Music Venue Trust is calling on the music industry, cultural sector and the UK’s most successful musicians to come together to create a £1 million fighting fund to prevent the permanent closure of hundreds of Grassroots Music Venues across the UK.
Despite Government action, over 550 Grassroots Music Venues remain under immediate threat of closure, representing the potential permanent loss of over 5,000 jobs, over 100,000 concerts, over 300,000 performances by musicians, and over 1 million temporary employment opportunities for gig economy workers.
These devastating outcomes for musicians, production and touring crew and everyone who relies on the grassroots sector would be per annum and permanent. Any Grassroots Music Venue permanently closed by this crisis will not be reopened.
To avoid a catastrophic outcome for our grassroots artists, workers and musicians, Music Venue Trust is today launching a Grassroots Music Venue Crisis Fund. The GMVCF will give MVT the funding it needs to place its existing Emergency Response service on a crisis footing. Last year, the Emergency Response Service prevented 91 closures in 12 months. In the next 3 months alone, MVT needs the resources and financial backing to prevent over 550 potential closures. MVT’s Emergency Response Service will defend each individual venue that comes under threat of permanent closure as and when it happens, taking actions required to prevent that venue from being permanently lost. MVT’s Emergency Response Service has a proven track record in preventing venue closures and has been successful in 98% of threatened closure cases.
MVT needs to raise £1 million from the music industry, cultural sector and high net worth individuals to fully fund this service. With this funding MVT they will be able to respond directly and dynamically to every threatened closure and provide emergency financial support when required to prevent the permanent closure of Grassroots Music Venues.
They say “with your help, Music Venue Trust believes we can prevent every closure. We won’t accept that this crisis should result in 500 closures. Or 200. Or even 100. With your help, we can fight every single one.
Music Venue Trust want to save every single Grassroots Music Venue in the UK so that it can reopen after this crisis and continue to be a home to our musicians and our communities. Please join us.”
Donations to the Grassroots Music Venue Crisis Fund can be arranged by contacting Beverley Whitrick – [email protected] 07809 155388.
