Elevator pitch
In todays digital world, we can see an increase of escapism from our devices. The average screen time in the UK for someone above the age of 15 is “3 hours and 21 minutes” every day whilst “the daily average for watching all types of screen time is 7.5 hours.”( Sweney 2025) This is harmful for many reasons and effects many people who are addicted to there phone.
However, in this digital world there has also been an increase of society trying to break away from all there digital devises. We can see people buying alternative devises such as IPods remakes by non apple brands which are recreating the classic iPod for the modern day. The once outdated cassette has now also become increasingly popular with company’s like We Are Rewind recreating the cassette player. Cassettes can be seen being sold at Kindred which is a radio/event space/shop that sells cassettes and DJs like DJ Koko selling Cassettes at his gigs. This could be seen as a sign that people are trying to get retro devises to try and use modern devises like there phone less because it takes so much of there time out of there day. This is an attempt to be on social media less as Spotify and Instagram are on the same devise and it is so easy to get caught up on whats happening on social media as many people are so addicted and reliant on using social media. There have even been a lawsuit against Meta and Google (Instagram and Youtube) by a woman named “Kaley” who “was awarded $6m (£4.5) in damages due to “intentionally built addictive social media platforms” (Saad 2026) which further highlights this problem.
Therefore, I believe there is a need to escape our devises due to many peoples lives revolving around it. Listening rooms have become a niche in recent years and I would open my own in Leeds. Millers listening room would be a bar/listening room where people can come and listen to DJs who play vinyl on a high quality sound system. The music would mostly be aimed to be based around 80s to early 2000s hip hop, 70s soul, 70s to early 2000s R&B and 60s to 80s reggae but I would not limit to those being the only genres that can be played. This would also depend on the DJ that would be playing but as it would be only vinyl this would limit the amount of music that would be played, for example more modern music is not usually printed onto vinyl so that type of music would not be played. This would also be a space where the listening room would have no phones/any devise. This rule is not only for the reasons that I have stated previously which discuss the addiction to the phones and spending too much time on them but I would also ban phones to try and bring people closer to the music. From speaking to peers and from going to gigs myself I notice that phones are a distraction from the music and I believe also seem to get in the way in terms of when so many people are filming that I can’t see the person performing because there are so many phones in the air getting in the way. This can ruin many peoples experience of going to venues/bars/clubs so therefore I would reinforce this rule strictly as it is a large factor of the listening room. We would offer drinks and bar snacks like many other bars but what would make us unique is not only the no phones rule, it would also be the analog DJ equipment and the hi fi speakers to give the customer the best music experience that we could give.
Your market
The market would be aimed at anyone who appreciate and love music. This means that there is no specific age group apart from people bellow eighteen however, I would aim for more of the students to come as the listening bar would be in Leeds where there is a large demographic of students who like to go clubbing and going to bars. Although students may have less money than people who are possibly older and with jobs, students are more likely to go to a bar more frequently than others with jobs. There are also many Universities in Leeds like Leeds Becket, University of Leeds, Leeds Conservatoire and Leeds Arts who have music departments for music with many students who are passionate about music. The type of music is also older as the music that would be played is purely vinyl. This could potentially bring in a older audience as well.
Market research
My audience would consist of mostly students meaning many of them will not be affluent. However, an entrance fee is vital for the business to break even. So to understand what amount students would be able to pay I conducted a survey asking how much students would pay for the service that the bar offers. I made sure to ask a range of different people on different courses in Leeds Conservatoire (production, jazz, pop, and classical) and some in Leeds Becket and Leeds Arts. This would help get a range of different people to try and get a realistic and non bias outcome. From the research, the amount for entrance fee would average around 12 pounds. Therefore I would charge 12 pounds for the entrance fee. I would charge 15 pounds to try and earn more of a profit yet it is important that people would want to go frequently rather than special occasion due to it being unaffordable. After presenting the idea to the same people, I simply asked if this would be a place that they would be interested in? The majority said “yes” however a few said that they were unsure if they would be interested. After asking what their concerns were, they all gave a similar response which was that they were unsure that they would like the music. This is a factor that I would not change about the venue as I believe it is important to stick to a style/ niche rather than trying to appeal to all people. What could be done to try and get those people more convinced about going to the bar would be doing the right promotion and marketing. The other factor that concerned some of the students were the no phone rule. They were worried as it is something they rely on with communicating on where they are and what they were doing. “How will I contact my friends and how will they contact me if they need to get hold of me?”. I had not thought of this. My first response was “that is the point. This space is supposed to separate you from the outside world.” However, when I thought some more, I realised if there were any problems and it was an emergency or someone simply really wanted to get in touch, it would be important that there were some type of way of getting in touch. An old telephone would be the way of solving this problem. When people would enter, they can let people they know that they are going into the bar and if they needed to get to call they could call that telephone.
A competitor analysis
To understand how other listening rooms work I went to visit several different listening rooms. I went to the Listen Room, 180 the strand and New Forms. This highlighted the different approaches listening rooms take and the similarities between them. The similarity is the music is the main attraction which is not only the music that is played but the quality of audio like high quality hi fi speakers. The age group that were there were around early twenties to mid thirties. In both The Listen Room and 180 the strand it was not a bar and consisted of only listening to music and having the DJ talk about the songs they would play. This created a personal experience whilst New Forms was more like a bar playing music. There are no listening rooms in Leeds so my bar being an only vinyl listening bar would be my USP along with a no phone policy.
Marketing and promotional plan
The first promotional tool I would use is Instagram. I would create videos of the space, with montage edits and information about what is happening in Millers. This can be a great way of advertising the existence of Millers but also to update people on what is happening each week. I would plan to create 2 reels a week, at least one story daily and a grid post once a week. The reels would be used to explain what is planned for the week so which DJs are performing and any other important information. The reels would also be used to attempt to make the space look exciting and show the atmosphere of what it is like to be in there. The story’s would be to give small updates and reminders about events. The grid post would be a collection of photos/videos taken on a non phone camera (as no phones are allowed) to show what the bar is like when DJs are playing. This could potentially mean I may need to hire a photographer and videographer however, I could start doing this by myself as I have a Sony Handy cam that I know how to use and I have experience in filming, photography and editing. The Instagram account would also direct people to the website that has further information on Millers Listening Room. This would include a short introduction on what Millers Listening Room is, photos/videos and how to get in touch.
Merchandise would also be on sale in the store and I would use the merchandise as a way to promote the listening room.
Costs and pricing strategy
- Space/Design – 20k minimum (Brenen 2026)
- License for drinks/merchandise/late night license £70 to £350 annually (Home Office 2012)
- Rent or lease agreement – 10k to 30k annually (Brenen 2026)
- Staff (Bar tenders, cleaners, bouncers, event manager, lawyer, DJs) – 115,000 annually (Brenen 2026)
- Equipment (Speakers, technique decks, cables) – 50k (Brenen 2026)
- Clothing for merchandise (print) 99 t-shirts – £270 (J. Zhou 2026)
- Yearly accounts accountant – £300 to £7,500 annually (Heights Accountancy 2025)
These estimates partially come from various websites but I interviewed Kevin Brennan who is the director at Brinkworth as primary research.
Pricing strategy
- 12£ enterance fee
- 7 pounds for beer
- 12 pound cocktails
- 20 pounds for tee
- 30 pounds a month for membership (this would mean discounts on drinks and free entry)
Operational requirements/Resource requirements
I would need £210,570 to start the listening bar. This would fund everything I would need for the first year. I would need to research and find investors to be able to start. This would be in combination with loans and help from people who are willing to collaborate and support the business.
Supporting Commentary
From my group work with my peers, I was helped in a numerous amount of ways. I started by explaining my idea to my peers. I shared my elevator pitch with some peers and they liked my points on why this listening room space is needed however, they thought that I should back up the statements about people using their phones to often by adding statistics/facts. They believed that this would make the elevator pitch better because this would make my points sound more important but also show evidence to highlight what I am saying is fact rather than opinion. From this feedback I was able to find numerous different sources that highlighted the problem of modern technowledgy and many peoples struggle with the addiction. They liked how I combined the idea of somewhere that you go to listen to music and somewhere that no phones are allowed. They showed the same feeling and beliefs behind people not being present enough especially when they are out at bars and clubs.
Other feedback included how the bar would develop over time. From the main point being if the bar was to do well, how would it develop? Apart from expanding the business to other locations, I thought that having a small restaurant within the bar could be a way of having even more profit. The food would be pizza as this is a simple food that many people enjoy and does not require many chefs. However, this would also be costly so this would only be possible if the business was successful. The merchandise department could also expand to hoodies, hats and possibly a CD, cassette and vinyl section for people to buy.
Overall the feedback was very beneficial as it helped me think more in depth about my listening bar. It helped me understand how I could connect and develop my ideas to create my final product. Without the feedback I would have not combined creating a space for music and a space with no phones without the feedback I received and this is a vital part of my work.
Bibliography
M. Sweney (2025) Adults in Great Britain now spending more time on mobiles than watching TV [Gardian]
N. Saad (2026) Campaigners welcome Meta and YouTube’s defeat in landmark social media addiction trial [BBC]
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c747x7gz249o
Home Office (2012) Main Level Fees [GOV.UK]
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alcohol-licensing-fee-levels/main-fee-levels
J. Zhou (2026) Sorona Quick-Dry Cooling T-Shirt [Tapstitch]
H. Accountancy (2025) How Much Does an Accountant Cost in the UK (2025)? [heights accountancy]
K. Brennen (2026) My personal interview [Brinkworth]
