SCRU:CLUB — Image via Skiddle

An advantage of living in the UK is being in close proximity to a major city that boasts a strong musical and club culture, which uniquely represents the city. From collectives such as Manchester’s Swing Ting, Bristol’s Bandulu crew to the refreshing take on nightlife in the form of Liverpool’s Meine Nacht and heavyweight venues like Glasgow mainstay Sub-Club. Being outside of London needn’t be an issue with the rich variety many cities provide. However when its time for the so-called “Second city” to show what it has to offer, it painfully pales in comparison.

Birmingham’s problems

· Digbeth monopoly — Many spaces in Brums creative quarter are purchased and run by the Rainbow venues making the climate for independent venues to succeed difficult.

· Too much space — The disaster of the heavily mismanaged Scru:Club makes it overly obvious the city is in need of small/medium capacity sized venues and not the endless onslaught of warehouses

· The image problem — Birmingham is often derided as uncool and the current state of clubbing in Digbeth now mirrors commercial entertainment district Broad St. With the loss of the legendary Bigger than Barry parties, Birmingham suffered a major blow to its underground nightlife

· Not Grime, no interest — The 0121 Grime scene has been phenomenal in producing stars like Jaykae and Mist but for other genres of electronic music there is a large gap in the market for breakout artists. Take the young maverick collective and label Circular Jaw, despite creating incredible club music they’re not getting half of the attention they deserve

· Equality problem — Bar Hannah Wants why does the city struggle to produce and nurture Female talent that reach the levels as Flava D, Ikonika, OR:LA or Éclair fifi? And why are the majority of key nightlife promoters the same White men that continuously book Richie Hawtin and Hot since 82 for the last 10 years?

· Overlooked — A city doesn’t really need a stamp of approval in the form RBMA sponsored parties to be deemed as a go-to clubbing destination. But it is compelling that major players like red bull and NTS; to the Evian Christ trance parties and key labels like Hyperdub or Night slugs often skip the city. 2 years ago The ICA put held an event in conjunction with Just Jam which was woefully under-attended, Along with the recent Scru:Club disaster, has the city been blacklisted by booking agencies and brands?

· Lack of good radio — Birmingham is in dire need of a new station that showcases a diverse range of music and most importantly develop talent plus give opportunities for those who want to pursue a career in radio (Silk city just doesn’t cut it, sorry)

· Infrastructure and cost — Many alternative areas like Moseley and the Jewellery Quarter (aka the JQ) are difficult to access unless you have a car, poor public transport fails to connect the city together. Money would be better invested in reopening residential train lines and developing an underground system, not the endless vanity projects to promote Birmingham as financial hub for foreign investment (do we really need a mini capitalist London with numerous Michelin restaurants in this uncertain Brexit climate?). Birmingham also has some of the highest business rates in the country, all of this makes running a venue incredibly precarious

Is there hope for the city or will disconcerting young people continue to exodus the city to experience the culture they deserve?