Rationale

Project Rationale

We areIntertwined Presents, a music events company based in the heart of Leeds. We are hosting our event on the 12th of march at The Attic. Our aim for this project has shifted the more we have worked together as a group, however our fundamental point is to bring together local Leeds artists and pay them fairly. Since confirming our headliner Zoe Cure, the evening shifted focus to curating an evening celebrating her upcoming single releases in late March, along with the release of her long awaited album. We have created a sonically cohesive event by using supporting acts that fall under the same acoustic indie folk genre. Utilising our project management skills, most importantly communication and time management, it is clear that the event should run successfully.

Venue choice

When deciding which venue to hire for our event, there were multiple considerations for us to keep in mind. For example, the cost, the capacity and whether it would be in keeping with the genre of music which would be played during the night.  The decision of a venue can naturally shape the rest of the creative and financial decisions you make when organising an event, which is why we discussed this first.

Initially, we were hoping to host the night at The Attic in Leeds due to my existing connection with the venue as a staff member. This would have allowed for more seamless communication and understanding between both parties, as well as a cheaper price to hire the space. However, we weren’t able to acquire the discounted package that I was promised. As a result, we decided to re-think who else we knew with relationships at other local venues in order to keep our outgoings as low as possible. With this in mind, the venues that we had connections with were: Hyde Park Book Club, Brudanell, Cardigan Arms, and The Attic. Brudanell was an appealing consideration, however, even with the attraction of a no deposit deal, along with a reduction in price from £400 down to £250 for independent, local musicians, the cost of the venue with the outgoings we’d have didn’t seem feasible if we wanted to break even. Through this process we landed on The Cardigan Arms as a likely fit, due to the hire cost for the space being £50, which is the lowest out of the venues we contemplated. However, through my connection with a mutual friend working there, we attained the venue at a zero cost deal.

Despite the advantage of the reduction in hiring costs, the change in venue did come with its drawbacks. The space isn’t particularly large, 70 capacity comfortably, less so for a seated event, and is best for smaller acoustic acts. This didn’t fit with our initial selection of artists whose genre is Indie Rock. Consequently, we had to rethink our lineup to be more suitable for the space they would be performing in. The confirmed artists for our event therefore are: Zoe Cure, Nico Paul and Aaron Brooks- all of which fall under the acoustic/indie folk genre. Another issue we encountered with The Cardigan Arms was the stage size limitations. We had hoped to create a space for the artists to perform in the round, creating a more intimate experience for the audience which The Attic would have provided. We got the inspiration for this from a gig I worked at The Attic in September- Eva Kiss Unplugged (2025). With space being limited at The Cardigan Arms, and this additional idea of a performance in the round, we felt it was actually best to stick to our initial plan and host the event at The Attic. But with this new lineup of acts confirmed, we shifted the evening to be an intimate celebration of local folk artists, each performing in the round and utilising the beautiful design of the venue.

There are multiple advantages to putting on an event at The Attic. Firstly, it is a newly established venue in Leeds that has individual character and a quirk to it that was previously missing from the local music scene. We wanted our lineup for the gig to reflect this alternative vibe to create cohesion and strengthen the aesthetic value of the night. Additionally, I work at the Attic and therefore am well equipped with the knowledge and tools to make the night run smoothly, as I am regularly responsible for doing so. My job there entails essentially anything that is needed to be done in preparation, and on the evening of the events. This includes tasks such as liaising with artists, replenishing stock, going out to provide things for the artists and crew and working behind the bar. Therefore, I automatically know what to do in unfamiliar situations as I am familiar with the space. 

Time Management

As Mitja Puppis (2024) states “By managing your time efficiently, you can find ways to deconstruct more complicated projects into a group of easier-to-do, smaller tasks. This will make complicated things much less difficult to complete, as they’ll be divided into more “digestible” parts.”. Collectively as a group, we have taken it upon us to uphold this mindset when planning and executing this project.

Possessing this prior knowledge of the event space, we decided the next logical step for the group was to allocate roles. It made logical sense for my role to include artist liaison as I have prior experience doing so. A gig’s success isn’t just measured by the fan experience, it’s also defined by how well the artists are treated behind the scenes. Performers who feel welcome, comfortable, and respected are more likely to deliver an electrifying show and spread positive word about the event (Ticket Fairy, 2026). I’m highly qualified to take on any hurdle hospitality meets me with. Due to The Attic being a music venue, when I’m working, it includes a lot of face to face work with the artist, which falls into the role of artist liaison perfectly. 

Hetsi has undertaken the role of marketing and promotion. As an artist in her own right, Hetsi has organised and sold out her own shows in Leeds venues, and therefore has great depth of knowledge on how an event runs from its planning stages up to the performance. Grace took care of financing and spreadsheets, Dane is in charge of production and the advance, and Will filled out the risk assessment.

Finance

The overall aim of the project is for the event to be a success. However, the meaning of success is arguably ambiguous, and the more my group spoke about the event, the more our aims and definition of success changed. From a financial perspective, we want to break even, and aim to make some profit which will definitely make the night a success in a financial stance. However, what we feel is equally important to financial success is our ability to make the artists happy and provide a fair rate for the work they are providing. The Musician’s Union (2025) states that the recommended minimum fee for a half an hour performance is £27 per band member. However, having been part of the Leeds grassroots scene for several years, our group knows that it is rarely ever the case that musicians are paid this fairly. We want to do the best we can and will consider the gig a success if the artists can receive a decent amount of money for their performance. 

As seen in the Events costing section of our Tech Spec, we are aiming to allocate £600 as a fee to the bands (3x £200 to each band), with the intent to sell 125 tickets at £8 (online). If we meet the 125 ticket goal, it would bring in a minimum of £1000 (online). This means we will have £200 left over to cover the cost of the £180 free of hiring The Attic. The original cost of the venue is £180 for a 200 person capacity space. This includes Soundcheck starting at 5pm until 7:15pm, obtaining the venue until 12, sound engineer cost and use of the whole space (including green room, rehearsal space etc). Furthermore, it costs £20 per hour if you want to hire the venue earlier than 5, with sound restrictions in place for anything before 5. Originally my boss confirmed me hiring the space for free back in June, but with recent conversations, they can only offer a £40 reduction in cost, making it £140. With this new information in mind, we agreed to utilise that price reduction of £40 to request 2 more hours at the venue, starting from 3pm instead of 5. With appropriate time management considered, this bumps our overall hire cost, plus an additional set up time to equal £180. Given the nature of the event being in the round, arriving at 5 did not seem feasible to set everything up, and also have extra time in case things go wrong. 

As seen in the EPK, our ticket price is £8 on the door and £9 online. Eventbrite (2019) states that “45% of people who attend a free event will only book for the event on the same day or get tickets on the door.” This is why we have decided to slightly increase the price in the hope to make more money based on this statistic. Regarding other outgoings, we have included £20 to put towards decorating the venue for the event. Additionally, we have accounted £80 for a fee for the ticketing company Fatsoma, as they take a 10% cut of profits from total ticket sales.

Production

It is important to ensure that our artists feel looked after and safe whilst at our event. To achieve this, we will provide water at all times, give each performer a complimentary drink at the bar which has been discussed with The Attic, and we have included a portion of the budget to provide a small rider for the artists. Within this, we will adhere to any dietary requirements we are made aware of. Additionally, we will maintain good communication with the bands on the night to ensure everything is going well for all parties involved. Aside from the rider, we will also provide free teas and coffees during soundchecks.

Included within the cost of the venue are technical aspects such as lighting and sound systems. However, we are in charge of providing instruments so we will be collecting anything stated on the tech specs for our artists prior to load in. Additionally, we will assist the artists with loading into the venue when they arrive. Due to the artists being local to Leeds, their travel cost will be minimal and the money they receive from playing the gig will certainly cover any travel arrangements they make with ample left over.

Contingency plan

When planning the event, we had to prepare for scenarios in which things do not run as smoothly as intended. For example, in the event of The Attic closing on the 12th March and consequently not being available, we will use our connection to The Cardigan Arms to organise a last minute venue change there. The probability of The Cardigan arms being available between February and March is high, because they don’t book many gigs far in advance. If a sound engineer is not available at short notice, we have a close friend who has offered to step in if necessary. They are experienced in live sound and would do it at no extra cost. 

Hoping that the venue remains available for the 12th March, there are still potential issues to consider. For example, an artist on our lineup may drop out unexpectedly. We have had to consider this factor significantly, as our headliner Zoe Cure has been experiencing some personal issues that delayed her in confirming the gig. We have had personal confirmation that she has been preparing for the gig, but in the event of mitigating circumstances we have another act on standby. 

There is always the possibility for equipment to fail on the night of a show. Due to the acoustic nature of the gig, it will be easier to replace any musical equipment that breaks or stops working because many of us own instruments that would be suitable for the type of music being performed. Additionally, in case the more technical equipment such as the PA system or any cables break, we have the capability to hire out some spares from the facilities desk at university to protect us from technical issues on the night. Having spoken to peers and based on my own experience gigging, in-ear monitors can often be unreliable- either the packs or headphones can stop working. As a result, the members of my group will bring their packs in case of any failures.

If for whatever reason we cannot set up the performance space to be in the round during the time frame we have, we will be able to set up on the stage provided. However, this set up has been done at The Attic many times and we are therefore confident that we will be able to achieve the goals we have for the stage layout.

A crucial element contributing to the overall vibe of the evening is the decoration of the venue. We will execute this through using warm lighting from lamps, fairy lights and fake candles; scarves on the seats; and plants. In order to prevent a fire risk, we have decided to use fake candles when decorating around the venue, especially within the round. It adheres to our aesthetic whilst maintaining safety around the premises. We are going to rely heavily on power sources to achieve the atmosphere we desire. If we run out of batteries, the venue is located only a five minute walk away from a retail park which will be able to provide us with what we need. Furthermore, if we realise we don’t have enough decorations, the retail park includes homeware stores from which we can purchase more. To aid the ease of setting up and to reduce potential for any stress on the day, we have paid to hire the venue for an extra two hours prior to the initial load in time so that we can resolve any issues stated above.

There are more common issues directly related to the venue itself, and these can be seen in the risk assessment located in the appendix.

Marketing and publicity

Pop Art Media charges £500 for 10 posters on poster drums around Leeds. Having discussed the financial viability of this marketing tactic, we decided it wasn’t going to be possible for us. Despite not having the budget for promotion of this form, what we do have at our disposal is active participation in a large, tight knit community of musicians and music lovers within the city of Leeds. Word spreads very quickly and easily around the city, and so we decided to focus our marketing online on apps such as Instagram that enable sharing and communication between users. This form of promotion is free, so it would be foolish not to utilise its capabilities. 

Promotion on Instagram required some planning in order to gain the maximum benefits from the platform. We decided against creating an individual account specifically for the event company. This is because it would only reach the people who already follow our individual accounts, and turning those followers into followers of another page would be difficult and arguably futile. The combined total of followers in our group is just over seven thousand, and if The Attic agrees to collaborate on a post, our outreach increases to just over 13,200 people. More exposure means a higher probability of people attending the gig. Having the venue work closely with us in this way will aid the promotion of the gig because it enables us to appear more professional.

In addition to online forms of marketing, we will utilise other free avenues such as putting up posters in community spaces across the city. For example, vintage stores such as Pop Boutique and Blue Rinse accept posters to display in their shop. This effectively reaches our target demographic which is alternative people aged 18-40. Furthermore, we will be putting the poster in other music venues such as Hyde Park Book Club and Wharf Chambers. The biggest hub of musicians that regularly attend gigs happens to be within the conservatoire, so we will contact the marketing team there and get our poster to be displayed in the Cafe Bar which receives the most footfall. 

Appendix.

Technical Specifications

Press Kit

Press release