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Artists and managers back calls for UK ticket levy

Artists and managers have backed the Music Venue Trust’s (MVT) calls for a compulsory £1 levy on tickets sold for UK live music events above 5,000-cap.

Music Managers Forum vice-chair Kwame Kwaten and Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) CEO David Martin both expressed their support for the proposal during evidence sessions held in parliament today by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee to explore the ongoing crisis in the grassroots music sector.

Back in January, the 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.

“The first impact we need to recognise is that is 125 communities that have lost access to live music on their doorstep, and the impact on those communities… is very traumatic,” said Davyd. “In terms of the short term economic impact, those 125 venues will have provided 16% of all the performance opportunities in the UK. About 4,000 jobs have come under threat or have been lost.

“Our proposal in the UK is £1 per ticket for arena and stadium shows that would create a sustainable fund that could be administered by ourselves, by other people concerned for promoters, for artists, and create a fund where everybody can go so they can take risks with their programming and really give artists the first step on the ladder they need.”

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.

Industry umbrella trade body LIVE is in the process of establishing a LIVE Trust as a mechanism to distribute funds to the grassroots sector, and while the concept has been lobbied for – and brought to the attention of government – by Music Venue Trust, today’s hearing saw promoters, artists and managers also stake a claim to any potential funds filtering back to the grassroots sector.

“All of my members will tell you one of their biggest concerns, frankly, is the artists cannot afford to tour,” Davyd said. “It’s not just the venues aren’t there to play in, it’s also the venues are standing empty when they could be putting on bands, because bands cannot afford to put on the show.”

“You don’t get to Ed Sheeran playing two shows last year at The O2, unless he played The Bedford in Balham”

Ferocious Management MD Kwame hailed the ticket levy proposal as a “great initiative”.

“We do support that,” he said. “This whole thing about supporting the level of one person in a show up to 1,000 is absolutely crucial, because you don’t get to Ed Sheeran playing two shows last year at The O2, unless he played The Bedford in Balham, unless he played the Queen of Hoxton with iluvlive promoting. Unless artists and managers are supported from zero to 1,000-people venues, you won’t reach that level.”

Martin said he was open-minded about the idea, which he described as a “relatively complex topic”.

“It would need to be on top of the ticket fee,” he argued. “It can’t be a downward pressure on artists or a voluntary thing, where you have some artists – potentially British artists – saying, ‘Yes, we’re very happy with the levy.’ And then you’ve got foreign artists coming to the UK saying, ‘We’re not prepared to do this.’ It creates an uneven playing field.

“With the right will, government could really help the industry coalesce about how a levy would be collected and distributed.”

But while the FAC was in favour of government intervention in a levy, John Drury, National Arenas Association chair and VP and general manager of OVO Arena Wembley, was less enthusiastic.

“The reality of £1 a ticket for us – given many of our venues are managed on behalf of private landlords, city councils charitable trusts – would be something like a 20% cut in our EBITDA, so it’s not a few grains of sand, it is quite significant,” he pointed out. “Or angle is more that this is a problem for the industry as a whole and it goes right through the live level to artists, managers, agents, promoters, venues and anybody else associated with that system. We’re all very interdependent.”

“The reality of £1 a ticket for us… would be something like a 20% cut in our EBITDA, so it’s not a few grains of sand, it’s quite significant”

Kilimanjaro Live boss and Concert Promoters Association vice chair Stuart Galbraith also spoke in favour of a voluntary levy and cited Enter Shikari’s efforts to donate £1 from their 2024 UK tour to grassroots music venues via the MVT’s Pipeline Investment Fund.

“I think it’s realistic to expect that within the larger music industry, any sort of charge is not going to be absorbed by the industry it will get passed on to the customer,” he said. “If you place it outside the ticket, and if the charitable trust had charitable status, there would be no VAT deduction, there would be no PRS deduction, there would be no venue share and 100% of that money would reach the actual targets.”

The hearings were marked by clear divisions across the various sectors of the business, although all participants agreed that UK government should reduce VAT on concert tickets to something in line with many other European markets, such as the 5.5% rate paid in France. An idea which committee MPs said HM Treasury was highly unlikely to adopt.

On a proposed VAT cut, the position of industry umbrella trade body LIVE was at odds with its members: A blanket 5% VAT rate on tickets has been a principle manifesto point of LIVE for several years, while Drury told MPs that arenas “didn’t need” the rate cut, and Galbraith said a reduction should only be in venues up to 1,000-capacity. Davyd, meanwhile, said that a VAT cut for small venues “still wouldn’t make grassroots venues sustainable”.

“The single biggest change the committee could recommend to make grassroots venues and the ecosystem viable would be that of VAT”

“The VAT cut during a pandemic literally made the difference between us being able to promote shows or not promote shows,” said Galbraith. “The 20% tax burden versus 5% literally meant that we could do 100 more shows that year as we came out of pandemic and we now look at those shows, and they are just not viable. They never reach past the spreadsheet.”

Anna Moulson of the Association of Independent Promoters (AIP) agreed: “Five percent [VAT rate] over lockdown was so welcome with our members because it meant that we could break even which meant we could cover costs and actually make money, which is very surprising on the grassroots level. Some of our members are now turning down grassroots shows in order that they can be below the threshold of having to be VAT registered, so that means less artists will be taken on by promoters and developed by them.”

“We are overrun with people who’ve had a hit on TikTok, desperately now trying to build the grassroots audience that gives them a sustainable career”

In response to a comment that some artists were breaking online and performing at arenas without having toured through grassroots venues, Davyd said there had been a “remarkable turnaround” over the past two to three years.

“We are overrun with people who’ve had a hit on TikTok, desperately now trying to build the grassroots audience that gives them a sustainable career,” he said. “It’s a big thing in our sector for people to now be going out on tour, having jumped forward and then realised, ‘Wait a minute, I don’t have the deep connection with my fans that I get from being in a room with 250 other people.'”

Other topics discussed during the hearing included PRS fees in small venues, with both Moulson and Davyd arguing that much of the fees collected go into a “black box” of unattributed income which is then passed to artists with the most airplay annually. “It’s a reverse Robin Hood effect where income from small venues is going back to the biggest artists”, said Davyd.

PRS for Music’s Gavin Larkins also outlined that a Tariff LP review was due to begin after the summer with a target date of being concluded by Q2 2025.

While there was consensus that the UK grassroots scene was in dire need of intervention, the precise mechanism for that support remains a divisive topic. With artists and managers also now backing the call for a levy, the findings of today’s hearings – due to be published in April – will likely see a strong recommendation for more support for the grassroots sector from the larger venues and operators in the UK. The recommendation is even more likely given that it would reduce or remove the need for the UK Government to act itself in supporting the grassroots sector.

 


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Rival Manchester arena operators in licensing row

A dispute has broken out between rival Manchester arena operators Oak View Group (OVG) and ASM Global over a licensing application for the city’s new Co-op Live venue.

The 23,500-cap development, which is a joint venture between OVG and City Football Group, will become the UK’s largest arena when it launches at Etihad Campus, the site of Manchester City FC’s Etihad Stadium in April.

However, the BBC reports that ASM – operator of Manchester’s longstanding AO Arena (cap. 23,000) – has objected to elements of OVG’s licensing bid, citing its desire to “safeguard public safety and the prevention of public nuisance”.

In written submissions to Manchester City Council’s licensing committee, it argues that Co-op Live should close by midnight at the latest, and not be given the ability to open 24/7, 25 times a year, as requested.

Speaking during the hearing at Manchester Town Hall, OVG COO Mark Donnelly alleged that ASM’s objections were “competition based”.

“We are quite disappointed to see [ASM] are trying to put conditions on us when they operate with an unrestricted licence”

“We are quite disappointed to see [ASM] are trying to put conditions on us when they operate with an unrestricted licence,” he said, as per the Manchester Evening News. “As part of ASM’s objections, we feel these are competition based. We feel there’s very little from a licensing point of view. A lot of transport issues were dealt with at planning and that was approved unanimously.”

Previous complaints from the police, trading standards, seven councillors and three residents were withdrawn following revisions by Co-op Live, but objections from 32 residents, two councillors, the council’s public health team, ASM and the Music Venue Trust (MVT) remain.

Donnelly took a swipe at the MVT, alleging the venue charity’s objection was because Co-op Live had “declined” to support its £1 ticket levy initiative to protect grassroots venues.

The MVT’s Niall Forde rejected the claim as “inflammatory” and “entirely false”, saying it objected to the venue’s “ancillary spaces” (which have a combined capacity of 6,000) could take trade off smaller businesses if they were allowed to stay open later.

The hearing continues.

Stand-up comedian Peter Kay was this week revealed as the opening act for Co-op Live. The comic will open the venue with his current record-breaking tour on 23 April. The 30-year-old AO Arena, meanwhile, recently confirmed that its capacity will rise from 21,000 to 23,000 as a result of a £50 million (€59m) reconstruction

 


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IQ 125 out now: Peter Schwenkow, MVT, Gulf States

IQ 125, the latest issue of the international live music industry’s favourite magazine, is available to read online now.

The February/March edition sees DEAG founder Peter Schwenkow look back over 50 remarkable years as a live entertainment pioneer, while Derek Robertson talks to grassroots venue campaigners around the world as Music Venue Trust marks its tenth anniversary.

In addition, Lisa Henderson talks to female crew members and women backstage about the work they’re doing to pave the way for future generations, and Adam Woods shines a light on the burgeoning live entertainment markets in the Gulf States.

Elsewhere, we profile ten new festivals that are making their debut in 2024, and the full agenda for ILMC 36 is revealed.

For this edition’s comments and columns, IQ passes the mic to Cliff Fluet who previews his ILMC panel Artificial Intelligence: Moving at Light Speed, while ticketing guru Tim Chambers opines that the marriage between private equity and live entertainment has become too big to fail.

As always, the majority of the magazine’s content will appear online in some form in the next four weeks.

However, if you can’t wait for your fix of essential live music industry features, opinion and analysis, click here to subscribe to IQ from just £8 a month – or check out what you’re missing out on with the limited preview below:

 


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‘Enough is enough’ on venue closures – MVT

The Music Venue Trust (MVT) says that “enough is enough” after revealing that 2023 was the worst year for UK venue closures since its launch a decade ago.

The organisation, which represents hundreds of grassroots music venues (GMVs), reveals that 125 GMVs (16%) closed last year – a rate of two per week – with 38% of venues reporting a loss in 2023, according to its newly published annual report.

The remaining 835 members of the Music Venue Alliance (MVA) staged over 187,000 events last year, with 1.7m individual artist performances attracting audience visits of over 23.5m. However, despite generating over £500m in revenues, GMVs made just £2.5m or 0.5% profit for the period.

“2023 was the worst year for venue closures since Music Venue Trust launched ten years ago,” says Beverley Whitrick, COO of Music Venue Trust. “We are still losing on average two venues a week and those that have survived are now consumed by threats to their continued existence that they have no chance of overcoming without immediate help. Without external support our entire sector would be bankrupt.

“We have been warning of these consequences for the last six years yet still the top end of the live music sector posts record profits while, with a few notable exceptions, turning a blind eye to those who discover, nurture and develop the artists that generate that revenue for them.”

“Enough is enough, this report speaks for itself and we will not allow this to continue”

The report, which can be accessed here, also details how the whole sector would have operated at a loss during the period without grants and donations totalling £3.1m from sources including MVT’s own Pipeline Investment Fund, as well as Arts Council England and other bodies.

In total, the amount that GMVs are subsidising live music rose from £79m in 2022 to £115m in 2023 – a 45% increase over the previous 12 months.

With high energy prices and rent increases averaging 37%, 164 member venues accessed the MVT Emergency Response Service which, for the first time since the organisation’s launch a decade ago, found that the primary cause of venue closure was a lack of financial viability.

“Enough is enough, this report speaks for itself and we will not allow this to continue,” adds MVT CEO Mark Davyd. “We must either find a way to act collectively to get these venues and the artists who rely on them the financial support they need to survive or we will seek legislation to compel it.”

The report notes a “distinct contrast” between the profit margins of venues based on their geographical locations, with those in bigger towns being more profitable. Venues in areas with populations under 200,000 reporting an average loss of -2.55%, compared to a 1.7% profit margin in more populated areas.

“We can no longer accept complacency from those in a position to help prevent the annihilation of our sector”

Additionally, venues with a total turnover of less than £500,000 were more likely to have a negative profit margin (averaging -0.5%) compared to those with turnovers exceeding £500,000 (averaging 3%),

Davyd repeats the MVT’s call for a compulsory £1 levy on tickets sold for UK live music events above 5,000 capacity.

“The idea that we, as an industry, cannot voluntarily create a levy to support our grassroots sector, unilaterally and without government intervention is absurd but we cannot escape the fact that we are simply not acting fast enough,” adds Davyd. “For that reason, Music Venue Trust is asking all of the main political parties for manifesto commitments ahead of the forthcoming General Election that state that there must be a contribution from the most successful parts of our industry into the grassroots research and development carried out on their behalf.

“It’s time to stop the excuses – we can no longer accept complacency from those in a position to help prevent the annihilation of our sector.”

 


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MVT lobbies for £1 ticket levy after Moles closure

The Music Venue Trust (MVT) is lobbying the government for a compulsory £1 levy on tickets sold for UK live music events above 5,000 capacity after grassroots venue Moles in Bath was forced to shut down with immediate effect.

Moles opened in 1978 and has hosted early gigs by acts such as Ed Sheeran, The Killers, Fatboy Slim, Oasis, Blur, Radiohead, The Smiths and Idles. But all future events have been cancelled at the storied 220-cap venue after its owners filed for insolvency, citing rising costs and the cost-of-living crisis.

“Making the decision to close Moles was horrendous, but the cost-of-living crisis has crippled us,” says co-owner Tom Maddicott. “Massively increased costs of stock, utilities and rent compounded by our customers also feeling the impact of the crisis has made it impossible to continue.

“It’s obviously an incredibly difficult decision to have to take, for our team, the staff, the local community, and the artists that over the years have created such an incredible history of music. But the reality is that live music at grassroots level is no longer economically viable and we will not be the only grassroots music venue forced to close.”

“Venues like these all over the country are going out of business, whilst helping nurture the artists that will go on to generate millions for the broader music industry”

According to the MVT, more than 120 grassroots venues (15%) have closed and a further 84 are currently in crisis, while at least seven new arenas are currently planned in cities across the UK.

“Today is a very sad day for our sector,” says Mark Davyd, CEO and founder of the MVT. “Grassroots Music Venues like Moles – one of the best loved and most efficiently run venues in the country for almost 45 years – have done everything they can to keep afloat, investing every penny they can into trying to fulfil their commitment to live music.

“Venues like these all over the country are going out of business, whilst helping nurture the artists that will go on to generate millions for the broader music industry. Put bluntly, they have been badly let down by those who profit from their efforts.”

The MVT has long campaigned for the wider live music industry to financially back the grassroots music sector, proposing that every ticket sold at an arena and stadium should make a £1 contribution into its Pipeline Investment Fund. But despite support from the likes of Enter Shikari, promoter Cuffe & Taylor, venues Piece Hall and Swansea Arena, and ticketing companies Ticketmaster, Skiddle and Good Show, Davyd says the business-at-large has been far too slow to react.

“There needs to be a major shake-up of the live industry with the big players supporting the grassroots where it all begins to secure that pipeline of talent”

“Unless it gets serious about its responsibilities to encourage, nurture and develop the grassroots live sector the music industry as a whole will face a catastrophic failure of artist development,” adds Davyd. “In France all major live music events are required to pay 3.5% of each ticket sale into a fund to support grassroots artists and venues.

“We have today written to the government and to opposition parties to insist that, in the event that the music industry will not act voluntarily, a compulsory levy on every ticket sold for every live music event above 5,000 capacity that takes place in the UK must be introduced by legislation to prevent the devastation of the sector.”

Maddicott adds to the calls for broader support, comparing the situation with other industries.

“There needs to be a major shake-up of the live industry with the big players supporting the grassroots where it all begins to secure that pipeline of talent,” he says. “Football gets it with the Premier League investing millions in the grassroots game each year to bring through new players. The music industry needs to do the same before the entire grassroots sector collapses.”

“It is inevitable that there will be more closures if urgent action is not taken”

Elsewhere in the UK, organisers of independent festival Nozstock The Hidden Valley have announced its 2024 edition, set for 18-21 July, will be its last.

“After the losses incurred over Covid, straight into a cost-of-living crisis, the financial risk is becoming too great,” says a statement from the festival, which has been running for 26 years.

Association of Independent Festivals CEO John Rostron says it is “inevitable” that more events will fold without swift intervention.

“It’s incredibly sad to see Nozstock The Hidden Valley forced to close its gates for good as a direct result of the financial strain faced by many following significant Covid losses and an ongoing cost-of-living crisis,” says Rostron. “After almost three decades of great events, Nozstock has become a key fixture on the UK’s independent festival calendar, and this should serve as yet another alarm bell warning of the perilous situation that many in this cultural sector are facing.

“Already, neither NASS Festival and Leopallooza will return in 2024; Bluedot is on a hiatus after a difficult 2023 edition, and the award-winning Field Maneuvers has announced its 2024 festival will be its last in its current form.

“The impact of Covid and high supply chain costs means the squeeze on festivals is increasing. It is inevitable that there will be more closures if urgent action is not taken. We again call on the government to review VAT on music festival ticket sales and lower the rate to 5% for an extended period to help support the recovery of the festival sector.”

 


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The move to protective ownership is a revolution

The Snug is a grassroots music venue hidden away in the heart of Atherton, Greater Manchester [UK], and for years, we have championed new and emerging artists.

We created a place that welcomes everybody, and we cater for all. Our 100-capacity, distinctively cosy living-room-style space invites the world to come in, grab a brew or a beer and relax whilst appreciating those future up-and-coming household names.

Unfortunately, our landlord put the building up for sale, and with the impact of Covid, [it sadly] meant we weren’t in a position to purchase our beloved Snug, so we turned to Music Venue Trust for advice. This was fortunate, as they were just about to launch the Own Our Venues project. We were then accepted into their pilot scheme along with eight other shortlisted venues all at risk of closure. The number of venues that applied to be part of the pilot scheme highlights how real the problems are in the grassroots music venue community.

We are overjoyed that The Snug has become the first of many grassroots music venues to be put into a protective trust with Music Venue Properties [MVP]. Delightfully, the news went viral, and we cannot express the positive impact this development has had in the local area and beyond. As further venues come under the protection of the Music Venue Trust, they will hopefully also achieve the same results and positive impact in their areas.

The protection of grassroots music venues like The Snug, offers the space to nurture local talent but also provides a platform for varied work experience for local young people interested in the music industry. The security this provides us furthers our sense of community, and the pride of ownership in our venue is immeasurable.

“Who will headline festivals when the Rolling Stones have left the planet? Let’s not forget, the Rolling Stones started in grassroots music venues”

The MVP model needs to be adopted in every country in the world. It’s heartbreaking to read how many venues have already closed and how many more are in immediate danger of closing, being lost forever. The move to protective ownership is nothing short of a revolution; a real-life story of what can be achieved when a community rallies behind its cultural treasures.

Other communities and cities can look at MVP and see a model worth building and investing in. The message is clear: grassroots music venues are not for sale to greedy commercial landlords who don’t care what the business is, as long as they can squeeze more rent from tenants while spending little to no money on maintaining or improving the buildings.

We have to ‘own our venues,’ they are the research and development departments for the future of music. They are cultural treasures for everyone. For creative people to flourish and spaces for musicians to hone their craft, obtain feedback from audiences, network with other local musicians, make new friends, or even sell merchandise to fund recording-studio time.

Grassroots music venues are essential to a thriving ecosystem of the music industry. Without these venues, there will be no more stars of tomorrow. Who will be playing the arenas in 30 years’ time? Who will be the future stars to inspire the younger generations? Who will headline festivals when the Rolling Stones have left the planet? Let’s not forget, the Rolling Stones started in grassroots music venues.

Imagine a world without music, where the next generation of musical talent has nowhere to grow and develop. This is what will happen if our grassroots music venues are not protected. The world can learn from The Snug’s journey, by realising that cultural preservation is a collective responsibility and that grassroots music venues deserve to stand the test of time.


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LIVE, MVT respond to chancellor’s Autumn Statement

UK live music organisations have welcomed the extension to business rates relief for grassroots venues announced by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt as  part of his Autumn Statement.

Relief was extended from 50% to 75% from 1 April this year, and Hunt confirmed today that the scheme would run for a further 12 months.

Jon Collins, CEO of trade body LIVE, the voice of the UK’s live music and entertainment business, has spoken out in favour of the move, saying it is both “pivotal” for the grassroots circuit and addresses a “core ask” of the recently published LIVE Music Manifesto 2023.

“LIVE welcomes the extension of the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief scheme for another year in today’s Autumn Statement,” he says. The UK’s live music industry is an engine of growth, generating £5.2 billion in 2022 and employing over 228,000 people last year, with a gig held every four minutes. However, grassroots venues have been operating on a knife edge so it’s crucial that government continues to support this critical part of our sector with the right reliefs and funding mechanisms.

“The government is committed to supporting growth and innovation across the creative industries. The extension of business rates relief will be pivotal for those grassroots venues that are responsible for so much of the R&D in the live music sector.”

The Music Venue Trust (MVT), which works on behalf of over 900 venues across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, also backed the development.

“It was essential to keep this relief in place and we are pleased that our presentations to Treasury were listened to and acknowledged by this outcome”

“The potential cancellation of this relief presented the possibility of an additional £15 million in pre-profit taxation falling onto a grassroots sector suffering a severe crisis; over 100 venues have already closed in the last 12 months,” says MVT CEO Mark Davyd. “It was essential to keep this relief in place and we are pleased that our presentations to Treasury were listened to and acknowledged by this outcome.

“We hope that this further extension into 2025 for this relief will provide the necessary window of opportunity for the government to complete the full review of Business Rates on Grassroots Music Venues, which it committed to in January 2019.”

Davyd notes that the Chancellor’s statement also included the announcement of a significant uplift to minimum wage.

“The grassroots sector is notoriously undervalued and underpaid, from the artists performing through all levels of roles and staffing, up to and including the venue operators themselves,” he says. “In 2022, the average grassroots music venue operator paid themselves £20,400 per annum, delivering 66 hours of work per week at a rate of £6.43 per hour. An uplift to fees and wages across the sector is long overdue.

“We look forward to working with the Chancellor, HM Treasury and DCMS to identify the necessary funding which can deliver this statutory increase to minimum wage and extend the scope and scale of it so that everyone in the grassroots sector can be adequately rewarded for their work.”

Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) CEO John Rostron adds: “We support measures announced in the chancellor’s Autumn Statement that will help businesses in the broader grassroots music sector, such as the freeze on business rates.

”But, as far as independent festivals are concerned, what is urgently needed is the lowering of VAT to 5% on ticket sales. We will continue conversations with the government towards that end.”

 


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Christmas gifting campaign launched to help venues

The independent Charitable Community Benefit Society created by the Music Venue Trust to buy the freeholds of at-risk UK grassroots music venues (GMV) has announced a new festive campaign.

The Music Venue Properties’ (MVP) ‘Give The Gift of Ownership’ initiative encourages music fans to gift shares in the scheme to friends and family this Christmas.

“By supporting the ‘Give The Gift of Ownership’ campaign music fans will provide much needed resources for Music Venue Properties to acquire the freehold of more at-risk grassroots music venues,” says MVP director Chris Prosser.

“With 16% of the UK’s grassroots music venues having closed in the last 12 months at a rate of two per week, this initiative serves as a timely reminder that these are more than just spaces; they are cultural landmarks that have witnessed the rise of legendary bands and the birth of countless musical memories, while also acting as platforms for emerging artists to hone their craft and connect with fans.”

Last month, The Snug (cap. 100) in Atherton, Greater Manchester, became the first GMV to be bought by Music Venue Properties (MVP_, which has already identified nine potential grassroots music venue acquisitions throughout the UK.

“Giving the gift of ownership to friends and family this Christmas supports not only music but strengthens the communities these venues are a part of”

To date almost £2.5 million (€2.9m) has been raised from over 1,200 individual investors and the MVP crowdfunding platform Own Our Venues has now re-opened for further share sales to support the campaign.

Anyone can gift a share under the ‘Give The Gift of Ownership’ initiative here, with a minimum investment of £100 and no upper limit on donations. The recipients of shares automatically become a member and co-owner of the Charitable Community Benefit Society and its assets and will receive a guaranteed 3% APR return on their investment.

When gifting, purchasers simply select ‘This investment is a gift’ and enter the name and address of the recipient in the ‘Registered Address’ section when they checkout.

“Giving the gift of ownership to friends and family this Christmas supports not only music but strengthens the communities these venues are a part of, while proving that the public can and should take ownership of the cultural scenes they build,” adds Prosser.

 


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Ticketmaster to launch upsell option for MVT

Ticketmaster is launching a charity upsell option for the UK’s Music Venue Trust (MVT) to coincide with its sponsorship of this month’s Venues Day.

The upsell, which will launch on Venues Day (17 October) and run for an entire month, means that anyone purchasing a ticket on Ticketmaster will be given the option to make a donation directly to MVT.

The initiative will run annually, with Ticketmaster pledging to match all donations received.

“This upsell provides a practical method for fans to support grassroots music venues, and we are incredibly grateful to the Ticketmaster team for putting it in place,” MVT CEO Mark Davyd tells IQ. “Ticketmaster matching all fan donations is a powerful message for the whole industry about the support our sector needs and the will of the music community to provide it.”

The move follows Ticketmaster’s booking fee rebate launched in 2021, where venues receive a 50% rebate on all booking fees. The ticketing company has been headline sponsor of Venues Day since 2016.

“Ticketmaster has been a long-term and committed partner of MVT, and their core support has been vital in developing us as the authentic voice of grassroots venues, artists and fans,” says Davyd.

The music charity’s annual Venues Day event will take place at The Fireworks Factory in London next Tuesday 17 October. Hundreds of delegates from across the UK’s grassroots music venue (GMV) sector, representing venues throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, have already booked their places at the event.

“We need a radical intervention by everyone: the government, the music industry, artists and fans, to stop these closures”

This year’s theme, ‘Behind the Scenes’, covers workshops, discussions, presentations and networking to offer practical support to the people running venues and connect them with services that can help them.

“This year’s Venues Day is bigger than ever, with more venues attending, more delegates, more partners, and more on offer,” says Davyd. “Our goal is to match the size of the event with the size of ambitions for what is delivered on the day, and what we can bring to the sector.”

Last week saw the UK organisation announce the first acquisition under its Own Our Venues scheme. The Snug (cap. 100) in Atherton, Greater Manchester, became the first GMV to be bought by Music Venue Properties (MVP), the independent Charitable Community Benefit Society (CCBS) created by the MVT.

Own Our Venues was launched as a crowdfunded project in June 2022 as the first step in a long-term campaign to take control of the freeholds of music venue premises and bring them under a protected status of benevolent ownership.

“We believe that live music fans understand exactly how vital these venues are to the future of our whole music ecosystem and how much financial difficulty they are currently facing,” adds Davyd.

“127 grassroots music venues have closed in the last 12 months – more than one is permanently closing every week. We need a radical intervention by everyone: the government, the music industry, artists and fans, to stop these closures and turn this around.”

 


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MVT’s Own Our Venues scheme makes first purchase

Music Venue Trust (MVT) chief Mark Davyd has hailed a “huge moment for grassroots music venues” after the UK organisation announced the first acquisition under its Own Our Venues scheme.

The Snug (cap. 100) in Atherton, Greater Manchester, has become the first GMV to be bought by Music Venue Properties (MVP), the independent Charitable Community Benefit Society (CCBS) created by the MVT (unlike a charity, CCBS can raise money via community shares).

MVP has secured the freehold of the building occupied by The Snug and has placed it into permanent protected status. It has also committed to removing The Snug from the pressures of the commercial lease market by offering a rent reduction and a contribution towards building repairs and insurance.

“I can’t say this often enough – there are solutions to this,” Davyd tells IQ. “A total of 127 [grassroots venues] have closed or stopped putting on live music in the last 12 months. This one will never stop putting on live music.”

Own Our Venues was launched as a crowdfunded project in June 2022 as the first step in a long-term campaign to take control of the freeholds of music venue premises and bring them under a protected status of benevolent ownership. The project was made possible by more than 1,200 individual investors including £500,000 investment from both Arts Council England and Arts & Culture Finance.

“This is not complicated stuff,” adds Davyd. “With a pound on a ticket at [an arena show], you can buy one every five shows. The audiences are telling us they want us to do this. The communities around the country are telling us they want to do this. We’ve gone off and done it.”

“We’ve got another two that are already in the final stages of being completed and we’re hoping to announce those in the next quarter”

The venue’s current operators have signed a ‘cultural lease’, which is an innovative agreement specifically created by MVP to guarantee that, as long as The Snug operates as a space for grassroots live music for their local community, they can enjoy the use of the building.

The official launch event and unveiling of a commemorative plaque was held today (4 October) at The Snug, attended by many of those who helped bring the initiative to fruition.

“Lots of people in music industry told me this wouldn’t work. Well, it has worked,” adds Davyd. “So I’m super-proud that our team has made it happen. I’m super-proud of the community in Atherton. I’m super-proud of the music community across the country that’s invested in this. It’s a huge moment for us and it’s a huge move for grassroots music venues. But we’ve got to do a lot more of it.”

In addition to The Snug, MVP has also identified another eight venues – five in England, one in Scotland and two in Wales – for a pilot project that will allow the scheme to establish proof of concept.

“We’ve got another two that are already in the final stages of being completed and we’re hoping to announce those in the next quarter, and then we’ve got six more that we’re looking at in this round,” says Davyd. “But I want to make it clear that the fund is reopened. Right now, the people who’ve already invested can put more money in and if you haven’t invested yet, we’ve bought a music venue. – come with us and you can own them with us.”

PHOTO (L-R): Claire Mera-Nelson, John Whittingdale MP, Jennifer King, Mark Davyd Rachael Flaszczak, Jamie Lawson

 


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