Christopher BarrettTicket re-sale company TicketSwap, crowdfunding site GoFundMe and investment company Cosimo have launched a Europe-wide campaign to help raise more than £2m in an effort save at least 250 music venues struggling due to the impact of Covid-19.
The money will be distributed to venues ranging in size from clubs to arenas, and would equate to around £8,000 each, however the #LocalLegends campaign is calling on individuals and businesses across the UK to start campaigns to save their local music venues from the brink of collapse, and raise further funding.
According to a recent Live Music report, the income of grassroots music venues has fallen by 75% since March and 71% of the staff are currently on furlough, with 60% of people expected to be out of work by Christmas.
TicketSwap head of international marketing Chris Carey, who is leading the campaign, said, ”2020 has been a very tough time for everyone, and especially for music venues which closed first and will be among the last to reopen. These institutions play a massive role in their communities and those communities will support them if it’s made easy. Our pilot in Groningen, Netherlands, saw one venue unlock €11,000 [£9,6000] from their patrons within 24 hours of launching. We are confident we will see this success all over Europe as venues set up their pages and launch.”
The campaign will run across 14 countries; Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the UK, and is the first Europe-wide campaign of its kind.
It is supported by The Night Time Industry Association and the Association for Electronic Music.
Venue owners, members of the public and local entertainment businesses can set up a campaign at: https://www.gofundme.com/p/locallegends
Individuals can find existing campaigns for music venues in their local area and donate at: https://www.gofundme.com/local-legends