Christopher BarrettLIVE (Live music Industry Venues & Entertainment) has announced the launch of the LIVE Trust, which will draw funds from initiatives including an arena and stadium show levy, with the aim of safeguarding the future of the live music industry.
The LIVE Trust will initially channel funds into supporting 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 live music industry body, which represents 15 live music industry organisations including the Association of Independent Festivals, said the scheme would provide much needed financial support to those working across live music, including artists, venue operators, promoters and festival organisers. It noted that the grassroots sector was vital to the future of the live music industry, which contributes £6.1 billion to the UK economy and employs 230,000 people.
LIVE said the escalating cost of event production aligned with the UK’s continuing cost of living crisis has conspired to further squeeze the grassroots music ecosystem, and the 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.
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 more than 5000. LIVE said the impetus for the Trust was bolstered by 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, published in May, 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 appointed three founding trustees – LIVE chair Steve Lamacq MBE, Azorra CEO Kirsty McShannon – who is a commercial and business affairs advisors to the live music industry – and The Royal Albert Hall CEO James Ainscough. Additional trustees are to be appointed in the coming months with the aim of ensuring a diverse representation from all elements of live music. Funding strategy will be set on a periodic basis by the 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.
LIVE CEO Jon Collins 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.”