MVT campaign raises almost £25k in three days
The Music Venue Trust (MVT) has raised over £22,500 so far as part of its #saveourvenues campaign, which launched on Monday (27 April), in aid of 556 UK grassroots music venues in danger of permanent closure.
Following on from the launch of MVT’s grassroots music venues crisis fund last month, #saveourvenues encourages fans and artists to select a venues to support from an interactive map, which includes links to fundraising campaigns.
Artists can also receive the tools and guidance to perform a gig from their homes in support of a particular venue.
Venues listed as ‘at risk’ include the 200-capacity Green Store Door in Brighton, the 900-capacity Leadmill in Sheffield and the 200-capacity Lexington in London.
Each venue has its own crowdfunding page with a clear target of the funds it needs to raise in order to stay afloat during the Covid-19 crisis. Once that target is reached, any excess donations will go to the central #saveourvenues fund to help the wider grassroots community.
The wider fund has currently raised £22,837 of a £100,000 target, just three days into the campaign. MVT’s GMV crisis fund, which has so far raised over £182,000 thanks to significant donations from Amazon Music, SJM, artists and music fans, will be renamed the #saveourvenues fund, forming part of the same initiative.
Those wishing to support the campaign can also do so through the use of the #saveourvenues hashtag and social media templates.
“The #saveourvenues campaign is a brilliant way of giving artists and music fans a chance to get involved and play a big part in helping them survive”
Singer-songwriter Frank Turner, whose recent series of performances ‘Independent Venue Love’ for local venues Nambucca in London (300-cap.), the Joiners in Southampton (200-cap.) the Railway Inn in Winchester (150-cap.) and the Forum in Tunbridge Wells (250-cap.), raised thousands of pounds, provided a “major” inspiration for the campaign.
“The UK live music industry is staring into the abyss right now,” says Turner. “The success of [my livestreamed] shows demonstrated the love that exists between music fans and their favourite grassroots music venues so the #saveourvenues campaign is a brilliant way of building on that and hopefully giving artists and music fans a chance to get involved and play a big part in helping them survive.”
“We are confident that we can help create real momentum that will see artists and venues working together to raise much needed funds,” comments MVT CEO Mark Davyd. “We are also calling on the wider music industry to support us too. We have received some magnificent support so far from music companies, but we need a lot more to step up and help save this essential part of the music eco-system.”
Those wishing to donate in excess of £1000 should contact Davyd directly here.
Photo: Henry W. Laurisch/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) (cropped)
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London’s Macbeth in Arts Council funding first
The Macbeth in Hoxton, east London, has become one of the first recipients of Arts Council England (ACE)’s new Support Grassroots Live Music fund.
The 300-capacity pub and venue has been successful in applying for £15,000 from the £1.5 million fund, which launched at the Great Escape in May, to support and develop its cultural programme.
“The last ten years have been incredibly challenging,” comments Mark Robinson of the Macbeth (pictured). “We know that hundreds of venues across the country were forced out of business and we really struggled to get through very tough times. This turns a corner for us, with a grant that will enable us to support and develop our programme.
“Arts Council England funding really puts us on the map as not just a great night out, but also a culturally important space that really matters to artists and to audiences. We would like to thank ACE for the opportunity of this fund and to thank Music Venue Trust for all the support they have given us in the last few years. To all the other venues out there thinking about applying: if the Macbeth can do it, you can too.”
Music Venue Trust (MVT) says it and Arts Council England have been working closely together to ensure venues have all the support they need to make an application. A special funding area at MVT’s Venues Day 2019 has been created for venues can book one-to-one appointments with ACE relationship managers and with other funders, including PRS Foundation.
“Their success demonstrates that this really is a fund grassroots music venues can apply to and get support from”
Claire Mera Nelson, head of music at ACE, says: “Arts Council England’s Supporting Grassroots Live Music fund was created in response to the needs of small venues across the country just like the Macbeth, and we are delighted that they have been successful in obtaining a grant to support a developing and expanding programme.”
At Venues Day, she adds, “we are looking forward to ensuring venues of all kinds understand how to register and apply for our grant funding”.
“This is another huge step in recognising the cultural value of our grassroots music venues, and we are so delighted it is the Macbeth that is leading the way,” adds MVT’s Mark Davyd. “Mark and his team at the venue have been through every kind of challenge you can imagine, only recently having to engage again with our emergency response team for support on a licensing review.
“Their success demonstrates that this really is a fund grassroots music venues can apply to and get support from. At Venues Day we want to make sure that every venue that wants to make an application has the skills and the opportunity to do so.”
Venues Day 2019 takes place at Islington Assembly Hall in London on Wednesday 9 October. Venue delegates who wish to book a one-to-one meeting with ACE staff during an afternoon session should contact MVT at [email protected].
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