Thanks everyone - over 200 of you - who attended the EFEx online Folk Talk Live event held on 23rd July, and to all of the wonderful people who contributed to our panels and discussions. Folk Talk Live covered discussions and presentations on live streaming, the challenges for festival and venues, diversity in folk music and album promotion during a pandemic. The event was opened with remarks from Kevin Brennan MP and chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Folk Arts and we closed the day with an interview of UK Music's acting CEO Tom Kiehl by EFEx board member and artist manager Keith Harris OBE.

What you said about Folk Talk Live

'A really interesting and illuminating afternoon'
'Excellent sessions particularly Lady Nade and Fay Hield, David Agnew and Rebecca Stewart; in fact all useful to hear and think about'
'I feel quite disconnected from what others are doing and that's why being able to at least hear other organisers, and ideally discuss matters with them, makes such a difference.'
'I think that the pandemic has shown us that digital platforms are a fantastic way to bring a lot of people together that wouldn't of ordinarily been able travel to a location. It would be fantastic to see more talks/conferences held online'

Over 95% of our post-event survey respondents said they would attend another Folk Talk Live. Suggested topics for future events included:
- Audience development, particularly developing younger audiences
- Advice on live streaming for smaller venues
- More discussion on diversity in folk music
- The future for festivals in a post-Covid-19 world
- The challenges for music agents right now
- Developing new specialist media - how to encourage writers, podcasters, bloggers

At English Folk Expo we are discussing options for possible future Folk Talk Live events. Keep an eye on this mail out for announcements.

Folk Talk Live is available to watch again to EFEx Digital

Thanks to all our new subscribers this month, it's lovely to welcome you to our community. Below are some of the new artist signups, we hope you enjoy their music!