t communicate with any other computer or the outside world. I think it would have been 1998 when I first sent an email from my desk and it changed everything about the way I worked and cut out paperwork considerably. At the same time I also had my first mobile, which I could ring people, send a text and play Snake! Again, the advances in mobile technology have transformed the industry. Who would have thought 23 years ago of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – social media has changed how we communicate with our customers and attendees beyond recognition and will continue to do so.”
Andy Gregorek, Gorilla Marketing & Events
Sustainability across all sectors
“Congratulations on the 200th issue of Access, a must read for the live events industry. An industry that continues to deliver bigger events, in a safer way, since the first edition was printed 23 years ago, they are produced with an eye to their sustainability in both environmental and commercial terms. Live events now push the boundaries of what’s possible, to deliver amazing experiences, never standing still. And Access is there at the heart of it all.”