Tim Burgess launches 'Listening Party' earphones raising money for UK gig venues
£5 from each sale will go directly to the Music Venue Trust
The Charlatans’ Tim Burgess has launched new custom ‘Listening Party’ earphones to raise money for UK music venues struggling to stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic.
Burgess has joined forces with Flare Audio to create the TLP1 earphones, which boast distortion-reducing and clarity-enhancing technology that provides a high-end sound.
Retailing at £39.99, the earphones are available to buy RIGHT HERE from Friday 26th March and £5 from each sale will go directly to the Music Venue Trust - a UK registered charity which acts to protect, secure and improve Grassroots Music Venues.
50 random orders in the first week will come with a signed card from Tim and a further 100 orders will receive bonus swag, from Flare Audio’s Calmer® (RRP £19.99) to Listening Party badges or Flare accessories.
Today’s Listening Party earphones announcement coincides with Tim’s appointment as patron of Music Venue Trust (MVT).
Tim Burgess started his Twitter Listening Parties during the first lockdown in March 2020 at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. There have been over 700 parties so far.
The concept is simple: Twitter users listen to albums in real-time alongside some of the artists that made the records. Listeners can share memories or ask questions using the hashtag #timstwitterlisteningparty, while the artists themselves divulge interesting facts and comments about the songs they created.
Tim Burgess says: “A while back I was sent some amazing earphones by the lovely people at Flare - they were big fans of the listening parties and we got talking. The talk turned into a plan and the plan became an amazing set of listening party earphones that Flare will now be making, and together we’ll be raising money for Music Venue Trust.”
Flare co-founder and COO, Naomi Roberts, says: “We love what Tim has been doing with the Listening Party and after some interesting talks we knew we could do something really great together. We wanted the Listening Party earphone, named TLP1, to be unique to Tim while still having the Flare tech and finish. The earphones themselves give incredible audio clarity and detail that provides high end sound quality without the price tag, and our unique distortion reducing tech helps you to listen better for longer.
“Flare started life as a loudspeaker manufacturer and PA hire company, and spent a lot of time in independent music venues. We feel now is our time to give something back and are pleased to be supporting MVT.”
Beverley Whitrick, Strategic Director for Music Venue Trust, confirms: “Tim has been acting as a champion for grassroots music venues across the UK for a long time now and has actively supported our #SaveOurVenues campaign. Formalising his status as a patron of MVT is a way for us to thank him for his considerable efforts and talk publicly about the projects Tim is working on to support venues. The first of which is the development of these great earphones with Flare Audio, with whom we have a longstanding relationship.”