Connecting the live music industry
Fundraising Delivers £100k Boost to 38 UK Grassroots Venues
September4
Music Venue Trust (MVT) has announced that more than £100,000 raised from Sam Fender’s 2024 arena tour has been distributed to 38 grassroots music venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The funding, allocated through MVT’s Liveline Fund, has been split between emergency relief and improvement grants.
Nineteen venues received immediate support through the Emergency Hardship Relief Fund and Emergency Response Team, which provide interventions for challenges such as licensing issues, financial crises, or unexpected incidents like floods and fires. Another 19 venues received over £50,000 in grants for upgrades to facilities, equipment, and infrastructure.
The Liveline Fund was established by MVT and Save Our Scene (SOS) to channel contributions from arena and stadium ticket sales directly into grassroots venues, artists, and promoters. Early supporters of the scheme include Sam Fender, Katy Perry, Coldplay, and Enter Shikari.
Sam Fender said: “It’s brilliant to see that the money raised from the arena tour is making a real difference to so many venues. The grassroots circuit has been decimated over the last 10 years or so and the idea that money from shows in big venues supports the smaller venues, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just common sense. These places are legendary.”
Venues to benefit include The Hunter Club in Bury St Edmunds, Paper Dress Vintage in London, The White Hotel in Manchester, Clwb Ifor Bach in Cardiff, and Glasgow’s Sub Club. Many highlighted the impact of the funding, with The Hunter Club describing it as “a game-changer” and Sub Club noting it enabled essential repairs to its ‘Body Sonic’ dance floor system.
Mark Davyd, CEO of MVT, said: “This contribution from Sam Fender, his management, and his team has created a real and lasting impact on the grassroots music ecosystem. These venues are the places where artists like Sam take their first steps, where local communities come together, and where live music truly begins. By investing directly into their future, we are strengthening the entire live music sector.”
MVT has stressed the importance of such initiatives, pointing to its 2024 Annual Report, which found that grassroots venues operated on average profit margins of just 0.48%, with 43.8% reporting a loss.
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