Music Venue Trust (MVT), the charity that represents hundreds of UK grassroots music venues (GMVs), has announced six new patrons, who will become the organisation’s latest high profile supporters and advocates.
Joining MVT’s existing list of patrons are acclaimed musician Kate Nash, MP for Brighton Pavilion Sian Berry, live music agent Summer Marshall, Robert Kilpatrick, CEO and Creative Director, Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA), Neal Thompson, Co-founder, FOCUS Wales, and Colin Newman, Artist & Independent Label Manager.
These new patrons join musicians including Sir Paul McCartney, Nova Twins, Frank Turner and Tim Burgess, broadcasters who include Steve Lamacq MBE and Gemma Bradley, and patrons from industry and politics including Sony Music’s Jason Iley, John Whittingdale MP and Kerry McCarthy MP all of whom have already demonstrated their commitment to saving and protecting GMVs
MVT’s recently published Annual Report, which was launched at The Houses of Paliament in January, demonstrated that despite a range of recent positive activity such as the continued success of Music Venue Properties (MVP), which has now secured freehold ownership of five GMVs, and the publication of a Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) report that made strong recommendations to support grassroots music, it is clear that significant work is still needed to prevent a continued decline of the sector.
A survey of the 810 members of the Music Venues Alliance (MVA), who employ over 30,000 people throughout the GMV community, found that they staged over 162,000 live music events comprising almost 1.5m individual artist performances given to a total audience of just under 20 million. The total direct value to the UK economy from these events was £526m. However, on average GMV’s, 33% of which are now registered as not-for profit entities – a 29% increase in not-for-profit registration since 2023 – operated on a profit margin of just 0.48% with 43.8% of them reporting a loss in the last 12 months. This means that the sector as a whole effectively subsidised live music activity to the tune of £162m.
The report also highlighted the huge decline in locations on the UK’s primary and secondary touring circuits. In the 30 year period between 1994 and 2024 those touring locations have collapsed, with an average tour in 1994 including 22 dates and the equivalent tour in 2024 consisting of only 11 dates. In 2024, just 12 locations, all of them major cities, remained as primary and secondary touring circuit stops, acting as regular hosts to grassroots tours.
The new patrons all spoke about why they had joined forces with MVT and the importance of GMVs :
Sian Berry MP , who also spoke about the importance of GMVs at the Annual Report launch:
“I have seen firsthand the incredible and tireless work of the Music Venue Trust in supporting Grassroots Music Venues across the UK. My constituency of Brighton Pavilion is home to so many amazing grassroots venues. The Green Door Store, Alphabet, Rossi Bar, The Prince Albert, Hope and Ruin, The Folklore Rooms and Komedia – and so many more. All of these venues work extremely closely with MVT and I’ve heard from them directly about the invaluable support and advice they receive all year round. As an MP it’s hugely reassuring to have the insights and expertise of all of the team at MVT and I’m looking forward to working together for these special community spaces.”
ENDS