Music Venue Trust launch scheme to purchase UK’s grassroots music venues

nme.com:

NME, MVT Ownership Coordinator Matt Otridge said of the Own Our Venues campaign: “It’s essentially a not-for-profit, charitable organisation that allows us to raise funds via community shares, which then allows anybody who invests money to be a part of that society.

So it’s very equitable – one investment equals one vote at AGMs – it’s completely community focused, and it’s a good mechanism to promote longevity and community aspirations.”He continued: “We’re calling this bit the pilot project, and we’re hoping that eventually it will grow and grow into a point where we have hundreds of venues that are owned by Music Venue Properties and hundreds of venues that would benefit from having a landlord that literally can’t be motivated by profits because it’s a not-for-profit organisation, as well as a landlord that shares their ambitions in seeing more money going back into the circuit.”If the music community wants grassroots music venues to be protected, to be secure, to be improved, to be everything they can be for the future of live music, then the music community must #OwnOurVenues— Music Venue Trust (@musicvenuetrust) April 26, 2022Recent calls for music venues to own their own buildings instead of separate landlords have been growing louder, especially with Sheffield’s iconic The Leadmill under threat.

Music Venue Trust CEO Mark Davyd told NME that the circumstances around The Leadmill presented “a very difficult situation”.“It remains the case that if a venue doesn’t own its own building or doesn’t have a benevolent relationship with the landlord of that building, then it’s always under threat – that’s the truth of economics,” he said. “The landlord may decide to sell at any time, the landlord may do a rent review at.