You’ll be able to assist save these seven UK grassroots music venues endlessly

Music Venue Properties have introduced plans to save lots of and safe the way forward for an additional seven UK grassroots gig areas via group possession – and you may be a part of it.

Final 12 months noticed the UK lose one music venue each fortnight, with latest warnings that the speed would enhance to 1 per week in 2025 with out pressing authorities motion – solely including to regional areas affected by what’s been known as “the entire collapse of touring”.

Over the previous few years, there was an elevated name for music venues to personal their very own buildings to forestall them from being kicked out by landlords. Because of this, the Music Venue Properties scheme has been shopping for up buildings for beloved gig areas and is now stepping up its efforts in what’s been described as a “Nationwide Belief for music venues” scheme.

The subsequent part of its groundbreaking ‘Personal Our Venues’ venture will see them enhance the variety of benevolent landlords for music venues throughout the UK, guaranteeing these areas have the longevity to plan for future. To this point, £2.88million has been raised with MVP shopping for 5 venues throughout the UK.

“These venues won’t ever shut – they are going to be there endlessly,” Music Venue Belief CEO Mark Davyd stated at a launch occasion at Brighton’s The Nice Escape earlier this month. Trying to ‘part two’, he continued: “We’re going to be shopping for a few of the most iconic venues within the nation, and also you generally is a shareholder in Personal Our Venues. Each single certainly one of it’s best to have a share.

“For £100, you would be a co-owner within the 5 venues they already personal and now they’re going to place that cash right into a pot and purchase seven extra venues.”

The venues up for grabs embody The Lubber Fiend inNewcastle, Nottingham’s Peggy’s Skylight, The Pipeline in Brighton, Stoke’s legendary The Sugarmill the world well-known Bedford Esquires and the historic Joiners in Southampton. The seventh venue is one which’s truly being restored and returned.

“The music group are the individuals who ought to personal these buildings – not landlords on some distant tax exile haven,” Davyd continued. “You like these buildings so it’s best to personal them. It’s a radical thought, but it surely’s the one one which is sensible and can ultimately cease these venues from closing down.

“What in regards to the locations which have misplaced venues and the music they love? The seventh venue is one we’re bringing again. We’re re-opening The Croft in Bristol.”

The Personal Our Venues initiative focuses on eradicating grassroots music venues from weak industrial leases by inserting them into group possession to “present long-term stability to venues which are important for fostering native expertise and offering cultural worth to present, native infrastructure”

Venues saved by the scheme to date embody The Cosy in Atherton, The Ferret in Preston, Le Pub in Newport, The Bunkhouse in Swansea and The Reserving Corridor in Dover. Now, MVP want to save additional venues with a ‘cultural lease’ that “gives long-term safety by providing stability that typical industrial leases” and “guarantee honest, sustainable hire, annual contributions towards important upkeep, and ongoing help in areas similar to monetary sustainability and operational greatest apply”.

“We welcome Music Venue Properties’ possession of our constructing as the one actual answer to securing one of the necessary reside music venues within the UK,” stated Ricky Bates, Venue Operator of The Joiners, Southampton stated. “For nearly 60 years, The Joiners has been an important a part of the UK touring circuit and a inventive cornerstone of Southampton, however as we speak its future is unsure. Our lease expires this 12 months, our landlord is retiring and, whereas the venue is wealthy in historical past, the constructing is over 200 years outdated and in want of care.

“In as we speak’s economic system, it merely isn’t viable for us as people to buy the property however, with the help of the Personal Our Venues marketing campaign and the broader music group, we will safe The Joiners for the following 60 years and past. Be a part of this historic second – get entangled and assist shield grassroots music for generations to return.”

Gareth Barber, Director of Bedford Esquires added: “Sadly, we face the actual prospect of Bedford not having this venue throughout the subsequent 5 years. Our landlord has determined to retire and we’re unable to increase the lease. The fact is the venue sits on prime growth land and any potential purchaser will undoubtedly need to do the unthinkable. With out being a part of this initiative, there isn’t a possible approach of having the ability to elevate sufficient cash to maintain the venue for the city, which might rip the guts out of the group. With MVP behind us we will proceed to develop, with a strong basis for our future.”

Chief Working Officer of MVP Matthew Otridge defined how “the important thing risk to the grassroots music venue sector has at all times been that of property possession”.

“Over 90 per cent of GMVs are tenants and are sometimes in a weak place after they and their landlords don’t share the identical targets,” he revealed. “It’s a bleak statistic however 35 per cent of venues have closed within the final 20 years and in 2024 one other 86 both closed or now not operated as GMVs.”

Otridge stated that the reside music sector was “standing at a crossroads however there’s a answer”.

“Individuals can assist us to place in place actual, sustainable options,” he added. “Music Venue Properties has proven in simply three years that group possession can safe and protect venues completely, and this success has led us to establish new alternatives to buy a few of the UK’s greatest cherished, longest-running venues and to launch our second share provide to safe these key cultural areas.”

A second group share provide to assist save these venues is open now and can shut on July 31, 2025. Visit here for extra data and to get entangled.

This comes as Richard Hawley not too long ago known as for the legislation to be modified on music venue possession, following the lack of The Leadmill in Sheffield beneath new landlords who bought the freehold however vow to maintain it working as “a cornerstone of the reside music scene in Sheffield, supporting artists, followers, and group tasks for the following 100 years”.

Earlier this month noticed musicians and trade leaders collect at a authorities listening to into the state of UK grassroots music, the place it was warned that not sufficient progress was being made in saving venues and new artists by way of the proposed ticket levy for gigs at area degree and above.