Christopher BarrettLive Nation-owned ticketing giant Ticketmaster is the latest events industry operation to make a major donation to support grassroots music venues (GMVs).
Ticketmaster has donated more than £60,000 to the Music Venue Trust (MVT); the UK charity which represents hundreds of GMVs. The donation follows a contribution to MVT of more than £30,000 from WeGotTickets earlier this month.
Ticketmaster’s contribution comes from its optional fan donation, which allows music lovers to support GMVs with every ticket purchase. Ticketmaster matches every pound donated and over the past two years has helped raise £150,000 to support the future of live music at a grassroots level.
MVT said the funds go directly into its Pipeline Investment Fund, which was established in 2022 with the support of members of the Music Venues Alliance, and was initially funded by donations from ticket sales of MVT’s Revive Live’programme of gigs around the UK, which was a partnership with The National Lottery.
Since its launch several other companies and organisations have run initiatives and made donations to the Pipeline Investment Fund, which according to the MVT has to date raised and allocated more than £5 million including over £500,000 into GMV infrastructure.
Ticketmaster UK MD Andrew Parsons said, “We have long been supporters of MVT’s work and proud to have helped raise £60,000 in 2024 through our annual MVT upsell where we match every pound donated by fans on our site. This initiative is a big deal to us, and this year we’ve teamed up with some iconic spaces including Epic Studios, Hackney Church, Alfies, The Piano Bar, Soul Mama, and Y Plas nightclub, and we look forward to supporting them and other grassroots music venues long into the future.”