Christopher BarrettLIVE (Live Music Industry Venues & Entertainment), which represents 15 live music industry organisations, is seeking applications from live music industry leaders to join the board of trustees for the recently launched LIVE Trust.
Established in response to the 2024 Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) report calling for an industry led, voluntary solution to the crisis in the grassroots music industry, LIVE said the Trust will deliver vital funding where it is needed most. It will act on behalf of the live music industry, which contributes £6.1bn to the UK economy while employing 230,000 people, and will support a grassroots 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.
New trustees will join the three founding trustees; Royal Albert Hall CEO James Ainscough, Steve Lamacq of BBC 6 Music and the current LIVE Chair, and Kirsty McShannon, founder & CEO of Azorra.
LIVE said there are six new trustee positions available and applicants for this voluntary position must be passionate about the world class UK live music sector and have a particular interest in how a vibrant future for artists, venues, festivals and the wider range of actors that make shows possible can be secured. They will share the Trust’s vision for an inclusive, sustainable live music industry with a particular initial focus on the needs of the grassroots sector.
Trustees will have the experience and contacts necessary to assess where need is most pressing and where funds can have the most impact. The organisation said that while the focus of the Trust will be on most effectively distributing funds received, trustees with an ability to promote and accelerate fundraising will be welcomed.
Successful applicants will be appointed for a three-year term of office, renewable for two further terms to a maximum of nine years. Interested applicants should send an expression of interest to livetrust@livemusic.biz to receive further information on how to formally apply. Applications will close at midnight on 19 February.
Lamacq (pictured) said, “This is a terrific opportunity for people to bring their knowledge and experience to the LIVE TRUST which will be at the very forefront of distributing financial support to key areas of the live industry. We want to be able to provide help to a whole range of people in the live community, be that venues or artists or promoters, which is why we’re looking to build a team that truly represents all aspects of the industry and has an understanding of how we can best distribute our funding.”