THE ACADEMY of Music & Sound is offering free rehearsal spaces in its Exeter, Southampton and Gateshead campuses, to any unsigned artistes interested in using them during the summer, subject to availability.
Head of UK and international digital marketing Louise Schofield says that it is far better to put the spaces to good use and help grassroots acts.
“When the Academy wraps up each summer, those rehearsal rooms are just dead space, and it felt wrong to just have them empty when so many acts are keen to be rehearsing, and costs can often prove expensive,” she says.
“Obviously it increases traffic a little, so we’ll hopefully have some new faces come to see what the Academy is about, but for the most part we’re already strongly intertwined with the local music scenes, so it made sense to offer up our spaces to help strengthen those.”
Schofield ponts out that the spaces will be given out on a first-come-first-served basis.
“During term time we prioritise students of course, but in this summer period anyone can book, and you don’t need to be specifically local either.
“We have backline here – drum kits and amplifiers and so on, so it’s an easier trip to make for musicians.”