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Music Venue Trust’s (MVT) 2025 annual report revealed that in the past year, around 30 grassroots venues had permanently closed, and half of those still operating had made no profit, noting the sector was “structurally fragile”. With challenges such as Night and Day’s long‑running noise‑complaint battle (2024), the need for support has never been more urgent, and since 2014, Music Venue Trust has been that support system.
For Venue Support Manager Sophie Asquith, joining MVT was a perfect next step after years working at London’s Bush Hall: “My first show was Kurt Vile, who I loved. I was like, “Oh my goodness, best job ever!” I had also attended MVT events in the past while working there, so I was very connected to the charity and the mission, and it was a natural development to be able to work for them."
MVT’s crisis hotline was already assisting venues in navigating everything from noise complaints to unfair leases and planning issues, but when the pandemic hit, that work intensified drastically: “the charity recognised that this emergency service was no longer just for one venue's need, but needed to be reactive to the entire sector's needs,” Asquith explained.
As the cost‑of‑living crisis deepens and ticket prices for major artists like Taylor Swift soar, MVT’s work has only become more essential, and more focused, including the introduction of a £1 ticket levy on arena shows — already adopted by Harry Styles and Florence + The Machine – “Enter Shikari were the first artists to do that back in 2023; they gave £1 from every ticket sold directly to MVT, which we then gave out in the form of grants and direct support for venues,” Asquith told us with pride, “it's excellent when artists can say £1 of your ticket is going to a fund, and then organisations like ourselves can talk about what we're going to be doing with that money, which in our opinion is completely different to the fact that people have to pay a percentage that goes towards the print at home fee”. As of January 2026, £200,000 has been raised through the scheme to strengthen venue support and fund long‑term stability programmes, and its timing couldn’t have been more appropriate.
As to why the levy matters? Asquith’s reasoning is clear: “grassroots venues, touring artists and promoters are shouldering the financial risk of losing money at very early stages in their career. If you cut off grassroots, then that space for learning a craft or developing a career, the whole pipeline of talent on and off stage goes as well. It's not just the artists, but it's people who work in grassroots music venues that might then end up being an incredible lighting engineer or working in A&R, for example - it’s a whole ecosystem which then grows into a multi-billion-pound industry that pays into the British economy. It’s an important part of our cultural identity, and really, there doesn't exist a mechanism that supports and rewards that research and development at the early stage, so this is why the levy needs to exist.”
With the help of the £1 levy, a difference has already been made through four ‘targeted programmes’ to help improve everything from venue facilities to artist experiences across the country. From MVT’s ‘Venue MOT’ (Venue diagnostics and expert advice on upskilling and improvements), their ‘Off The Grid’ programme (reducing energy costs via solar panels), to their ‘Stay The Night’ programme (reducing artist travel and hotel costs via in-venue accommodation) and their ‘Raise the Standard’ Programme (improving venue facilities through small changes and redevelopment).
The MVT has brilliant plans, but they cannot do it without the assistance and support of the music industry backbone: the music fans, the people who sing till their voices disappear, who dance till their shoes are scuffed, and who are at the centre of scenes across the country. There are many ways to get involved and support the MVT: fans can join the Supporter Circle for £5-10 a month, sign up to the MVT mailer and receive advocacy updates and news on MVT’s campaigns and movements (“what we like to call venue activists… active as a fan and active as a consumer of that culture”) or, if they’re an audiophile they can engage with the charity’s podcast The Last Safe Space presented by MVT’s Campaigns and Comms manager, Toni Coe-Brooker, which features interviews with artists themselves and industry professionals.
At a time when the music industry is facing growing instability there is genuine hope to be had. With its targeted programmes, transparent funding and a growing circle of supporters, Music Venue Trust continues to stand at the forefront of protecting grassroots culture. Now, it's time we all chip in as well, because without grassroots music and music venues, we could lose out on bright musical culture, whether it's the next Olivia Dean, Wolf Alice, Sam Fender, or CMAT. The time for supporting grassroots music is now!
Jessica Draper-Mann
Image: Georgia Penny
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