Under-18s form a discerning market not to be ignored.(Viewpoint)

The youth market has long been overlooked by the club scene. It's easy to see why, because from a promoter's point of view there isn't a big return in organising events for an audience that doesn't have much money to spend on tickets, can't drink alcohol--there's only so many soft drinks you can sell to people in a night--and would require more spending on security than a normal club night would.

For as long as I can remember, the BBC has wanted to deliver credible events to under-18s but, for the reasons outlined above, has struggled to find someone to work with. Then we found ukclubculture. In 50 venues across the country, 80 times a year, ukclubculture hosts events for under-18s attracting a crowd of over 2,000 to each. We decided to get involved once we were reassured the teenagers would be safe, the door staff were responsible and there would be no alcoholic drinks on sale.

From their point of view, they were interested in taking the best elements of Radio 1's dance output and delivering it to their audience. ...