Access Guide:

OnlineMusic
Events

A guide for artists, venues, festivals, brands andpromoters planning to host events online.

Imagine not being able to enjoy a gig online ortake part in a Q&A with your favourite artist...
...simply because:• Promotional artwork containing key details wasn’t readable.
• The event didn’t include captioning or another way to participate without
relying on audio.
• There was no way of knowing what the artist and the venue looked like.
• Graphics displayed on the live stream were not legible.
In this guide, produced with input from music fans and artists, we’ll provide you withsome quick solutions to break down the barriers that online gigs or events cancreate for Deaf and disabled audiences.
Whether you are a DIY promoter or large venue planning a video series, this guidecontains useful tips on making what you do as accessible as possible.

“In a time where live streams have become one of themost popular ways of experiencing live music, people
are getting the chance to experience performances they
may not previously have had the chance to see.
However, if barriers are not removed, the lack ofphysically being present at an event can sometimes feellike yet another lack of connection for Deaf and disabled
people at a time when many already feel isolated dueto the pandemic. This is why it’s so important that live
streams are accessible to everyone.”
Sophie, live music fan

Planning
The
BasicsThere are a range of things to consider when planning an online event to be asaccessible as possible.

Programme:• The types of online content you want to programme bring with them different
things to think about.
• Live sets are more challenging to make accessible than pre-recordings. Q+As
bring with them a range of potential barriers.
• We share how to remove these later in this guide.

The artist Ruth Patterson kicked off Sage
Gateshead’s new series of online events in June. In
order to make the event as accessible as possible,
they elected to pre-record a set in order to get it
professionally captioned prior to the event, which
was made to go live at a promoted time. This wasfollowed up by a live Q+A.

Platform(s):• Where possible, use multiple platforms – choice for audiences can often
provide more access options.
• To reach the biggest audience, use a platform that works well on mobile,tablets and desktop browsers, such as YouTube Live, Facebook Live, or Zoom.
• If you want to speak to your audience and let them ask questions, choose aplatform that provides text chat alongside video.
Timings & Breaks:• Many of the things that make an event more accessible benefit all audiences.
• Provide clear timings for your event and stick to them as far as possible.
• Programme in breaks for events over an hour to allow for toilet breaks, andgive people who don’t want to miss anything the opportunity to move aroundand take a screen break.
• Digital fatigue impacts everyone, and can be intensified with certain
impairments or health conditions.

Making
Content
Accessible

For live events, we talk about access to the content taking place on a physical stage.
For online events, this principle remains.

Basics anyone can do
Lyrics and setlists
Any online event featuring performed music can provide a basic access provision foraudiences – set lists with lyrics in advance.
If you are a DIY event, providing these as a Word file download is a simple way ofmaking an event that might not have captioning or British Sign Language (BSL) moreaccessible.

Automated captioning
Automated captioning is a built-in tool on a number of video and webinar platforms
that can be turned on by the person watching an event independently, so you don’t
need to do anything, as long as the platform you are using has this capability.
For spoken word this can be a real benefit for some people, however the captions
may not be word for word. The better the sound source used, the better thecaptions are. Using a head set with a mic or a free-standing mic will provide a better
quality of sound over your phone or laptop built-in mic.
For lyrics and singing the auto-captioning will not pick up words over the music. The
software may not be able to understand what is being sung and so captions will not
be produced or will be very unclear.

• There are 12 million people with hearing loss in the UK, that’s around one in six of us.
• There are over 7 million people in the UK living with tinnitus.
• About 2 million people in the UK are hearing aid users.

Captioning can be of use to so many people, not only people with hearing
impairments and tinnitus. With on screen events it can be so easy to miss a moment.
Having a conversation captioned means your audience can pick up on those missed
seconds and feel connected.

Post event captioning
If your live stream becomes an on demand video after your event has finished, youwill be able to edit the captions retrospectively if they were not accurate during theevent itself.

DIY audio description
Any online event can feature basic DIY audio description to improve the experiencefor blind and partially-sighted people.
This can be done by having someone verbally explaining the environment in shot,and getting each speaker / performer to explain:• What they look like• What they are wearing• Their location in relation to anyone else
• The sensory landscape for what’s going to happen, for example any very loudor visually stimulating parts of the performance.

If you’re an artist, here’s how you might do an audio description for your viewers:“I’m Bob, I’m male , medium height, black with short cropped hair. I’mwearing a tight orange t-shirt and black jeans. I’m at The Boileroom, it’s asmall venue, I’m the only person on stage and there is a room with someseating and a bar on my right. My name is on a banner behind me. For
this gig I’ll be playing a guitar which I’m holding and a kick drum that’s to
my left, I’ve also got a kazoo hidden in by back pocket which will make an
appearance later! This set is going to be quite low key, there won’t be any
sudden or very loud noises.”

Taking
ThingsFurther

Professional audio description
Where your event or performance has a lot of visual content professional audio
description might be a valuable addition for people with visual impairments.
You can find lots more on Audio Description from Vocaleyes:• www.vocaleyes.co.uk

Professional captioning
If you have the budget and wish to deliver the best possible captioning experience
for audiences including lyrics, the best solution is to use a professional service or aqualified freelancer to partner on your event.
Two key contacts for this are:• www.stagetext.org• www.avsttr.org.uk (The Professional Association Representing Speech-To-Text
Reporters)

Professional BSL
For performance work, British Sign Language should be provided by a registeredqualified and experienced Interpreter or Translator. As with captioning, providing aquality service is dependent upon professionals being given lyrics and set lists wellin advance. Be aware that default contracts may not allow for recording and later
sharing – this should be discussed in advance. Some live streaming platforms willallow you to have the Interpreter/Translator provided In-vision (picture in picture),for other platforms the audience member can select to keep the interpreter on themain screen.
A contact for this is:• www. performanceinterpreting.co.uk

Making
Q&As
Accessible

Are you planning on taking requests from your audience or hosting a Q&A as part ofyour live stream?
Think about different ways the audience can communicate while the live
event is going on. What will your platform allow you to do? Some methods ofcommunication are not accessible to everyone:

Wave in video

Asking people to wave in their video can be really hard to see
and easy to miss. We’d suggest not using this method.

Use the wave button

If you’re using Zoom then we suggest those watching use thewave reaction button. Other platforms allow users to share
reactions or emojis which you could designate as a signal that an
audience member would like to ask a question or comment.

Use the chat box or comment section

If you wish to invite people to ask questions in a chat box,
remember to read out any question before answering it forothers who might not have seen the chat box text or who might
not use the chat box due to an impairment.

Email in advance

Allowing people to email you with questions or requests forsongs in advance can assist people who may wish to avoid a chatbox due to an access requirement.

Monitoring chat and Q+As:
Trolling in chats or Q+As has been an issue for some events. One way to stop this canbe to use a chat monitoring system that allows you to monitor chats across multiple
platforms and delay what is seen, enabling you to remove abusive language andblock users.

Providing
Information
Before aLivestream

76% of people who completed our 2018 Access Booking Survey had been
put off booking tickets for events due to lack of access information.

Access information is crucial for Deaf and disabled audiences, and 		this remains the case when it comes to online events.
The more info you can provide the more reassured your 		audience will be, and the more likely it is for people to engage
with your content. Consider that any online event might havepeople wishing to attend for whom an online event is a totallynew experience.
Provide clear instructions (or links) on how to use platforms in 		
advance. Work on the assumption that every event will include 		people using platforms for the first time.
Whatever the scale of your online event, let people know the 		
following in advance:• Which platform(s) you are using.
• If people need to have accounts in order to access any of the content.
• Event programme including timings and any breaks.
• Will the content be live only, or recorded for later viewing?
• Any access provision that will be available i.e. audio description,
captioning, British Sign Language (BSL).
• Contact details if people can get in touch with any questions
Ideally, this information should be within the copy of any event 		
page and replicated if promoted across different platforms
i.e. a website and a Facebook event page.

It’s important to be very clear about the exact nature of any service. For
example, does ‘audio description’ mean a DIY description at the start of aperformance, or a professional service for the whole event?

PromotinganOnlineEvent:
5 barriers

Online posters and promotional graphics can’t be read by screen
reading software.
• If you’re posting a graphic that includes your event details, include
these details in the text of your post too. Some people with visual
impairments use screen reading software that doesn’t cover text
included in social media images.
• On your website, Twitter and Instagram you can input Alt Text toprovide a description of an image you’ve included. Use this text toinclude any information in your image, along with describing thevisual look of the image.

If you don’t tell people about access, it may as well not be there.
• If you’re planning to have closed captions or open captions, thentell people! Share your plan for how everyone can access yourevent, just like you’ll share other details about it in advance.

Unanswered questions can stop people from attending or buying
tickets.
• Provide an email address or direct message inbox for accessibility
questions in advance of the event. For example, you could always
comment under your an event post saying “if anyone has a question or query about the accessibility of this live stream, please contact me/us here ______”

Video can be very inaccessible.
• If you are making any sort of promo video, ensure you subtitle itso that everyone can access it. There are plenty of online tools toenable this, such as Kapwing.
• Graphics layered over video will not be accessible through screen
reading software.
• Avoid putting calls to action in graphics.
• Repeat any calls to action in graphics within the video• description or comments.

Uncapitalised hashtags are less accessible for some readers.
• If using #’s then use ‘camel text’ such as #AtittudeIsEverything capitalising the first letter of each word.

Final word:
Online events are here to stay. If they are accessible, they can open-up newopportunities for people to access something they love, in some cases for the
first time. As live music returns in the months ahead, it would be a backwards
step if streaming was removed as an option where possible.
However, streaming events cannot ever replace the need to ensure that thephysical experience is as accessible as possible. As with making venues andevents accessible, consulting with Deaf and disabled people is essential.
Speak to your audiences, and speak to us!

Further Support:
Attitude is Everything offer a number of services and resources alongside this guide including:Free resources
Access Starts Online + DIY Access Guide
Charter of Best Practice
A project tool for venues and festivals to build access across their business.
Disability Equality Training
We have a range of in person and webinar options for training including:• Disability Equality and Customer Care.
• FLASH training - Fluctuating Impairment, Learning Disability, Autism, Sensory Impair		ment, Hearing Impairment.
• Accessible Creative Environments.
Consultancy services
We can offer live events access consultancy for any and all events.

Further reading:• www.goodnightoutcampaign.org/saferonlineparties• www.musiciansunion.org.uk/Home/News/2020/Apr/10-Tips-on-Recording-and-Streaming-Your-Live-Show• www.drakemusic.org/blog/becky-morris-knight/accessibility-in-video-conferencing-and-remote-meetings/• www.blog.ai-media.tv/blog/the-best-free-captioning-toolsAbout us:
Attitude is Everything is a disability-led charity and Arts Council England Sector
Support Organisation that connects Deaf and disabled people with music and event
industries to improve access together.
We are working for a future where music and event industries include Deaf anddisabled people as audience members, performers, employees and volunteers.
This includes online music events, which we are seeing far more of as a result of
Covid-19.
Find out more at www.attitudeiseverything.org.uk
Email us at info@attitudeiseverything.org.uk
Follow our work:@attitudetweets@attitudeiseverythinghq
Attitude Is Everything
http://bit.ly/AIEnewsletter

About this guide:This is version 1.0 of this guide published August 2020.
We will be updating this document periodically so please look for the most up todate version here:• www.AttitudeIsEverything.org.uk/AccessGuideOnlineMusicEvents
Attiude is Everything - 14th August 2020