Suzanne Bull MBE

Attitude is Everything 

Suzanne Bull MBE is the Founder-Director of Attitude is Everything, growing a short-term pilot programme that began in 2000 to help remove barriers to Deaf and disabled people accessing the live music industry, into a fully-fledged charitable organisation, over 19 years. On 1st April 2008, Attitude is Everything became a charitable organisation and received its first set of regular funding from Arts Council England. It remains in the National Portfolio as a Sector Support Organisation.

Attitude is Everything improves Deaf and disabled people’s access to live music by working in partnership with audience, artists and the music industry. Their Vision is that Deaf and Disabled People can be audience members, employees or artists at any live music event of their choice: music without barriers. They are a disability-led organisation.

 Following Suzanne’s ethos to be approachable and helpful, the organisation makes the business case for inclusion, while helping the live music industry understand how to create change. It sets the industry standards for inclusivity with their Charter of Best Practice that music venues and festivals sign up to. In May 2017, UK Music’s Live Music Group endorsed the Charter as the Best Practice Standards for all live music events to adhere to, and the UK-government’s endorsement soon followed from Sarah Newton MP.

Over 195 UK Venues and Festivals are now signed to the Charter and last year, 170,000 Deaf and disabled people attended events there, and their households spent £8.3 million.

Suzanne was awarded an MBE for services to music, arts and disabled people in 2013, while in 2017, she was named the DWP’s Disability Sector Champion for the Live Music Industry, and in 2018 she was awarded Music Week’s Women in Music ‘Campaigner of the Year’ Award, in recognition of her work to make live music more inclusive and accessible.