An average of two grassroots music venues will close permanently every week in 2023, in what industry insiders have described as the “most difficult” year in a decade.
The annual report from the Music Venue Trust, a charity set up to protect and improve live music spaces in the UK, found that 125 spaces have closed their doors to live music in the past 12 months. did.
High-profile incidents include the popular Bath club Malls, which has produced future stars such as Oasis, The Killers and Ed Sheeran.
Announcing the news in December, the co-owners said it was a “horrible” decision but they had no other choice as they were seeking “massive change” in the live music industry.
The report also revealed that despite contributing more than £500m to the economy and employing nearly 30,000 people, the grassroots scene remains “significantly underfunded compared to other cultural sectors”. did.
MVT representatives said the report highlights the challenges still facing the majority of live music spaces, even as companies and artists at the top end of the industry enjoy record revenues and profits. He said it depicts a “difficult situation.”
“2023 was the worst year for venue closures since Music Venue Trust was founded 10 years ago,” Music Venue Trust chief operating officer Beverley Whitrick said in a statement. mentioned in.
“We are still losing two venues a week on average and those that have survived are now under threat to their survival with no hope of overcoming without immediate help.”
She added: “Without external support, our entire industry will go bankrupt. We have been warning about these impacts for the past six years, but the top end of the live music sector remains While they’re making record profits, with a few notable exceptions, they’re turning a blind eye to the people who discover, nurture, and grow the artists whose income goes to them. .”
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Music Venue Trust chief executive Mark David said the report spoke for itself and warned that the situation could not continue.
“We urge these venues and the artists who rely on them to either find a way to collectively act to get the financial support they need to survive, or seek legislation to force them to do so. It has to be one or the other,” he said.
David has repeatedly called for the introduction of a levy to ensure that “the most successful parts of the industry” contribute to the grassroots scene that has produced many of Britain’s biggest artists.
“The idea that we, as an industry, cannot unilaterally and without government intervention create a voluntary levy to support the grassroots sector is ridiculous, but we get away from the fact that we are simply not moving fast enough. “I can’t do that,” he said.
“It’s time to stop making excuses. We can no longer accept complacency from those in a position to prevent the destruction of our sector.”
Last year, the Music Venue Trust successfully launched its ‘Own Our Venues’ scheme, creating a National Trust-style venture where organizations raise money to buy music spaces and secure their future.
The plan is backed by artists including Ed Sheeran, who said in 2022 that independent venues were “hugely important” to the community.
Singer-songwriter Frank Turner, a long-time campaigner for British music venues and a former ambassador for Independent Venue Week, said: independent person that grassroots spaces are essential for nurturing new talent;
“Underground, independent music venues are an essential part of popular music in our culture and, as such, an important element of our culture and economy,” he said.
“They are de facto research and development departments, allowing new talent to develop, find an audience, and then move on to bigger jobs. But they are also less ambitious ( However, it also provides a place for an entire ecosystem of artistically valid (artistically legitimate) forms of artistic expression to flourish.
“Any society that is serious about its own arts, culture, and self-expression would clearly treat them with the respect they deserve. In my opinion, the fact that we largely don’t do that makes it It tells a story.”