Music Venue Trust distributes £230,000 to grassroots music venues in crisis

Last month, Music Venue Trust launched a traffic light system to save grassroots venues in crisis. There are currently 30 grassroots venues in the red zone, which means they are at risk of closing permanently by 31 March 2021.

Today (18 December), the Music Venue Trust has distributed a further £230,000 worth of funding to 24 of the grassroots music venues in urgent need of assistance after being unable to access the UK government's Cultural Recovery Fund.

Since the pandemic forced music venues to close in March, the Music Venue Trust has secured over £80 million in donations and government initiatives through their #saveourvenues campaign, helping to secure the futures of over 400 music venues until 31 March 2021.

Music Venue Trust CEO Mark Davyd said, "As we approach the end of this horrendous year for grassroots music venues we felt the need to make a direct intervention in order to provide some relief for 24 venues who were unable to access the funding they need to survive. We have received incredible support from audiences, artists, individual donors, companies who have made financial contributions and from the wider music sector. As a result, we are able to make a distribution of £230k of emergency funding to stave off the immediate threat of closure and provide a firm footing for survival."

Davyd added, "We want to thank everyone who has helped, supported and contributed to our #saveourvenues campaign this year, including the UK government, particularly the Department of Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), Arts Council England, Mayor of London, and local authorities around the country; it has been truly overwhelming and humbling to see how much grassroots music venues matter to so many people. We particularly want to thank our friends in the media for continuing to shine a spotlight on the plight of grassroots music venues."