Grassroots music venues in the UK closed down at a rate of two per week in 2023, says the latest annual report from the Music Venue Trust.
According to its research, the grassroots venue sector at large achieved a 0.5% profit margin on the £500 million in revenues it generated. Without support from grants and donations, including MVT's own Pipeline Investment Fund, the sector would have operated at a loss. Meanwhile, the top end of the live business is booming.
“Enough is enough", MVT CEO Mark Davyd declared at the launch of the new report. "We will not allow this to continue. We must either find a way to act collectively to get these venues and the artists who rely on them the financial support they need to survive or we will seek legislation to compel it".
MVT has been campaigning for a levy to be applied to ticket sales on large-scale shows to provide support for the grassroots sector, similar to a scheme already in place in France. Last month it said that, if the industry couldn't agree to a voluntary scheme, the government should seek to create some kind of levy system through legislation.
Confirming that the trade group is now seeking manifesto commitments for such support from all the UK political parties ahead of the next general election, Davyd continued, "the idea that we, as an industry, cannot voluntarily create a levy to support our grassroots sector, unilaterally and without government intervention, is absurd but we cannot escape the fact that we are simply not acting fast enough".
It's no secret that the grassroots live sector has been facing significant challenges ever since the COVID shutdowns ended. High energy costs and rent increases averaging at 37% are cited by MVT as being particularly problematic.
As a result, 125 grassroots venues closed last year, while 38% of those still operating reported a loss despite increased demand for tickets. According to the MVT report, the 835 members of the organisation's Music Venue Alliance employ over 28,000 people and staged over 187,000 events in 2023, with 1.7 million individual artist performances attracting audience visits of over 23.5 million. That resulted in over £500 million in revenues, but total profits for the sector were just £2.5 million.
“2023 was the worst year for venue closures since Music Venue Trust launched ten years ago”, added MVT COO Beverley Whitrick. “We are still losing on average two venues a week and those that have survived are now consumed by threats to their continued existence that they have no chance of overcoming without immediate help. Without external support our entire sector would be bankrupt".
"We have been warning of these consequences for the last six years", she went on. "Yet still the top end of the live music sector posts record profits while, with a few notable exceptions, turning a blind eye to those who discover, nurture and develop the artists that generate that revenue for them".