Fuelling
the heartbeat
of UK Music

Information on how and when grassroots venues, artists and promoters will be able to apply for funding through Liveline will be shared in due course and the Music Venue Trust team will manage the application process.

If you want to stay updated, please sign up below.

Fans buy their tickets as usual through their ticket provider. Included in the face value ticket price will be a £1 contribution to the grassroots music ecosystem. 

After the event has taken place, this £1 is taken from gross revenues and donated into a holding trust - it is proposed that this trust would be managed by LIVE, the live music industry umbrella body. No money is removed; the whole £1 goes into the trust. It is possible to do this because it is made as a charitable donation and is therefore not subject to tax, PRS fees, building rental costs etc. MVT has been working with HMRC to get a binding agreement to this process, and has also spoken with PRS for Music and others to ensure that this is achievable.   

Once in the trust, the money will be allocated to agreed organisations within the live industry who will be given grant-making responsibility to distribute these funds. Venues, artists, and promoters will be able to apply for funding to an organisation that already has an established record of distributing funding effectively to the relevant sectors. 

MVT supports the creation of a LIVE trust that demonstrates broad representation for all industry stakeholders, including having venues from GMVs to arenas, artists and their representatives, and national and independent promoters among its trustees.

The venue sector already has an effective mechanism to distribute such a fund and can work broadly with other organisations active in the grassroots sector so that such a fund has the most impact on the purpose for which it is required: ensuring that local communities have access to high quality music experiences in their town or city, and the continued and sustainable development of world-class British talent.

MVT and SOS believe that it should be, yes. Now known as the ‘Enter Shikari model’ (after the band adopted this on their 2024 tour) £1 from every ticket is effectively ‘donated’ from gross revenues of ticket sales to the trust. This is to avoid any of the £1 being extracted for other purposes (such as VAT). 

We believe that fans should not face additional ‘add-on’ fees that are already creating considerable extra costs such as ‘booking fees’ and ‘print your ticket at home’ fees. The grassroots contribution should not, in our view, be an additional fee; it should, like the production of the event, the rider, the catering, and the security, be an inherent component of the cost of any event. The grassroots contribution is not an additional tax, it is a reasonable and justified contribution into research and development.  

The money is donated to a charitable holding trust. MVT, SOS & Liveline support the creation of that trust by LIVE, the umbrella body that represents live music in the UK.  

There will be a strict application and grant process for venues, artists and promoters applying for funding from the grassroots contribution fund. Those involved in distributing the fund will come together to decide on a fair, unilateral application process and criteria which will ensure funding is directed towards certain projects that support the development and growth of the venues, artists and promoters.

We look forward to supporting promoters through this fund in the hope to get artists and events touring again. We will be looking to work with the Association of Independent Promoters to identify how that would best be done. As this is one of the first funds to have a distribution mechanism for promoters, we have to factor in the key roles and factors played by promoters in the grassroots sector. 

We believe the grassroots contribution is a long-term plan to ensure the financial sustainability of grassroots music venues. If enacted successfully, the ongoing financial viability of the trust will be secured through the continuing success of UK arena shows and festivals, evidenced by the fact that eight new arenas are due to open in the UK in the next five years, including most recently the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester. It will only be through poor implementation - such as through artist donations made on a tour-by-tour basis - that the grassroots contribution will fail. 

We do not believe financial viability is the only challenge GMVs face, however, or that the grassroots contribution is the only solution. MVT is advocating for a range of long-term policies to ensure the financial sustainability of grassroots music venues. You can read about Venues specifically in MVT’s manifesto here.

Into Liveline specifically, we are looking to open up donations, collaborations and partnerships from companies, organisations, brands, premises and artists. Outside of these contributions, the whole industry has a duty and responsibility to invest in research and development. 

As for the aim of the grassroots contribution and levy is that those in the music industry making the most profit, reinvest in the talent pipeline that supports and continues to drive those profits. The contribution will come from those involved in the design, promotion, and execution of music performances 

It should be noted that the leading arena owners and event promoters operating in the UK are national subsidiaries of multinational entities. These companies are already making financial contributions to schemes elsewhere in the world which ensure that grassroots music venues and artists benefit from the success at the top of the industry which they have contributed to.