BT invests in the North West Music Scene

This summer musicians not only from the North West, but across the island of Ireland will benefit from a major arts partnership between telecoms giant BT and the North West’s leading music and arts venue, The Alley Theatre in Strabane.

For decades BT were seen as little more than the company that supplied your phone line. Since the birth of the internet however, BT has become something of a pioneer in bringing services such as Broadband, wireless, mobile phone internet and business networking to a global market. Today they are a vibrant, appealing brand, right down to slashing their moniker from the old British Telecom, to the cooler and more casual BT. Now this revolutionary company is investing in Strabane and the Alley Theatre’s Sounds Like Summer Music Festival, which is taking place throughout August and is aimed at profiling the very best in unsigned bands.

So how did they shake the image of being the company that supplies the curly cord phone to that of a world-leader in telecommunications in a relatively short space of time?
The answer is simple. Good marketing. BT is the world’s oldest communications company and a direct descendant of the first ever telecommunications service, The Electric Telegraph Company back in 1846. Few could have realised then that 150 years on, they would be responsible for making the emergency 999 number a household device or that they would send the world’s first email in 1981.

For much of its life BT has been regarded as simply a multi-national phone company. But David Beck, Head of BT’s Marketing Communications in Ireland has been quietly working away behind the scenes chipping away at that old image. David and his team have been working at moving the BT brand out of the UK and Ireland’s capital cities and bringing it to an audience in smaller, harder to reach areas. One perfect example of this move is this year’s Sounds Like Summer music festival.

BT have come on board as the festival’s main sponsor and have put up a first prize of the opportunity to record a single in a professional studio to go with the video which will be shot by a top team of producers. Meanwhile, they have agreed to give the winner or winners a year’s free Broadband. The last part of the prize might sound like only a minor addition to what really is a fantastic prize for anyone looking to make their way in the music industry. But again, it is an example of the BT marketing team’s desire to win over the hearts and minds of a younger and fresher demographic. Convincing a name as huge as BT to come on board for what is essentially, a regional music event was a major coup for everyone involved with Sounds Like Summer. But as David explained, it is exactly the kind of vehicle BT in the 21st century are looking for.

“John Kerr, the Alley Theatre Manager, was a massive influence in us coming on board,” David explained. “He approached us some months ago and pitched the idea of Sounds Like Summer to us. So initially we bought into John because he knew what he wanted from the off. But as we learnt more about the actual event, we realised that it very well established and commanded a lot of appeal. What we tend to do is concentrate so much of our efforts in and around the Belfast area so Derry and Strabane are areas we are very keen to raise our profile in. Sounds Like Summer is very much about us supporting our investment in areas outside Belfast,” he said. Does Sounds Like Summer sound good to you? Are you a young upcoming band or musician? Then why not join the race to sign up for this year’s competition. Simply log on to www.connect2yourtunes.com/soundslikesummer for more information.