The government has urged the UK’s live music industry to safeguard the grassroots music sector through a new voluntary additional charge on ticket prices.
On the 14 November 2024, the government made it official policy that every ticket sold at an arena or stadium should contain a voluntary additional charge added to the ticket price, which goes towards supporting grassroots music venues, artists and promoters.
Campaign groups such as Music Venue Trust (MVT) have proposed an optional £1 charitable fee as part of the ticket buying process, enabling customers to have the option of supporting grassroots music venues.
Creative Industries Minister Sir Chris Bryant, said: “Grassroots music venues are one of the UK’s most valuable and yet undervalued cultural assets.”
However, a lot of these indispensable venues have been struggling to survive following the pandemic, soaring energy prices and rent and business rate increases.
A report by MVT, showed 125 UK venues were forced to stop live music and over half of them shut down completely in 2023.
The government’s endorsement of this voluntary additional charge follows the announcement of funding for the creative industries in the Autumn budget, which includes a fund aiming to support grassroots music, delivered by the Arts Council England.
Ministers expect the live music industry to start implementing the optional additional charge on tickets as soon as possible in 2025.
MVT said: “Major positive change is coming for the live music ecosystem.”
But players in the grassroots industry in Manchester did not seem convinced.
The response from grassroots venues:
The Live Music Co-Ordinator of the Peer Hat – a grassroots music venue in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, Nick Kenyon, said: “There’s the word voluntary which allows for interpretation.
“We welcome anything that sounds vaguely positive.
“But there’s a degree of cynicism that creeps in when it comes to dealing with top-down pronouncements like this.”
Kenyon also expressed concern over what the word ‘grassroots’ means in this context and the practicalities of claiming this funding.
He said: “Is there a series of hoops that have to be jumped through?
“Do I have to meet certain criteria?”
MVT has defined what a grassroots music venue is, however, Kenyon continued to highlight the fundamental disconnect between policymakers and those within the grassroots music industry.
“What is it their aware of when they are saying that’s the grassroots?” said Kenyon.
The owner of the Peer Hat explained what grassroots means to him and highlighted the importance of grassroots venues in keeping the heartbeat of music going and nurturing emerging artists.
Kenyon said: “The grassroots is community, and it keeps the flame of music alive and allows us to bounce ideas off one another.
“An emerging artist to me at the Peer Hat, means somebody who has the conception of the absolute true power of music.
“Artist’s job, as they emerge, is to carry the flame of the soul of music, and so a place with a community that is involved and passionate about music is absolutely vital.”
The response from the grassroots artists:
Logan Cooney, 25, who is a prominent rapper, known as ‘Elcee the Alchemist’ in Manchester’s grassroots music scene, voiced doubt around the policy’s effectiveness.
Cooney said: “It all sounds great on paper, but I’ll believe it when I see it.
“I don’t really see it actually coming down to the grassroots.”
The rapper spoke to the value that grassroots music venues have in offering the opportunity for up-and-coming artists to develop.
“Most people don’t go from zero to stardom without anything in between, you’ve got to learn the ropes.
“These opportunities, venues giving me these slots, doing free gigs, open mics, it’s how I was able to get better.
“I’m able to look back and see how all of these different performances – I learned something from all of them.”
Featured image: Photo by Sebastian Ervi: https://www.pexels.com/photo/silhouette-of-people-in-front-of-stage-1763067/
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