Tunbridge Wells Forum adds MVT levy

Tunbridge Wells Forum in Kent says it is becoming the first venue in the UK to introduce a grassroots ticket levy.

Throughout the month of May, £1 from every ticket sold will be donated to the Music Venue Trust’s (MVT) Pipeline Fund at no additional expense to customers.

The 250-capacity venue is owned by MVT CEO Mark Davyd and run as a Community Interest Company.

“We have had a conversation here today at The Forum and with the positive government investigation into the support of all grassroots music activity along with the regular news on the arena situation in Manchester, we have decided to show just how easy it is to make this happen,” the venue wrote in a post on Instagram.

The levy, proposed by MVT and backed by artists and managers, was aimed at UK live music events above 5,000-capacity but The Forum says that “if a grassroots venue has the ability to make this work and give back to other venues in the UK, then the larger venues, arenas, stadiums and festivals can also do their bit for the cause”.

“The larger venues, arenas, stadiums and festivals can also do their bit”

A proposed levy could take three forms. A statutory levy imposed by government, an industry-mandated levy on all qualifying shows (which LIVE CEO Jon Collins pointed out might fall afoul of competition law) or a voluntary levy adopted by different artists, venues or promoters.

Recently, it was announced Alien Ant Farm and CKY had become the first American bands to add a £1 ticket levy to their UK tours – following in the footsteps of Enter Shikari.

Elsewhere, independent ticketing company Skiddle announced in October it would donate 50p of every ticket sold towards saving grassroots music venues, while taxi firm FREENOW pledged to donate £1 from every ride to the cause.

Ticketmaster introduced a Music Venue Trust charity upsell option, enabling fans to make direct contributions to MVT when purchasing tickets, and Halifax venue Piece Hall has also implemented a similar scheme.

Increased calls for a compulsory levy come after MVT revealed in its annual report that 2023 was the worst year for UK venue closures since its launch a decade ago, with 125 venues closing their doors – a rate of two per week – and 38% of members reporting a loss.

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