Transcript
George Hudson: It is that age old thing that if you find something that you love to do, then you don't work a day in your life. It's really the only reason why I do it, to bring audiences to things they've never seen before. I'm George Hudson and I founded Soho Live Music Club, a collection of venues and recording studios and artists in Soho.
I've always been passionate about music and it's really been in my blood my whole life really. It's the best drug, high, whatever is having an audience appreciate what you do. We're in Soho, Soho Square there, and this is Carlisle Street where we have the piano bar and the recording studios. So this is where it all started about 10 years ago. This is pretty much the beating creative part of the UK, I would say in terms of the artists that are here.
I first heard about Square when I was working and studying in the US it seemed like a very space, age way to take payments. The second Square was available, we signed up for it. Square solved many challenges for my business. Most importantly though is scale and for us to be able to scale very fast. Square has helped us grow from here at the Piano Bar to the shed, then to the Boulevard Theater very soon, to the Carnaby as well. Main thing that makes Square so great for live music venues in particular is that it's mobile and that it is intuitive to use.
Antonia Thompson: As it's a handheld. It makes it easy to use to do table service, especially when it comes to training. It makes everything really quick and easy on a busy night. Not having to use a catching up system at the end of the night really makes getting out a lot faster.
George Hudson: The way music is delivered. It's very, very important to kind of keep the live stages going and to keep the live venues going. Removing the barriers between the artists and the customers is what we're going for.
Arran Kent: I first came across the Soho Live guys through Piano Bar. Always love Piano Bar because of how small it is, you feel as though you are part of the audience, and again, I feel like as an audience member, you feel as though you're part of the music. Forming through the club, seeing all these different musicians come together, that is just a breeding ground for community.
George Hudson: I use the Square reporting on a daily basis, and even if I'm not here, wherever I'm in the world, I can just check in on what's happening. If I'm ever having a particularly bad day, then what I generally do is just stand by the door and just wait for customers to leave because the smiles on their faces and the buzz that they have when they leave the venue really does lift me up anyway at the end of the day. That's why I do it.
