IFRCS54 Huw Milward, Game Developer and Dim Parcio band

Pwyllgor Diwylliant, Cyfathrebu, y Gymraeg, Chwaraeon, a Chysylltiadau Rhyngwladol| Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee

Effaith Gostyngiadau Cyllid ar Ddiwylliant a Chwaraeon | Impact of Funding Reductions for Culture and Sport

My name's Huw Millward, I'm a 29 year old full time game developer from Cardiff and I am also the front man of a punk band called Dim Parcio.

I wanted to write to you about my observations of the current situation with music culture in Wales.

Growing up I have seen venue after venue close in Cardiff, places that were renowned for fostering the music culture cut short because the landlords figure a block of flats will be more profitable. A story seen across the board not just in Cardiff.

I saw this all happen as I grew up and now feel sorry for the newer generations that have even less live music and venues they can visit to see it, as well as budding musicians who have less opportunity to hone their craft and become something special.

Alongside the closure of venues we've also seen the closure of Pirate Studios in Cardiff, which is a building that hosts a number of practice rooms for bands to use expensive equipment they may otherwise not be able to afford and practice their music to learn and grow. I used to go to it, and while it may not have been the best quality place it was always full of musicians honing their craft. With that also closed the scene is struggling and some acts that may have been going out there and playing likely now won't.

I've seen a lot of this in my journey the last 2 years into the music industry here in Cardiff, and beyond the doom and gloom of the state of things one thing I must note is that there are so many passionate individuals from Sound engineers, photographers, smaller love-driven independent venues, and passionate musicians chasing their dreams.

I think the government loves when major acts burst out of the UK and put us all on the map, but don't seem to be greatly concerned by the property-based greed that cannibalises the nest these acts emerge from.

Now I don't want to be someone that comes to complain but has no ideas, I'm not the most qualified person to answer this but some ways I could see things improving:

§    Funding towards opening affordable practice rooms (similar to what Pirate Studios does)

§    Funding more early live music events to help new acts start up

§    Government aquiring the ownership of some struggling local venues to safeguard them from the landlord trap

§    The creation of new venues as trusts with the goal of hosting live music

The desire is there and the passion is there, but without some protection live music will continue to flail and die, I doubt it will ever fully perish but at least from my perspective here in Cardiff I think this place could be a city of music culture if the care was taken to help it flourish and its sad to see that potential so perpetually wasted.