#dontlosegrassroots Campaign

Feedback’s #dontlosegrassroots Campaign

Where would Pulp be without The Leadmill, Sasha without The Haçienda, The Beatles without The Cavern Club? They certainly wouldn’t be gracing our ears to this day. Here at Feedback  we are the voice of up-and-coming artists across the UK and currently, local venues are facing a crisis. Data has revealed many more are closing than opening, and those that are still open, are struggling to stay afloat. In a report released by the Music Venue Trust (MVT), it was revealed that last year alone, 16% of all music venues shut their doors and left the scene. Additionally, figures show that between 2008 and 2015 over 35% of all UK music venues went out of business due to unsustainable finances, disputes with landlords and many other reasons. This has to stop.

Here are some more stats from the Music Venue Trust 2023 report: 

  • 125 grassroots music venues (GMV) were no longer registered to the trust
  • Of these 76 had closed, 72 weren’t hitting GMV criteria 
  • Only 34 new GMV had opened
  • Rent to keep venues open has increased 37.5%  to now almost £5000 per calendar month
  • 45% of venues closing were due to financial issues

Feedback pledges to support the Music Venues Trust’s groundbreaking #ownourvenues scheme alongside Music Venue Properties, and their ‘The Artist Pledge’ but to also add our own twist to it. We want YOU to go to as many grassroots events as possible over the next two weeks, and use the hashtag #dontlosegrassroots to showcase the great local talent in your area that we should all be getting excited about. 

If you are a musician, tag us too with #forthemusicians, and we’ll repost to try and get as many people turning up to your gig as possible. 

You can share and sign The Artist Pledge petition to show your support in agreeing to get to more grassroots gigs in your area. 

Watch our documentary on the topic

Watch our documentary

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