Introduction
Who we are
Music Scene CIC is a community interest company. We work with cities, venues and cultural organisations to strengthen local music and creative communities through research, events and engagement. We are practitioners first: everything we advise, we have already built and run in Bradford.
Our consultancy combines artist development, venue support and audience engagement into one coherent strategy for a city's cultural infrastructure.
Credibility
- Founders of Bradford Music Scene — the city-wide platform connecting artists, venues and audiences.
- Contributors to Bradford's district music strategy, working alongside the council, cultural organisations and arts institutions.
- Organisers of live showcases, awards, networking sessions and sector conversations celebrating local talent.
- Builders of BMS Live — the digital platform where a city's gigs, artists and venues live in one place.
Worked and collaborated with
UK Music · Arts Council England · BPI (British Phonographic Industry) · PRS Foundation · Music Venue Trust · Launchpad · West Yorkshire Music Network · UK Black Tech · Bradford Council · Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture · Bradford Live · Trafalgar Entertainment · Bradford Producing Hub · Bradford Literature Festival · The Leap · Ark Bradford · grassroots venues, promoters and artists across the district
We also sit on the steering group of the Bradford district music strategy. Building and holding relationships with music institutions is one of the things we do best — and most of those relationships are already made.
Proof, at a glance
What five years produced
footfall, Darley St Market opening weekend
monthly social reach, Instagram alone
growth in mailing list through engagement
building Bradford's music ecology since
Relationships already made
In the room with the sector
Building and holding relationships with music institutions, funders and local government is one of the things we do best — and most of those relationships already exist.
UK Music chief executive Tom Kiehl has called on local authority leaders to back the organisation's Local Music Action Charter to help boost jobs, investment and growth across the UK. We were in that room — and we work at exactly that join, between grassroots music and the people who set cultural policy.
We sit on the steering group of the Bradford district music strategy, and we meet regularly with councils, venues, funders and national bodies from Bradford to Hull.
Worked and collaborated with
Method and evidence
How we work
Collaborative, evidence-based, flexible in delivery and managed properly — planning, delivery, evaluation and reporting, with named responsibilities.
Project cycle
Days 1–30
Listening: interviews with venues, artists, promoters and officers. Baseline mapping begins.
Days 31–60
Evidence: survey and analytics, gap analysis, first convening session with venues.
Days 61–90
Direction: draft findings, a prioritised action list, and the first public-facing activity live.
What you receive
- Written report with recommendations
- Dataset of venues, artists and stakeholders
- Live digital platform and gig guide
- Delivered event series with attendance data
- Evaluation against agreed measures
- Forward strategy for years two and three
Council priorities we speak to
Agent of Change · night-time economy · cultural strategy · place-making · health and wellbeing · youth engagement · high street footfall · cultural tourism
Risk and compliance
Public liability insurance in place, licensing requirements understood and respected, safeguarding considered at every public event, and access and inclusion planned in from the outset.
Let's talk
Start the conversation
Happy to run a free initial call on your city's music ecosystem and where the quick wins are.