Music Venue Trust (MVT) has revealed its third round of recipients for its Pipeline Investment Fund, which provides grants to grassroots music venues in the UK.
The charity has announced that a further 13 venues will benefit from grants of up to £5,000 (€5,700/$6,000) to help with projects and improvements including lighting, sound, CCTV, air conditioning, fire safety and accessible toilets.
A total of £55,203.34 (€62,600/$66,400) was distributed across the 13 venues in this round.
The Pipeline Investment Fund was established in 2022 with support from members of the Music Venues Alliance, and was mostly funded by donations from ticket sales of MVT’s ‘Revive Live’ programme of gigs across the UK, which were hosted in partnership with The National Lottery.
Grassroots Music Venues were invited to apply for small scale grants to support two key areas including maintenance projects, and staff and training.
The inaugural round of funding in December last year saw 11 grassroots music venues receive £40,000 collectively, and the second round last month saw a further 14 awarded almost £70,000.
Recipients include Belfast’s Black Box; The Exchange, The Loco Club and Trinity in Bristol; Derby’s Dubrek Studios; Esquires in Bedford; Queens Hall in Narbeth; The Brunswick in Hove; The Depo in Plymouth; The Fulford Arms in York; The Mill in Bradford; The Piper in St Leonards on Sea and Tunbridge Wells Forum.
Mark Davyd, chief executive of MVT, said: “The Pipeline Investment Fund proves what we have been saying for some time – small amounts of money, sensibly invested, can make a real difference to grassroots music venues. This fund is essential for artists and audiences, improving the places they love and ensuring that they are keeping up to date with the latest equipment, training, access and sustainability opportunities. We hope the industry will seize the opportunity to get involved.”
A recent report from MVT showcased that while its members staged 177,000 events last year, this was still a decrease of 16.7% compared to pre-pandemic levels. The report also demonstrated how many small venues are subsidising live music with an average profit margin of just 0.2%.
Grassroots music venues are continuing to struggle with the cost-of-living crises and sky-high energy bills. This week, it was announced that The Venue in Derby is closing its doors. The Venue had seen performances from the likes of Foals, Wolf Alice, Sleaford Mods, The Charlatans, and Pale Waves.