Live At Leeds 2016 (Gary Mather for Live4ever)
“Our aim is to create a ‘National Trust of Music Venues’, where great live music will be a permanent fixture of the landscape or our towns and cities,” Mark Davyd, CEO Music Venue Trust, says.
The Music Venue Trust has today announced a new, ambitious step in its drive to secure the long-term futures of the UK’s grassroots music venues.
The Music Venue Properties initiative will be driven by a Charitable Community Benefit Society raising money from the purchase of shares which will in turn allow the trust to buy the freeholds of music clubs.
“The long-term security and prosperity of grassroots music venues depends almost entirely on one thing – ownership,” Davyd continues.
“Too many have been at the mercy of some commercial landlords whose motivations revolve primarily around profit.”
“We have lost over a third of our venues in the last 20 years and with over 90% having only 18 months left on their tenancies we are at the cliff edge and could see the decimation of our sector if we don’t do something radical about it.”