Clitheroe musicians Musique strike a chord as business award finalists despite major early setbacks

Based in Clitheroe, Musique is a collection of live musicians to provide exceptional entertainment for weddings and corporate and private events.

Following a split from a key partner in January 2020, the future of the company was left hanging in the balance before it even launched to the public.

But Musique's managing director Jamie Turner fought to launch the brand regardless of this setback and damning market conditions in the hope that the business would prosper and bring joy to people in a post-pandemic world.

Finest musicians

The team at the heart of today’s business all have backgrounds in the entertainment industry and the business now works with many of the finest musicians from across the region; and manages well-established event bands The Party Fettlers, Vintage Swing Thing and Desire DJ Live.

Musique managed to launch in June 2020 with just Jamie and booking manager Arthur Phillips working tirelessly to generate income from securing deposits for future events.

High quality video

The duo successfully competed against established competitors to win business across the North West with little more than a passion for their work, video footage and online advertising to create an experience for potential clients and to help them build a vivid picture of how their events could be brought to life through music.

Jamie said: “We bought the rights to a bank of high-quality video content that we produced while working with our former partners, and repurposed this for ads on Facebook and Instagram.

“The idea was that the website, combined with the social media accounts and reviews would give clients all the information and detail they needed to make an informed decision on their event entertainment.”

Unprecedented challenges of pandemic

Despite their best efforts to bring their business to life, this period wasn’t without difficulty thanks to the ongoing challenges presented by the pandemic, restrictions, and a rapidly and ever-changing business landscape.

Jamie explained: “The pandemic provided unprecedented challenges to a business like ours. Despite years of experience in the sector, nothing could prepare us for the challenges of government restrictions against holding events.”

Inundated

Despite these setbacks and limited financial backing, the pair were able to successfully secure enough bookings to bring the business to life once restrictions on live events began to lift.

Not only has the business’s calendar been inundated with bookings through to 2026, but the team itself has grown with the success of the business.

In 2022, Jamie and Arthur welcomed another full-time team member, Josh Hart, as well as a team of freelance professionals to support them across all areas of business.

Musique has now been named as a finalist for the Ribble Valley Business Awards 2023 in the Creative Business category.

Jamie added: “Despite our team having lived all over the North West, the Ribble Valley has given us the most consistent business opportunities with its outstanding hospitality, events and leisure sector.

“It’s a great place to do business and we’re delighted to be considered one of the best creative businesses in the area.”

The winners of this year’s Ribble Valley Business awards will be announced at a ceremony at Mytton Fold Hotel in Langho.