A local business, that faced the threat of closure before it even began during the pandemic, has bounced back to be named one of the area’s top creative businesses.
Based in Clitheroe, in the heart of the Ribble Valley, Musique brings together an exclusive
collection of live musicians to provide exceptional entertainment for weddings and corporate and private events.
Following a split from a key partner in January 2020, the future of the company was left hanging in the balance before it even launched to the public.
But Musique’s managing director Jamie Turner fought to launch the brand regardless of this
setback and damning market conditions in the hope that the business would prosper and bringjoy to people in a post-pandemic world.
The dedicated team at the heart of today’s business all have backgrounds in the entertainment industry and the business now works with many of the finest musicians from across the region; and manages well-established event bands The Party Fettlers, Vintage Swing Thing and Desire DJ Live.
Musique managed to launch in June 2020 with just Jamie and booking manager Arthur Phillips working tirelessly to generate income from securing deposits for future events.
The duo successfully competed against established competitors to win business across the
North West with little more than a passion for their work, video footage and online advertising to create an experience for potential clients and to help them build a vivid picture of how their events could be brought to life through music.
Jamie said: “We bought the rights to a bank of high-quality video content that we produced while working with our former partners, and repurposed this for ads on Facebook and Instagram.
“We wanted to create a luxurious brand feel to go alongside our videos and worked with a web designer and developer to create a compelling visual brand and website to match.
“The idea was that the website, combined with the social media accounts and reviews would give clients all the information and detail they needed to make an informed decision on their event entertainment.”
Despite their best efforts to bring their business to life, this period wasn’t without difficulty thanks to the ongoing challenges presented by the pandemic, restrictions, and a rapidly and ever-changing business landscape.
Jamie explained: “The pandemic provided unprecedented challenges to a business like ours.
Despite years of experience in the sector, nothing could prepare us for the challenges of
government restrictions against holding events.
“The business had to adapt fast to an ever-changing legal landscape through that time –
ensuring survival and maintaining good relationships with clients was a challenge, and clients were often rearranging dates several times with no income associated with the extra work.”
Restrictions on live events in the UK as a result of the pandemic remained in place until March 2022.
Despite these setbacks and limited financial backing, the pair were able to successfully secure enough bookings to bring the business to life once social distancing and restrictions on live events began to lift.
The company successfully survived the pandemic despite the live event industry suffering
losses of £57 billion across the UK during this period.
Two-and-a-half years later and Musique has managed to go from strength to strength and
continues to deliver high-quality live music and entertainment at the region’s leading venues, with three new artist projects set for launch in the Spring.
Not only has the business’s calendar been inundated with bookings through to 2026, but the team itself has grown with the success of the business.
In 2022, Jamie and Arthur welcomed another full-time team member, Josh Hart, as well as a team of freelance professionals to support them across all areas of business. Musique prides itself on operating as a person-centric company that’s committed to developing and nurturing talent amongst its team of employees, freelancers and musicians.
Musique has now been named as a finalist for the Ribble Valley Business Awards 2023 in the Creative Business category. Each year the awards celebrate the businesses and individuals that make the Ribble Valley an incredible place to work, live, and visit.
The Creative Business category celebrates businesses of all sizes that have creativity and/or creative skills at their heart.
Musique’s vision and creativity in surviving the pandemic, as well as the wonderfully creative nature of their businesses, has set them up for sure-fire success.
Speaking about their recognition by the Awards, Jamie said: “It’s fantastic to receive recognition for the tireless work the team have delivered over the past three years.
“Despite our team having lived all over the North West, the Ribble Valley has given us the most consistent business opportunities with its outstanding hospitality, events and leisure sector.
“It’s a great place to do business and we’re delighted to be considered one of the best creative businesses in the area.”
The winners of this year’s Ribble Valley Business awards will be announced at a black-tie
ceremony at the Mytton Fold Hotel in Langho, Blackburn.
Last year’s ceremony saw over 250 local business people in attendance and this year’s
ceremony looks to be even bigger, celebrating and recognising the flexibility, tenacity,
adaptability and resilience shown by businesses across the borough in the unprecedented times we have all faced over the last three years and continue to overcome as we move forward in 2023.
