Famously enthusiastic business magnate Richard Branson has tried his hand at a lot of endeavours over the years under the Virgin banner, even extending to the current goal of actually sending human beings into space on a regular basis.
But today he has slightly less lofty ambitions – although no less interesting to us. Already deeply entrenched in the music business through his ventures with Virgin Records, he now hopes to transform the way we experience live music, recapturing the spirit of bands playing spontaneous, intimate shows in tiny rooms – and developing genuine connections with their audiences.
To this end, he’s announced his latest foray into music, an investment in fledgling live music community Sofar Sounds, which aims to bring like-minded fans of live music together in intimate spaces, rather than putting them in a huge room full of disengaged punters.
“When I started Virgin Records, there were always bands turning up with guitars to play in our shops, as we sat around on beanbags, sharing a smoke and enjoying the music,” Branson explains. “As our stores turned into a record label, I had the idea of turning my home into a music hub, where artists could practice, write, record, relax and perform.”
“In the years since, the idea of music being performed in unusual, spontaneous places has slowly been eroded by established concert venues and protocols. You know the drill: go to a soulless hall, look into the distance while a band plays on a raised stage, and everyone stands around looking at their phones. The connection between artist and listener was being lost.”
This, he claims, is where Sofar Sounds comes in. Short for ‘Songs From A Room’, Sofar Sounds is an initiative by Co-founders Rafe Offer, Rocky Start and Dave Alexander, who were apparently fed up with attending gigs, only to find that people were more interested in talking or playing on their phones.
They began organising secretive gigs in their living rooms, and the idea snowballed from there, with gigs now taking place in cities across the globe – including Australia. The community has already hosted over 4000 shows with more than 12,000 artists, and it’s safe to say that’ll be expanding very soon.
“In our digital age, so many social experiences take place solely online,” Branson claims. “Sofar is bringing communities of like-minded people together to create a global network of members, artists, hosts and ambassadors who can be grouped by a more simple term: music lovers.”
It already seems like a pretty successful venture, having developed quite organically over several years, and it’ll be interesting to see just how widespread this sort of communal network can become with the Virgin name attached.
