Capsule

What Capsule does

Capsule is a Birmingham-based non-profit cultural producer founded in 1999 by Lisa Meyer and Jenny Moore to create experimental music and arts programming for adventurous audiences. The organization operates an event-driven portfolio anchored by Supersonic Festival, an annual three-day experimental music and arts festival held in Digbeth since 2003, and Home of Metal, a heritage project launched in 2011 celebrating Birmingham and the Black Country as the birthplace of heavy metal through exhibitions, events, and a globally accessible digital archive.

Beyond its two core projects, Capsule curates and produces commissioned work for cultural institutions including Library of Birmingham (Discovery Season, 1.2 million visitors over four months in 2013), Royal Shakespeare Company, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, New Art Gallery Walsall, and Birmingham City University (Moog Sound Lab residency). The portfolio also includes Bring to Light, Outlands National Experimental Music Touring Network, Supersonic Kids Gigs, the Oram Awards ceremony for women in music technology, New Music Biennial, and one-off installations such as Sonic Graffiti and All Ears.

The business model combines four revenue streams: Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation grant funding (core), project-specific grants (e.g., Youth Music Incubator Funding secured March 2024), Supersonic Festival ticket sales and event production fees, and commissioning/curation fees from partner institutions. The organization operates with a 7-person core team plus freelancers from headquarters in the Zellig Building, Digbeth, Birmingham. There is no proprietary technology product; value creation rests on artistic curation expertise, brand reputation (Guardian 5-star reviews in 2022, 2023, 2024; Vice endorsement), and a 25-year community of artists, audiences, and institutional partners.

Name

Capsule

Legal name

Capsule

Website

https://capsule.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Capsule is a Birmingham-based non-profit cultural producer founded in 1999 that operates Supersonic Festival, Home of Metal heritage project, and commissioned experimental music and arts programming for adventurous audiences and cultural institutions across the UK.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Arts & Cultural Event Production

NAICS

Other Performing Arts Companies (711190)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts & Culture Community Festivals (Multidisciplinary Arts Weeks) (MPAGAEAG)

Keywords

• Experimental music festivals
• Cultural event production
• Arts curation services
• Heritage music projects
• Live event management

Headquarters

HQ city

Birmingham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Festival and Event Revenue: Revenue generated from Supersonic Festival ticket sales, event production fees for commissioned projects, and exhibition fees from partner organizations.
2. Grant Funding: Funding from Arts Council England as part of National Portfolio Organisations, plus project-specific grants such as Youth Music Incubator Funding for emerging music industry professionals.
3. Commissioning and Curation Services: Capsule curates and produces events for partners including Royal Shakespeare Company, Library of Birmingham, and others, generating revenue through commissioning fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Capsule produces and curates experimental music festivals, multidisciplinary cultural events, heritage projects, and artist development programmes. Its core offerings include Supersonic Festival (an annual three-day experimental music and arts festival held in Birmingham since 2003), Home of Metal (a heritage project celebrating Birmingham as the birthplace of Heavy Metal), and commissioned curatorial services delivered for cultural institutions such as the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Library of Birmingham.

Product overview

Capsule is a Birmingham-based cultural producer that crafts extraordinary cultural projects for adventurous audiences. The organization operates a portfolio of festivals, exhibitions, artist residencies, and cultural events. Its core products include Supersonic Festival (an experimental music and arts festival since 2003) and Home of Metal (a heritage project celebrating Heavy Metal's Birmingham origins). Additional offerings include Bring to Light, the Library of Birmingham Opening Season curation, Moog Sound Lab artist residencies, the Outlands experimental music touring network, Supersonic Kids Gigs family events, and individual Capsule gigs. The organization also produces exhibitions like All Ears and manages artist residencies in partnership with universities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Supersonic Festival An internationally renowned experimental music and arts festival held annually in Birmingham since 2003, featuring avant-garde musicians, visual artists, talks, workshops, exhibitions, and film programmes.
• Home of Metal A large-scale heritage project celebrating Birmingham and the Black Country as the birthplace of Heavy Metal, featuring exhibitions, digital archives, conferences, and events exploring the connection between Heavy Metal music, social history, and visual art.
• Supersonic Kids Gigs

Quantifiable outcome

• 200,000+ attendees for Home of Metal project
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Youth MusiccoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 March 2024Youth Music awarded Incubator Funding to Supersonic Festival 2024, supporting a new role for an emerging music industry professional aged under 25 from an underrepresented background. The grant enables training with industry experts, professional mentorship, and opportunity to devise and produce a creative project.
• Outlands National Experimental Music Touring NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Supersonic Festival produced a UK tour for Outlands network, bringing together YoshimiO, Susie Ibarra, and Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe as Yunohana Variations.
• Moog Sound Lab / Birmingham City UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Capsule partnered with internationally renowned Moog Sound Lab and Birmingham City University to create a four-week artist residency programme focused on analog experimentation.
• Library of BirminghamcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013Capsule was appointed to curate, produce and manage the Discovery Season - a four-month programme celebrating the opening of the largest public library in Europe, with total audiences of 1.2 million.
• Flatpack FestivalminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013Collaboration with Flatpack Festival for Box of Light, celebrating early cinema and magic lantern heritage in Birmingham.
• Studio MyerscoughcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012World-renowned design team collaborated with Capsule on Home of Metal branding and visual identity, creating a recognisable identity referencing traditional Heavy Metal visual culture while remaining contemporary.
• Birmingham Museum & Art GallerycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Major exhibition partnership for Home of Metal - 40 years of Heavy Metal and its unique birthplace. Transformed the Gas Hall into a multi-faceted exhibition exploring heavy metal's Birmingham roots.
• New Art Gallery WalsallcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Home of Metal exhibition partner hosting Mark Titchner's 'BE TRUE TO YOUR OBLIVION' solo exhibition, exploring Heavy Metal's influence on visual art.
• Black Country Arts PartnershipminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Partnership supporting Home of Metal events and Metal Symposium at the Black Country.
• Royal Shakespeare CompanyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCapsule was invited to curate an exhibition for the RSC's Roaring Girl Season, working with Girls Who Draw to explore cross-dressing traditions in theatre.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Flatpack Festival: A Birmingham-based multidisciplinary film and arts festival that Capsule has previously partnered with (Box of Light, 2013). Comparable as a Birmingham-rooted independent cultural producer combining film, music, and multidisciplinary events for adventurous audiences in the same city ecosystem.
• Cafe Oto: A London-based experimental music venue and project space hosting avant-garde musicians and sound artists year-round. Comparable in its focus on experimental and non-mainstream music, community-building around adventurous audiences, and commissioning-led programming model in the UK.
• Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival: A long-running UK festival dedicated to contemporary and experimental new music. Comparable as a UK-based producer of experimental music programming with institutional funding, though it operates at a larger scale and with a more academic contemporary classical orientation.
• Supernormal Festival: An Oxfordshire-based experimental music and arts festival with similar multidisciplinary programming, DIY ethos, and festival-scale audience — a close UK analogue to Supersonic in mission and operational model.
• Tusk Festival: A Newcastle-based annual experimental, avant-garde, and DIY music festival with a comparable curatorial ethos, similar scale of operation, and an analogous mix of UK and international artists targeting adventurous audiences.

Regional players

• CTM Festival: A Berlin-based annual festival for adventurous music and art focused on electronic, experimental, and club culture. Comparable in curating experimental music alongside visual art and discussion programming, though with a more Berlin-centric techno identity.
• Berlin Atonal: A Berlin-based festival dedicated to contemporary and experimental music at the intersection of sound, performance, and visual art. Comparable in curatorial ambition, avant-garde music focus, and multi-venue festival format, though primarily serving a continental European audience.
• Sonic Acts: An Amsterdam-based biennial festival and research organization exploring the intersection of art, technology, and sound. Comparable in curating experimental and avant-garde programming, artist development, and combining presentations, workshops, and discursive formats for adventurous audiences.
• Unsound Festival: A Krakow-based annual festival exploring electronic, experimental, and avant-garde music alongside discursive programming. Directly comparable in championing experimental music and cross-disciplinary practice, though based in Poland with a broader international audience.
• Le Guess Who? Festival: An Utrecht-based annual festival focused on boundary-pushing music, sound art, and interdisciplinary performance. Comparable in curatorial ambition and international experimental music focus, though operating at a larger scale across the Netherlands and Europe.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/supersonicfest
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/capsule_2

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Capsule