£97,516.97 Distributed to UK Grassroots Music Venues
A music venue in Leicester has received a grant from the charity Music Venue Trust (MVT).
It's part of a fourth round of recipients for its major new funding initiative, which provides grants of up to £5,000 for UK Grassroots Music Venues.
2 Funky Music Cafe received £4165.83 from MVT’s Pipeline Investment Fund to pay for a new sound desk to replace a 7-year-old analogue desk.
Venue Manager Sam Warren said: “We have been in need of a new mixing board for some time, and the Pipeline Investment Fund will allow us to get a new state-of-the-art digital mixer.
"This funding has allowed the 2 Funky Music Cafe the opportunity to increase productivity and modernize the venue space, as well as improve the sound quality for both visiting audience members and musicians performing in the venue space.
"This allows us to champion a diverse variety of music and art, creating opportunities for aspiring Leicester artists.”
The Pipeline Investment Fund, established in 2022, is primarily funded by ticket sales of MVT’s recent ‘Revive Live’ programme of gigs around the UK, a hugely successful partnership with The National Lottery.
To date, £165,000 worth of grants have been awarded to 38 Grassroots Music Venues since December.
This fourth round of payments sees a total sum of £97,516.97 awarded to a further 23 GMVs across the country.
Mark Davyd, CEO of Music Venue Trust said, “This fourth round of the Pipeline Investment Fund once again demonstrates how much difference small amounts of money, wisely invested, can make for Grassroots Music Venues.
"With grassroots music venues facing extraordinary challenges right now, Music Venue Trust is determined to keep pressing the music industry and government to support this fund and ensure music communities right across the country can continue to access the very best in live music.”
The fund prioritises support for organisations who may have been excluded from other available funding and was open to all venue operators and organisations that meet any of the three definitions of a Grassroots Music Space, which can be found here.
Music Venue Trust is still actively seeking further donations, particularly from the wider music industry, to maintain and expand the Pipeline Investment Fund. There needs to be a permanent source of support for Grassroots Music Venues.
Contact ozlem@musicvenuetrust.com for details of how this work can be supported.
MVT calls for government support
In January, Music Venue Trust released their 2022 Annual Report, which was launched at a reception for MPs at The House of Commons.
The report details the immense contribution of Grassroots Music Venues to the UK economy, and the current threat they face as a result of the cost-of-living crisis and ongoing post-covid recovery.
MVT is calling on the government to review the VAT on ticket sales that is currently limiting profitability and crushing a sector responsible for nurturing new, upcoming talent in the UK. It's this talent that goes on to define British culture and create huge profit for the industry.
The report also outlines plans to ensure all new arenas opening in the UK contribute to the wider music eco-system by investing a percentage of every ticket sale into Grassroots Venues.
As, without the work of GMVs to nurture new talent, there will be no big artists to fill these venues in the coming years.
