A survey has been launched to understand how people engage with Birmingham’s musical journey from Ozzy Osbourne to Duran Duran and other homegrown talent.
Views submitted in the consultation will help shape what a ‘music-led’ city visitor experience in Birmingham could look like.
The Music Visitor Experience Project is a collaboration between Birmingham Music Archive, Birmingham Museums Trust, the Live Music Mapping Project at Aston University, cultural consultant Lara Ratnaraja and Birmingham City Council, with support from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
The project team has launched this online survey and want to hear from music fans on everything from whether they like visiting heritage sites and museums or exploring musical landmarks, attending festivals and using digital trails to discover local history.
It aims to help celebrate Birmingham’s diverse musical heritage and strengthen its identity as a leading global music city. It comes after Central BID’s successful Summer of Sabbath events, which saw worldwide interest in Birmingham’s music heritage as Black Sabbath performed their final gig.
Jez Collins, founder of Birmingham Music Archive, said: “Following the remarkable cultural and economic success of The Summer of Sabbath, this is exactly the right moment to build on the renewed interest in Birmingham’s rich and diverse music offer.
“Help us shape what this might, or should, look like by getting involved and telling us what is important to you and what stories we should be telling to the world about Birmingham and its music.”
You have until midnight on Friday February 27 to complete the survey here.
Work is already underway with music consumers, sector workers, heritage practitioners, policy makers and tourism bodies to map existing assets such as food and concert venues and to identify opportunities and shape recommendations for future development and investment.
Charlotte Holmes, director of engagement at Birmingham Museums Trust, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Birmingham Music Archive and Aston University on this project to explore how people engage with the city’s music and to help to shape what a future ‘music-led’ visitor experience might look like.
“Birmingham has a rich musical legacy which resonates with people from the city and beyond, as shown by the popularity of the Ozzy Osbourne: Working Class Hero exhibition, which has seen over 425,000 visitors through the doors of Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery since it opened last year.”
Dr Patrycja Rozbicka, senior lecturer and associate professor in politics and international relations at Aston University, said: “We know that Birmingham has an incredibly diverse musical heritage and this project is vital in helping to understand how we can make Birmingham a leading global music city.
“We’re keen to find out whether people attend festivals, musical landmarks and museums in the city which will help to inform what a future music-led visitor experience could look in Birmingham.”
Complete the survey here.