Music Venue Trust (MVT) has revealed the first recipients of its new funding initiative, the Pipeline Investment Fund, which provides grants of up to £5,000 ($6,000/€5,800) for UK grassroots music venues.
The fund was established with support from Music Venues Alliance members, and was primarily funded by donations from ticket sales of MVT’s recent ‘Revive Live’ programme of gigs across the UK – a partnership with The National Lottery.
Grassroots music venues were invited to apply for small-scale grants to support key areas and small projects such as work to lights, sound, access, ventilation and minor building alterations. Grants could also be used for staff and training, with a focus on workforce diversification, succession planning, skills development and strengthening the relationship with the local community.
Eleven grassroots music venues have now received almost £40,000 in total for projects across lighting, sound, equipment purchases, air conditioning units and building work.
Recipients include Alexander’s Live in Chester, Ayr’s Venue38, The Louisiana in Bristol, The Grayston Unity in Halifax, Manchester’s Retro, Chats Palace in London, Backstage at the Green in Kinross, Sheffield’s Dorothy Pax, Servant Jazz Quarters in London, Snug in Atherton and Colchester’s Three Wise Monkeys.
The fund prioritised organisations that may have been excluded from other available funding. However, the scheme was open to all venue operators and organisations that meet the definitions of a grassroots music space.
Mark Davyd, founder and chief executive of Music Venue Trust, said: “The Pipeline Investment Fund is proof of what a huge difference relatively small amounts of money can make to local grassroots music venues. Music Venue Trust is investing this money directly into facilities for artists and for local music communities improving venues for everyone.
“We’d like to see every stadium and arena show in the country making a small contribution to this fund. Every headline artist should be able to know with confidence that when they reach the top of our industry the impact of their success ripples back to directly support the venues and communities where they launched their career. MVT has created the mechanism to make that possible, we need the music industry to come together and make it happen.”