The Music Venue Trust has suggested that the UK music industry should use a similar approach to the Premier league in having a ticket levy on Premier league football matches which goes towards supporting grassroots football and upcoming talent. The Music Venue Trust praised the system used by the Premier league via their X account on the 6th of July just before the England football team beat Switzerland to progress to the semifinals of the UEFA Euros.
The trust highlighted how football has a framework in place that helps fund the lower levels of English football in order to help nurture young talent and help emerging players progress, suggesting this approach could be utilised within the music industry to halp grassroots venues.
The post read “As the England team head towards the Euro Quarter-Final, we’re reminded that top-tier football teams in the UK invest a small levy from stadium tickets back into supporting the smaller clubs that feed the talent pipeline.”
The post continued highlighting how the Premier league “nurture young talent at a grassroots level, and support finding it in every corner and community, so that every kid – from every walk of life – has a chance to walk out onto the biggest stage and do what they do best.”
They then asked why the Music industry can’t do the same, saying that “A £1 levy on stadium and arena tickets for concerts would generate millions of pounds of vital income to ensure that the UK keeps creating national heroes.”
As the England team head towards the Euro Quarter-Final, we’re reminded that top-tier football teams in the UK invest a small levy from stadium tickets back into supporting the smaller clubs that feed the talent pipeline.#Euro2024 pic.twitter.com/DvvYiLDv27
— Music Venue Trust (@musicvenuetrust) July 6, 2024
This came shortly after the news that Lisa Nandy had been appointed as the secretary of state for Culture, Media and Sport following the 2024 UK General Election where the Labour party won a landslide victory over the Conservative party.
Prior to the General Election the Music Venue Trust published a manifesto for Grassroots music where they set out a series of steps that they say need to be taken in order to stabilise to grassroots music sector and stop the rapid closures of grassroots music venues. The manifesto called for £1 from every ticket sold at stadium or arena level to be invested back into grassroots venues. The manifesto also called for a VAT reduction for ticketing in grassroots music venues as well as calling for the removal of business rates for Grassroots music venues.
Speaking on the manifesto for grassroots music, Music Venue Trust CEO, Mark Davyd said that 38% of Grassroots music venues made a loss in the last year and that overall, the grassroots music sector operated at a profit margin of 0.5%. “We therefore call on all political representatives, from all parties, to seize the moment and drive forward this change. We have a chance to save UK Grassroots Music Venues from the crisis they currently face, and we should not let it slip.” Davyd said.
A report by the Music Venue Trust at the end of 2023 revealed just how dire the state pf the grassroots music venue industry is with 125 venues closing down last year or 16% of all grassroots music venues.
DOWNLOAD and read the full Manifesto for Grassroots Music: https://t.co/auSonGEoNI
SHARE this post to your social media with the hashtag #VoteForMusic.
WRITE to the prospective MPs in your constituency and ask them to commit to the Manifesto for Grassroots Music. pic.twitter.com/MK5TBDmDfv
— Music Venue Trust (@musicvenuetrust) June 11, 2024
