Connecting the live music industry
One Third of UK Grassroots Venue Operators Go Unpaid
November2
One in three grassroots venue operators across the UK go unpaid, with many using their own money to keep live music alive, according to Music Venue Trust CEO Mark Davyd.
Music Venue Trust CEO Mark Davyd has shared a post with his reflection on the people behind the UK’s grassroots music scene, describing the 30,000-strong workforce that keeps live music alive as “the country’s most efficient happiness generator.”
In a post on Substack, Davyd painted a vivid picture of the unseen labour that sustains the network of 800 grassroots music venues across the UK — from engineers and bar managers to unpaid volunteers who, he said, “turn up early, leave late, and know exactly where the mop lives.”
According to Davyd, the sector collectively employs around 30,865 people, including an average of 17 PAYE staff per venue and additional contractors and volunteers. Yet the business model remains fragile. One-third of venue operators do not pay themselves, and nearly one in five subsidise their own venues with income from other jobs.
Despite declining volunteer capacity and increasing financial strain, grassroots venues continue to deliver more than 162,000 events annually, drawing nearly 19 million audience visits and providing over a million performance opportunities for emerging artists.
“This is what resilience looks like,” Davyd wrote. “Not a word in a funding application, but a bartender counting change at 2am, still joking with the regulars… They’re keeping culture alive not through heroism but through competence.”
With VIP-Booking.com, you can search for anyone in the live music industry — try it yourself!
Search Artists:
Trusted by professionals in the live music industry around the world for 25 years!
