Music Venue Properties (MVP) is urging fans to invest in its \u2018Own Our Venues\u2019 campaign<\/a> to save gig spaces, with just two days remaining until the deadline. Find all the details below.<\/p>\n The initiative has already hit 87 per cent of its \u00a31.5million target, raising over \u00a31.3million from more than 1,000 supporters, ahead of the investment window closing this Friday (November 14).<\/p>\n Now, MVP has issued a fresh plea to live music fans to help secure the future of seven key grassroots venues across the UK as part of its national campaign.<\/p>\n These are Esquires (Bedford), The Sugarmill (Stoke-on-Trent), Peggy\u2019s Skylight (Nottingham), The Pipeline (Brighton), Northern Guitars (Leeds), Gut Level (Sheffield) and Little Buildings (Newcastle).<\/p>\n According to MVP, each establishment plays \u201ca vital role in its local ecosystem, providing accessible spaces for live music and supporting artists at the earliest stages of their careers\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWithout investment, many of these venues face uncertain futures due to the threat of sale, redevelopment, or unstable leases,\u201d it adds.<\/p>\n It comes after both The Joiners and The Croft \u2013 two grassroots music venues in Southampton and Bristol, respectively \u2013 were saved thanks to the \u2018Own Our Venues\u2019 campaign last week<\/a>.<\/p>\n Matt Otridge, chief operating officer at \u2018Own Our Venues\u2019 (MVP), commented: \u201cThis phase of the \u2018Own Our Venues\u2019 campaign closes in just days, and we are calling on everyone, the industry, artists, government and music fans, to come together and invest what they can, we have done this before and must do it again.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery contribution before this Friday\u2019s deadline helps us to secure more venues and each investor can then stand alongside those who already proudly say: we own these venues.\u201d<\/p>\n The community share offer opened on May 15, with MVP recommending a share subscription of \u00a3500. The minimum share subscription for under 25s is \u00a350, and \u00a3100 for over 25s.<\/p>\n \u2018Own Our Venues\u2019 has set a maximum share subscription of \u00a3100,000. The interest is at four per cent, and targeted to be paid annually from the second year after the investment is made. Five per cent of the total share capital is to be made available to withdraw from the fifth year onwards.<\/p>\n \u201cWe must do everything we can to ensure that these buildings are protected from development and the venues safeguarded for generations to come,\u201d said Squeeze<\/a> frontman Glenn Tilbrook, who is among the existing investors.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are essential, not just for fostering local talent but to ensure that our communities have access to cultural hubs and affordable live music.\u201d<\/p>\n You can invest here<\/a>, and find more information here<\/a>.<\/p>\n First announced by the Music Venue Trust back in 2022<\/a>, the MVP initiative went on to raise \u00a32.3million in its first year via a series of donations and investments<\/a>. That figure now stands at almost \u00a34million.<\/p>\n In January, it was reported that one UK grassroots venue had closed every two weeks in 2024<\/a>. It was said that nearly half of such spaces were making a loss, while 200 remained in a state of emergency due to the nation\u2019s \u201ccollapse in touring\u201d.<\/p>\n Today (Wednesday November 12), this year\u2019s annual economic\u00a0report<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0UK Music<\/a> highlighted some of the ongoing challenges in the music industry \u2013 including the threat to grassroots music venues.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Sam Fender has donated his \u00a325,000 Mercury Prize winnings to the Music Venue Trust<\/a>, and recognised the vital role that grassroots venues had played in his early career.<\/p>\n \u201cI wouldn\u2019t be doing what I am doing today if it wasn\u2019t for all the gigs I played around the North East, and beyond, when I was starting out,\u201d he explained. \u201cThese venues are legendary, but they are struggling.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking to\u00a0NME<\/em>\u00a0over the summer<\/a>, Prime Minister Keir Starmer assured that he was \u201cvery supportive\u201d of the \u00a31 ticket levy to help support these spaces<\/a>, and said they were \u201cwhere a lot of people access their music\u201d.<\/p>\n Starmer continued: \u201cI\u2019ll be looking at what we can do in order to give them the chance not just to survive, but to thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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