Music Venue Trust (MVT), a UK registered charity, have created ‘The Artist Pledge’, that is asking artists who have now reached arena level success to give back to grassroots venues.
Following the pandemic, grassroots venue’s suffered immensely, and faced £90 million debt in 2021 as a result of increasing costs after Coronavirus. Thanks to MVT’s campaign, #SaveOurVenues, they received many donations and support, allowing the majority to survive their re-opening post-pandemic.
However, many music venues are still in a precarious situation, which they found from their annual report, leading to their new pledge. This pledge asks major music labels to pay back into grassroots venue, allowing them to survive and thrive. MVT have confirmed that over 45 artists have already signed the pledge, including: The K’s, Enter Shikari, and Frank Turner. This will ensure that artists acknowledge where their careers began, and how they’ve grown, alongside aiding smaller venues economically by paying a small amount back to these venues when they begin performing in arenas.
Enter Shikari have been particularly vocal about the importance of this, and announced that £1 from every ticket of their 2024 tour will be donated to MVT. Lou Reynolds, the four piece’s front man, told NME that “Grassroots music venues in the UK are under existential threat. Every time we lose another one we lose a vital part of our culture”.
MVT presented their requests at Parliament, and reminded listeners of the heavily demanded levy on gig ticket for events at arenas, due to the detrimental impact it is having on smaller venues. The report found that around two live music venues are closing each week, emphasising the importance of the levy and this pledg
