ALAN AT FARRAGO

Alan describes Farrago’s mission as supporting independent artists through unique events. After attending Unheard S2E1 in Shoreditch, I could see the message clearly come through, from different performances by talented musicians and live artists. Farrago creates a welcoming atmosphere at each event where creatives can come together to support, get involved and celebrate the talent of others. I wanted to learn more about how this all started. From a Spotify playlist to developing an accelerator for grassroot artists, Alan dives into Farrago’s on-going journey. 

To start with where did Farrago evolve from, what initially inspired the idea?  

So, I started this Spotify playlist with Shona during the pandemic. We had just got together and one of the things that really bonded us was our similar taste in music, discovering smaller artists together. So, what we intended to do was share music with each other. But, we thought it would be quite interesting as a little lockdown hobby, curating a playlist each week which friends could follow to discover new. It allowed us to kind of dive into more music ourselves. Really randomly, and I regularly think about this day, we were walking down Regent Street when I got stopped by a Youtuber called Unknown Vlogs, and he ended up asking me what music I liked. I mentioned the playlist and the next few weeks more and more people were interacting with it including artists that wanted to be featured so it was interesting to see the impact this was having. I realised there that I wanted to do something that really supports artists. Then I pitched an idea to a group of friends about a festival that supports smaller artists. From that Farrago was born.

What goes into the process of building a community online around your events and the artists you feature? 

It's really interesting when we started, we definitely didn't know what we were doing when we had this vision, starting with the idea of a festival. We realised the more and more events we were doing, we were building a community. Because we have an Instagram account, we were facilitating an online community as well. But I don't think we necessarily knew the value of the online community yet, like we were just very aware of the in-person interactions. What has set us a really good precedent for our online community is our mission. We have a clear ethos, which is supporting independent artists through unique events. It means that as someone who comes across our platform whether you're an artist looking into the performing opportunities or if you're someone who just likes to support smaller musicians, but also fashion and art as well, then it is so clear what we can offer. We definitely didn't start that way and it’s a slow process. But I think that it all comes with time.  When people connect with your mission, it is important to nurture them, get them involved until you grow this core community. 

In your opinion, what are some of the key benefits of leveraging online communities to support and uplift up and coming talents? 

I think the obvious one is the audience you can reach. Our end goal is creating these super special connections you form in-person at these events, but the online community is a great starting point. We have had full circle moments where, you know, I have always wanted to connect with a specific artist, for example, then a year later that person reaches out to us, which is all from creating a space online.  

The biggest challenge that smaller artists face is the fact that they don't have that established fanbase yet, which means that like you can't really monetise your music, and it just limits you. If you're really considering being creative full-time and ultimately that's your goal, we want to help as many musicians as possible and other creatives to pursue this passion full-time and the advantage of having an online presence means that we can provide this potential fan base and community to these artists.    

Are there any specific challenges your team has encountered while building this community?  

When Pat & I quit our previous jobs in 2022 to take on Farrago full-time, of course there was going to be loads of challenges, financially and emotionally. For one, we were putting on so many big events, from our festival to conferences and then our Sound Of London festival over four days, so lots of things going on. We realised by doing too many big events we were losing sight of this core community, even though we were pulling in new people. We saw we were losing a bit of trust from them. So now we want to focus on smaller events and cater more towards them. Then secondly, it's difficult to not play into the algorithm, trying to psychoanalyse it, sometimes we got caught up in all these things. As long as the language and message are clear, you shouldn’t worry about achieving a certain result with likes and followers for example.  

What are your plans for continued growth and expansion, particularly in terms of supporting and showcasing grassroot artists? 

So, I mean, last year we did lots of events. We showcased lots of artists and that's something we will always continue to provide. These performance opportunities will always be important. I remember I read that 50% of independent artists in London make more than 50% of their income from live events. We want to continue with that, through our own events and live music agency that we started last year. We provide performance opportunities outside of our own events. For example, we've had a couple of venue residencies. Every week, we provide talent, and they get paid and given the opportunity to perform to a new audience each time. However, something that I am excited about is that we are building an accelerator for grassroot artists. So, when artists are part of our roster through an application on our website, they’re basically provided with all the tools and services needed to succeed in the music industry, from live event opportunities to marketing tools. I want Farrago to become that one-stop shop for independent artists that want to pursue this as a career.  

Follow Farrago on - 

Website: www.farrago.club

Instagram: @farrago.uk

TikTok: @farragouk