Pop music museum coming in the summertime
THE arrival of Britain’s only museum of popular music is one step closer as the lease and funding is set to be approved on Friday (March 18).
A report going to Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet proposes to enter in to a seven-year lease with the British Music Experience (BME), run by legendary music promoter Harvey Goldsmith, which is set to open in the Cunard Building in the summer.
The commercial agreement will see the city council act as landlord, with the deal leading to significant financial benefit to the council, as well as creating around 35 jobs and attracting 250,000 visitors each year.
As part of the deal, £3.1m will be invested in the Cunard Building prior to the BME taking up residence in the former Departure Lounge location on the ground floor.
This will see improvements made to the facility including new access into Cunard, a new café area, toilets, rewiring and the creating of infrastructure which will be used to house the exhibits.
It is expected that £1.7m will come from the city council, £900,000 from grant funding and the remaining £500,000 will be a third party contribution used to pay for the state of the art audio visual hardware and software which will also be installed as part of the preparations.
The operator, expected to be appointed shortly, will also host one BME fundraising gala for the music industry each year.
Mayor Joe Anderson, said: “The BME will be a fantastic addition to the city’s existing attractions and we are already getting indications it will be hugely popular as music once again proves to be a huge visitor driving force for the city.
“There is a huge amount of anticipation around the arrival of the BME and we can really start moving forward with plans once the lease and finances have been agreed.
“This is a win-win situation – not only does it result in us introducing a new cultural asset to the city from which we expect to make a profit, but it also means council tax payers benefit financially from the project and we can reinvest in valued services.”
BME chair Goldsmith said: “The BME is delighted the project has reached the Cabinet for approval. We look forward to joining the cultural offering of Liverpool and creating something innovative and exciting for visitors from the UK and all over the world.
“The BME will actively be growing its already significant collection of stage outfits, instruments and memorabilia for public display in the heart of Liverpool.
“The UK desperately needs a home for its rich history of popular music and there’s no better place than the city of Liverpool. The city’s support has been tremendous. We share a vision of Liverpool as the popular music capital of the UK and beyond.”
