North Shields venue owner launches business to make live events safer
The Engine Room’s Mark Elliott hopes Gigsavvy will help venues, promoters and event organisers navigate compliance requirements while protecting grassroots music spaces
A North Shields music venue owner has combined his passion for live music with more than two decades of health and safety expertise to launch a new platform aimed at helping venues, promoters and event organisers navigate an increasingly complex landscape of compliance and training.
Mark Elliott, who runs grassroots venue The Engine Room in North Shields with his business partner, has developed Gigsavvy – a digital compliance and training platform designed specifically for the live music, events and night-time economy sectors.
By day, Mark works as a health and safety trainer, assessor and adviser across industries including oil and gas, construction, engineering, manufacturing and renewables. Away from work, he has spent years promoting gigs, managing artists and supporting the region’s live music scene.
“I realised years ago that a lot of touring bands were bypassing the North East, going from Manchester straight to Glasgow and missing Newcastle completely, so I started promoting gigs myself,” he said.
“That developed into some larger events and even small festivals, then came artist management and eventually opening a small grassroots music venue in North Shields.”
The Engine Room has become one of the region’s best-known intimate venues, hosting artists including Tom Robinson, Bernard Butler and Wreckless Eric.
It was through his involvement in the sector that he began to notice shortcomings in how health and safety procedures were managed.
“You’ve got people and workers moving between venues constantly - engineers, crews, promoters, bands - and sometimes things can become a bit too informal,” he said.
“When you look at live events properly, there are real risks involved. People are working at height, working with electricity, building stages and lighting rigs.”
The result is Gigsavvy, which combines IOSH-approved training courses with digital tools covering risk assessments, incident reporting, compliance monitoring and workforce verification. The project has received support from both Innovate UK and Creative UK.
“Gigsavvy brings together accredited training and compliance tools in one place - so venues, event organisers and night-time businesses have everything they need to keep their people safe and demonstrate they’re taking it seriously. It works for a 60-capacity grassroots venue like ours, but it scales right up to larger venues or festivals with potentially thousands of people attending.”
The platform also arrives as venues prepare for the introduction of Martyn’s Law, legislation designed to strengthen security measures at public venues following the Manchester Arena bombing.
“Martyn’s Law is a significant moment for the sector, and it’s right that venues prepare for it,” said Mark.
“What is required, under existing health and safety law, is that employers demonstrate competence and that they’ve properly assessed and managed the risks their people face.”
As discussions continue with industry organisations and training providers, Mark hopes Gigsavvy can help make safety and compliance more accessible, particularly for smaller venues.
“Grassroots venues are the heartbeat of the live music industry,” he said. “If Gigsavvy helps protect even a handful of them by making compliance less daunting and more accessible, that’s exactly what it’s here to do.”
Visit the Gigsavvy website for more information