• Music Visitor Experience project aims to map how people engage with music in Birmingham

• It will help to shape what a future ‘music-led’ visitor experience might look like

• Online survey is open to the public until 26 February.  

Birmingham Museums is one of the partners in a new research project to better understand how people engage with Birmingham’s musical journey, past and present.

The Music Visitor Experience project is a collaboration between Birmingham Museums Trust, Birmingham Music Archive, the Live Music Mapping Project at Aston University, cultural consultant Lara Ratnaraja and Birmingham City Council, with support from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.  

The project team has launched an online survey to explore how people engage with the city's music, from visiting heritage sites and museums to exploring musical landmarks, attending festivals or using digital trails to discover local history.  

The findings of the survey will be used to help shape what a ‘music-led’ visitor experience could look like for the city, drawing on evidence gathered through surveys, workshops and stakeholder engagement.  

The project aims to help celebrate Birmingham’s diverse musical heritage and strengthen its identity as a leading global music city.

Work is already underway with music consumers, sector workers, heritage practitioners, policy makers and tourism bodies to map existing assets such as food and concert venues and to identify opportunities and shape recommendations for future development and investment.  

Charlotte Holmes, director of engagement at Birmingham Museums Trust, said:  

“We are delighted to be working in partnership with Birmingham Music Archive and Aston University on this project to explore how people engage with the city’s music and to help to shape what a future ‘music-led’ visitor experience might look like.

“Birmingham has a rich musical legacy which resonates with people from the city and beyond, as shown by the popularity of the Ozzy Osbourne: Working Class Hero exhibition, which has seen over 425,000 visitors through the doors of Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery since it opened last year.”

Dr Patrycja Rozbicka, senior lecturer and associate professor in politics and international relations at Aston University, said:  

“We know that Birmingham has an incredibly diverse musical heritage and this project is vital in helping to understand how we can make Birmingham a leading global music city.  

“We’re keen to find out whether people attend festivals, musical landmarks and museums in the city which will help to inform what a future music-led visitor experience could look in Birmingham.”

Jez Collins, founder of the Birmingham Music Archive, said:  

“Following the remarkable cultural and economic success of the Summer of Sabbath events in 2025, this is exactly the right moment to build on the renewed interest in Birmingham’s rich and diverse music offer.

“Help us shape what this might, or should, look like by getting involved and telling us what is important to you and what stories we should be telling to the world about Birmingham and its music.”

The survey closes at midnight on Friday 27 February.