Tell us a bit about Tutti. What does it do?

To describe it briefly, Tutti is the Airbnb of creative workspaces. However, that means something different to everyone. So for performing artists (musicians, actors, dancers) we help them find rehearsal and recording spaces. For visual artists (photographers and film makers) we help source stunning sets. And for anyone else, we provide inspiring locations that help unlock one’s inner creativity.

How did it begin and who is behind it?

It began as a much bigger monster. I came up with a tech ecosystem for the arts and was trying to start that all at once. Fortunately, some advisors managed to drill into my head that I would never get that off the ground. They asked me to choose the most exciting idea from my collection and I settled on Airbnb for rehearsal space for music. In its first few months we received as many music bookings as requests for other creative disciplines and decided to widen the offering.

While I am the only full-time employee, Tutti would not be getting anywhere without the support of my fantastic team. Some volunteers, some contractors, everyone is driving towards the joint goal of creating a simple, affordable resource providing inspiring locations for creative uses.  

You’ve described Tutti as "an Airbnb for creative spaces." How does it work?

Our system works much like Airbnb except for creating rather than sleeping. Anyone can list space on our site. We have private homes, churches, theatres, studios, clubs, a gym, a yurt, and more. And rather than renting space for days at a time, we deal in hours (for the most part).

We take a commission of each successful booking but it is free to sign up, browse, and list, and we help market the spaces by providing photographers and sharing the spaces with our growing network across social media, newsletter, and more. 

So far Tutti has over 50 host venues across London. Are you looking to expand beyond the capital?

We are still in our testing phase, which means we are keeping focused on London for now. Once we have completed this phase we will certainly expand to other cities across the UK as we receive requests weekly for that. And we are listening to those – we have a running tally of those requests, which will help determine our expansion plans.

For now, our goal is to have 300 spaces by the end of the year in London alone. 

You have an impressive background in classical music. Has Tutti developed out of personal experience - was booking rehearsal spaces a problem you encountered? Are there particular challenges, such as rising costs, faced by young people in the music industry today?

Perseverance – it is not a quick road. Progression (in anything) takes time.

Set your ego aside – music is about collaboration. Listening to and responding to others: working together to achieve a common goal. When everyone accepts and responds to the input of one another, magic occurs. 

How can people get involved with Tutti?

We are always looking for self-driven volunteers who are willing to help us contact additional spaces, which is a very hands on process at the moment. As the company is self-funded at this stage, we can’t pay anyone but we do have a commission scheme that means you will receive a % of the revenue any venues you bring on make for a year from the day they sign up.