LIVE Trust launches to support Grassroots Music
In what could be a model to help save independent music venues in the U.S., the UK’s LIVE Trust is stepping up support of grassroots music with much-needed funding. A small contribution from big shows will help keep venues open, festivals alive, and artists on the road.
LIVE Trust launches to support Grassroots Music
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LIVE (Live Music Industry Venues & Entertainment), which represents 15 UK live music industry organizations, has announced the launch of the Live Trust, a transformative new funding initiative that will offer much-needed financial support to those working across live music – artists, venue operators, promoters, festival organizers and more.
Established by and acting on behalf of the live music industry, which contributes £6.1bn to the UK economy while employing 230,000 people, the LIVE Trust will deliver funding where it is most needed with an initial focus on the grassroots music sector, which saw 125 grassroots music venues close permanently in 2023, 78 festivals lost in 2024 and a 50% decline in tour dates over the last three decades.
The escalating cost of event production aligned with the UK’s continuing cost of living crisis has conspired to further squeeze this vital part of the music ecosystem, and the LIVE Trust will work to support those who are keeping venues open, festivals trading, artists touring and those involved in the promoting and staging of live music performances.
£1 per ticket from shows with a capacity of over 5000
Initially, the LIVE Trust will receive its funding from a voluntary contribution of £1 per ticket from arena and stadium shows with a capacity of over 5000. The impetus for the LIVE Trust came from the aforementioned pressures in UK live music and from the demands of politicians and policymakers for the live music industry to further support its grassroots stakeholders. A Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) Committee Report on Grassroots Music Venues, which was published in May 2024, recommended that the live music industry introduce a voluntary levy on arena and stadium tickets to support those venues, artists and promoters with fixed deadlines to implement tangible and workable solutions.
The LIVE Trust has also appointed three founding Trustees – Steve Lamacq MBE, the Chair of LIVE, Kirsty McShannon, CEO of Azorra – who are commercial and business affairs advisors to the live music, festivals, events and venues industry – and James Ainscough, CEO of The Royal Albert Hall.
Additional trustees will be appointed in the coming months to ensure diverse representation from all elements of live music. Funding strategy will be set on a periodic basis by these trustees, with input from LIVE and the wider UK live music sector, which will decide and control how money is raised, how much needs to be raised and where that money will be allocated.
A number of existing financial support schemes run by the members of LIVE will continue to run independently of the LIVE Trust, which will have a central philosophy to act for the good of live music by augmenting and amplifying existing schemes where they are working well and coordinating its activities across these various initiatives to deliver the biggest impact and best value for the sector.
Jon Collins, CEO of LIVE, said, “The launch of The LIVE Trust marks a significant step change in how the grassroots live music sector will be supported moving forward. By putting in place a robust infrastructure that can receive and allocate the financial resources needed to support the survival of this vital part of the music ecosystem, we have responded to the appeals of the grassroots sector and the recommendations of the CMS Report that asked us to implement tangible and workable solutions. We would like to thank all of our members for their hard work in making this bold and ambitious plan a reality.”
