Virtually Limitless
Patron Technology has launched an initiative called Virtually Limitless to provide a suite of event tools for organisers to create virtual, in-person, and hybrid experiences.
The event technology firm, which is parent to a suite of integrated products including ShowClix, GrowTix, and Greencopper, has implemented new integrations and expansions of their traditional tools for ticketing, engagement, and mobile apps, as well as developed new features for virtual events.
The virtual tools enable event organisers to create an entire monetised online experience with secure, gated access and a host of engagement and community features, like in-stream chats, celebrity meet & greets, watch parties, in-app voting, gamification, and more.
Doug Lyons, Patron Technology SVP of marketing, said: “It’s not about looking backwards and longingly waiting for things to return to the way they were.
“It’s about looking forward to how we can enhance and expand how the world consumes entertainment, while growing communities and cultivating a new event culture into the future. We aimed to create a complete, industry-shaping solution that could take events fully online, in-person, and a combination of the two.
“While many experiences have gone virtual for the time being, the tools we’ve built to service the entire industry have been developed in a way that will perpetuate long into the future.
“We know that moving forward hybrid events are poised to become the future of our industry, and what we’re doing with our technology today will shape the future and redefine what it means to be an event creator.”
#WeMakeEvents
The live events sector in the UK will today (Tuesday) join forces to call on the government for further support and raise awareness of COVID-19’s impact on the industry.
The collective is urging the government to provide “meaningful support” in the form of grants, a furlough scheme extension and an extension of the self-employment scheme, which is tailored towards the industry.
The initial #WeMakeEvents campaign by PLASA (Professional Lighting and Sound Association) issued a ‘Red Alert’ last week.
The campaign will see hundreds of venues turn their lights red to symbolise the financial devastation across the industry, along with other creative activities being staged in more than 20 cities including London, Blackpool, Edinburgh and Manchester.
In addition, a final call to action titled Throw Us A Line will be taking centre stage on London’s South Bank.
Peter Heath, managing director of PLASA, said: “The live events industry supply chain, essential to every single event in the UK, is set to completely collapse without financial support from the government, due to social distancing prohibiting mass events.
“Large-scale events are not expected to reopen until spring 2021 at the earliest, and the reality is that the sector can’t wait that long. We’ve issued a ‘Red Alert’ after using #WeMakeEvents because the sector is on its last legs, and now the whole industry is coming together to ask the government to ‘throw us a line.’”
Over 19 trade associations from the live events sector are collaborating in the initiative. Artists such as Peter Gabriel, The Cure, and Imogen Heap have joined in with the initiative and offered their support.
Passport: Back to Our Roots
Music Venues Trust has announced Elbow among the first artists to join its new campaign to raise money for Grassroots Music Venues (GMV) at risk of closure in the UK.
The Passport: Back to Our Roots initiative will see the artists play one-off, intimate shows at GMVs on dates to be confirmed, when it is safe to perform with no social distancing.
Everything Everything, Public Service Broadcasting and The Slow Readers Club are among the other initial artists to be announced for the campaign.
Entry to these shows will be via a prize draw which will run for two weeks from Monday August 17 via the campaign’s crowdfunder page. Music fans will be entered into the draw after paying a £5 minimum and could win entry to the show of their choice for themselves and a guest.
Elbow will be returning to Night & Day, three decades after they first performed at the Manchester venue.
Mark Davyd, chief executive of Music Venue Trust, said: “Our #saveourvenues campaign has been very successful so far in raising funds and awareness to support Grassroots Music Venues who have been hit very hard in recent months, but we are not complacent and are under no illusions that there still many challenges to overcome.
“There remains lots of work to do to safeguard the future of our venues and Passport: Back to Our Roots is an excellent and timely initiative that will help keep a spotlight on what still needs to be done while raising desperately needed revenue. Live music will be back and when it is we are going to make sure it comes back with experiences people will never forget.”
Share this