Taxi app FREENOW has announced a new scheme to support Music Venue Trust’s Pipeline Investment Fund, which in turn provides financial support to grassroots music venues.
With the Ride For Music scheme, users of FREENOW will have the option to make a £1 donation to MVT when booking a ride, with the donation not actually adding to the cost for the user. The taxi app company has committed to provide at least £200,000 in support.
The new scheme has been launched alongside the results of a new survey in which 80% of respondents agreed that a music scene is very important to city life and 84% said they enjoy discovering new music through live events. Two thirds said they prefer more intimate shows at smaller venues. And 43% would prioritise a gig over meeting their friends at a pub, and one in ten would even decline a wedding invite in favour of seeing some live music.
And yet it’s no secret that grassroots music venues are facing significant financial challenges at the moment, with MVT reporting that 16% of venues operating at the grassroots level have closed in the last year. Nearly half of those surveyed by FREENOW were not aware of this trend.
Welcoming the new scheme, MVT CEO Mark Davyd says: "The Ride For Music initiative from FREENOW gives every music fan in the UK an incredible opportunity to play a role in directly supporting grassroots music venues. It's exactly the type of joined up, creative thinking that we need to tackle the crisis facing our grassroots sector”.
"People can make a genuine difference to Music Venue Trust's ability to prevent venue closures, support artists, crew and staff”, he adds. “FREENOW have made it simple for you to be part of the solution, and help the whole music and night time economy”.