Entertainment Industry Being Hit by the recession

Times are hard for media and wedding entertainment , entertainment companies — and for more than one reason, as new studies show.

Amid a sluggish economy, research firm NPD Group found that 37% of U.S. and UK  consumers plan to spend less on entertainment content and devices this year — particularly on content in the form of DVDs and the like. Only 18% expect to spend more.

Two other surveys show that 32% of global consumers are not willing to pay anything for downloaded content and that entertainment and media companies are among the world’s least-trusted businesses.

All this seems to confirm worries that a feared recession could this time around lead entertainment products to be less insulated from consumer-spending cutbacks than in the past.

“Entertainment has historically been a reasonably recession-proof spending category,” said Russ Crupnick, entertainment industry analyst for NPD. In the most recent recession period in 2001, new video gaming platforms had just arrived, the DVD format was still relatively new, and CD sales hadn’t begun their precipitous decline, the analyst noted.

Live Bands in London said to be the busiest in the UK corporate entertainment industry are also now facing their most challenging year in 10 years. Most of their bookings are only on Saturdays in summer which are generally wedding bookings. The other corporate and birthday parties seem to have taken a large back seat. 

London Pentecostal Event

On the 9th-11th May the PENTECOST FESTIVAL launches the Church out of the building and into the streets of London. This highly visible festival will be headlining in streets and venues throughout the heart of the Capital as thousands of people get involved.
 
Pentecost weekend offers large ticketed events which will showcase various styles of entertainment from jazz bands to huge live gigs, alongside rap troupes and electric-funk bands. Pumping out of venues such as the Astoria and the Soho Revue bar, these events promise to deliver unmissable experiences. Including:
 
LIVE AT THE COURT – Latino funk band Salvador headline at the Astoria, they’ll be joined by Sheffield’s finest, and probably the most exciting new band in the UK, The Gentlemen who will be parading their delicious, quirky, guitar-driven pop in their own inimitable manner, whilst the evening is rounded out by another performance from the mighty Electric Church.
·         START SOMETHING – A dynamic music event combining rock, hip-hop and pop bringing you some of the best from the Survivor and OTR family. The night will include inspiring & phenomenal performances from The 29th Chapter, bringing some of the freshest Hip Hop from the UK as well as LZ7, an explosive combination of Rock/Hip Hop with a show not to be missed! Special guest Patrick Regan, founder of London based charity XLP, will also be there to share his story.
BIG HEAT SWING DANCE – Swing down to Waterloo for the hottest dance in London. Sizzling live sounds will make you Lindy Hop, Jitterbug, Boogie Woogie, or however you like to move. Need to learn some steps? No problem. We’ll have a brilliant dance demo to show you how to swing the night away.
 
As well as all this there are over a hundred free events spread over the Capital. Including:
 
A free, live music stage plus high energy dance workshops in Camden
Rap groups and street dancers in Leicester Square Gardens
Music in the Park at Embankment Gardens
 
Contributing to the Festival Feel there are over a hundred unique events, the majority of which are free, taking place on Saturday – including manga-art workshops, parkour displays, live music, multicultural foods and sports competitions.
 
From Camden, through to Leicester Square, from Embankment down to Waterloo the festival will fill scores of venues and outside spaces across the Capital with energy and excitement.
 
Andy Frost, (Director Share Jesus International) of the Pentecost Festival, said: “This fresh, new initiative is a refreshing expression of the Christian faith for a society bored with church politics, religious dignities and irrelevant controversies”
 
Mark Field, MP for the Cities of London and Westminster, said: “The ethos of the Pentecost Festival is to be open to all London cultures, classical musicians and ethnicities and stands as a truly community based initiative. The festival’s focus on cohesion and collaboration should be championed; it’s a festival serving society”
 
Refusing to be bound by society’s mold the Pentecost Festival challenges the misconceptions about Church and gives London an exhilarating boost of vibrant faith.
 
For event timings, venues, and more information, go to www.pentecostfestival.co.uk
 
 
- Ends -
 
 
Many exciting music events taking place over the weekend from huge live gigs to acoustic sets to rappers in the streets.
 
For more information visit www.pentecostfestival.co.uk
For exclusive interviews, images and guest availability contact:
Carina Morton – carina@pentecostfestival.co.uk – 07943 848 667
Emma Morrice – emma@pentecostfestival.co.uk – 07833 983 133
Pentecost Festival media: 020 8781 1735
 

Soprano

Dear Music for London,

I am an opera singer, Juilliard trained flutist and film/tv recording artist from Los Angeles, recently relocated to Europe. I’ve worked in films such as “The Simpsons”, “King Kong”, and “The Matrix” Trilogy. (I plan to send my cvs to your sessions department as well; this inquiry pertains to live performance.) I have a highly unusual career, spanning the gap between female operatic repertoire (everything from mezzo through coloratura soprano), classical flute and many forms of popular music, including… jazz, pop, broadway, bossa nova, dance/trance, function bands, avante gard and improvisational. I am currently involved in several exciting recording projects, and so choose to focus on individual performances as opposed to long term opera commitments. Thus, I am seeking representation by agencies such as yours, for booking in the UK and throughout Europe.

I have several types of acts in which I perform… one, of course, the very elegant operatic concert with full gowns and jewels. Sometimes I am asked to play chamber music on flute as well. I have pre-recorded orchestral and piano accompaniment cds, for venues without piano or room/budget for an ensemble.

I also perform as a jazz/lounge/torch singer, and am a skilled dancer as well. I have even sung in James Bond themed parties, in all the songs from various James Bond movies. Another specialty is to perform for high end fashion events as a model/singer. I have worked for designers such as Luis Vuitton and Yves St. Laurent.

I look forward to hearing from you about the possiblties of working with your music agency.

 www.kerrywalsh.net

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