The State of Access Report allows Attitude is Everything to publicly examine the detailed feedback that they received from their Deaf and disabled Mystery Shoppers about live music events. By analysing the mystery shopping reports, Attitude is Everything have identified issues that Deaf and disabled people face when trying to access gigs at UK music venues and festivals.
The State of Access Report is based on 228 mystery shopping reports, 159 from venues and 69 from festivals, 40 questionnaires, and 13 interviews collated between April 2011 and March 2013.
The most commonly reported issue from the report findings is inequality of booking systems, by not allowing Deaf and disabled customers to purchase tickets in the same way as non-disabled people.
When Attitude is Everything surveyed 10 of the leading UK music venues to check on their accessible ticket buying policies, the majority of them were providing different services to their disabled and non-disabled customers. Only 2 venues allowed online purchasing of tickets, one of the options available to all of the non-disabled customers and the preferred option for 75% of their Mystery Shoppers, with the rest providing a telephone number with limited opening hours.
In order for more tickets to be made available for disabled customers to purchase online, there needs to be more awareness of accessibility issues and a universal proof of disability system to overcome issues with eligibility. With this in mind, Attitude is Everything are working with the Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers (STAR) to facilitate a working party involving all of the key ticketing agencies, including Ticketmaster, See Tickets, Ticketline and Eventim, who have made a commitment to consider how booking systems can be made more accessible for disabled people.
Suzanne Bull MBE, CEO at Attitude is Everything said: “The State of Access Report demonstrates the value of our dedicated team of Mystery Shoppers, who have identified barriers to overcome in terms of accessible ticketing policies. But our ethos is about working in partnership with the music industry to find solutions, so we’re confident that our findings will lead to an improved live music experience for Deaf and disabled music fans in the UK.”
The report also shows there is a clear correlation between the capacity of the event and whether or not the event venue offer free Personal Assistant tickets.
Mystery Shoppers reported to Attitude is Everything that 66% of the venues they attended had a step-free entrance, but just 44% of the venues visited had a step-free entrance, step-free routes to all areas of the venue, and at least one functional accessible toilet. The report states there is a clear correlation between the capacity of the event and the likelihood of finding an accessible toilet.
According to the report the viewing platform is probably the key factor that influences both the accessibility ratings from their Mystery Shoppers, and overall enjoyment of the event.
The report and associated downloads can be found on the Attitude is Everything website here.
A recent Telegraph article on this report can be found here.