An audacious plan to create a National Trust for grassroots music venues across the UK will come one step closer to fruition at midnight on Thursday.
When the curtain comes down on the Music Venue Trust’s (MVT) #OwnOurVenues fundraising drive, it is expected to have raised close to £2.2m, a hemi-demi-semiquaver away from the £2.5m that it set out to achieve.
The campaign was launched in response to the statistic that 35% of grassroots music venues (GMV) have closed in the past 20 years.
Mark Davyd, the chief executive of the MVT, which represents almost 1,000 UK venues, said 93% of GMV were tenants with, on average, 18 months left on their tenancies.
“The people who own the buildings in which music is played and enjoyed are committed more to profitability than supporting the sector,” he said. “Unfair rent rises can make previously viable venues suddenly unsustainable, while venues in property hotspots find themselves turfed out to make way for a conversion to flats. Short leases hamper those venues which want to raise funds to improve facilities and make the possibility of government support less likely.
“Our answer is to put ownership of music venues in the hands of people who love live music – a project so radical it hasn’t been tried anywhere else in the world. We’re going to prove that this type of ownership can provide real long-term benefits to artists, audiences and local communities.”
It may be a radical idea but it is winning important patronage: 800 members of the public have invested in the scheme, and Ed Sheeran has thrown his weight behind it, as have Frank Turner and the musician and venue owner Ben Lovett, as well as Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music and Amazon Music. Arts Council England has confirmed a grant of £500,000 to the project, which is included in the crowdfunded total.
Jason Iley, the chair and chief executive of Sony Music UK & Ireland, said: “These venues are the jumping-off point for artists who go on to have long and successful careers. Local music venues need more stability to thrive – for the good of artists, fans and local communities.”
Tony Harlow, the chief executive of Warner Music UK, agreed. “Britain’s GMV are an essential part of our musical history and future. We’re partnering with MVT to help fund this project because it could make a real difference to artists, fans and communities across the UK.”
Venues have long operated on razor-thin margins, in many cases struggling to survive. But their problems were magnified by Covid: the sector acquired more than £90m of new debt, with more than 67% of it related to lease obligations.
“The UK has the potential to have the best grassroots circuit in the world, supporting new talent and investing in artists,” said Chris Sherrington, a regional coordinator for the MVT.
Sherrington said venues were the “research and development labs” of the £5.8bn per annum that the UK music industry puts into the UK economy. “It’s GMV that make the UK a world leader in music and culture,” he said. “Their impact on the cultural life of our country is enormous.”
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MVT has identified nine venues, all outside London and in areas of high deprivation, whose landlords are prepared to sell their freehold to the charity. They include The Ferret in Preston, The Snug in Atherton, Le Pub in Newport, The Glad Cafe in Glasgow and The Hairy Dog in Derby.
Hannah White, a musician, songwriter and venue owner, said: “These venues are all at the heart of their communities, working alongside local education providers, and supporting local and emerging talent as well as being part of the national touring circuit.”
These venues were just the start of MVT’s ambitions, said Steve Lamacq, a patron of the MVT. “We’ll buy nine venues, then 90, then 900,” he said. “We’re going to save as many of these venues, vital to our cultural and community heritage, as possible.
“These venues have played a crucial role in the development of British music over the last 40 years,” he added. “They have nurtured local talent, providing a platform for artists to build their careers and develop their music and their performance skills.”
