Gary Mather for Live4ever
140 music venues in the UK have been taken off the ‘critical’ list mere weeks after the launch of the #saveourvenues campaign.
The initiative was launched less than a month ago after the coronavirus pandemic put an already perilous situation into even graver, sharper focus, but thanks to crowdfunding donations from music fans, industry insiders and more – as well as interventions from public bodies such as The London Mayor’s Office, Creative Wales and Arts Council England – over £1.5million has been raised.
“The fact we have managed to remove 140 grassroots music venues off of our critical list in the last three weeks is, of course, a cause for celebration,” Music Venue Trust CEO Mark Davyd responds. “But we are not complacent as this is only a relatively short-term fix. Whilst the immediate threat of closure for these venues has been halted, they are still under real threat in the coming months as are over 400 others.”
“This is a good start and we can’t emphasise how grateful we are to those music fans, music industry companies and public organisations who have supported the #saveourvenues campaign so far, but we cannot relax as we still have a mountain to climb to secure the long-term future of this sector. We still desperately need more music industry companies to step up and help with donations alongside real action from government specifically around rent relief, more financial help and clearer guidance.”
