The plans to transform Cardiff into a "Music City" were announced on 12th December 2017. The report carried out by Sound Diplomacy was finally made public on the 18th April 2019.

The wheels of a local government turn slowly, and whilst we continue to enjoy and make our living from music in the city, we have seen little from the council in the way of helping us out with this since April of this year.

As with Save Womanby Street's efforts, and the efforts (sadly in vain) by Save Guildford Crescent, the power may be in the hands of the people.

We want to make a simple request to get the ball rolling. Just a tiny addition to our streets that will help musicians, technicians and venues in our city (and in kind benefit those who enjoy live music in Cardiff)

Stop fining us when we're loading in.

To quote directly from Sound Diplomacy's Music City report:

"Bands need to park close to the venue they’re performing at for a short time to load and unload equipment. Evidence from our roundtables suggests that musicians are currently being fined quite regularly as they attempt to park close enough to make the loading and unloading viable. This is hurting them financially, in some cases wiping out the little profit they may be making in the first place. Venues should be able to coordinate with the council to provide access zones for musicians and technicians while loading in and out of venues. This will allow musicians and venues in the city centre to address issues around load in/load out on match and big event days at the Principality Stadium, as roads are blocked off for hours at a time."

Here are a few more quotes from the report:

"The pedestrianisation of streets makes it difficult to access venues for artists who need to transport equipment to and from their gigs. Loading/unloading equipment is challenging at smaller venues, and musicians have in the past been fined for parking in the area."

"Cardiff's Music Office [a theoretical new element of Cardiff Council] could ... lead on the development of Musician Parking Loading Zones"

And here's a case study provided by the report from Austin, Texas (home of the SXSW music, arts and business conference)

"MUSICIAN LOADING/UNLOADING ZONES, AUSTIN (USA)
The music offices in Austin (ATX Music) collaborated with the Austin Transportation
Department to provide Musician Loading/Unloading zones for performers at venues in Downtown Austin. Venue owners can obtain these 30-minute active loading and unloading zones that help to manage traffic in congested downtown areas while increasing safety for performers handling their musical gear. Venues are responsible for requesting, paying for, and keeping track of each permit, which costs US$25, and also covers a signpost to designate the space."

Sounds simple, right? Well... it is. All we need is a lick of paint, a sign post and some pieces of paper to be given to venues to help musicians and technicians load in and out of music venues and event spaces.

Cardiff music venues and events promoters big and small will be happy to talk to you about this. Musicians will be readily available to chat with you about how this will impact their lives. We're ready and waiting, willing to talk and to work with you. We look forward to hearing from you.