Music venues and clubs warn of mass closures after government spring budget revealed

nme.com:

Sunbird Records in Darwen and Ironworks in Inverness have already permanently shut their doors.Elsewhere in their statement, the MVT said: “The budget was an opportunity to ensure that this number of closures did not explode from the April 1st when Grassroot Music Venues will be hit by excessive and unaffordable energy bills.

The Chancellor has failed to respond to the evidence we submitted. There is no additional support for music venues and the inevitable result will be mass closures of venues.”“We note that, as per the last 5 years of budgets, significant opportunities to support the Grassroots Music Venue sector have been overlooked.

This network of venues across the country is a prime opportunity to improve productivity, enhance local jobs, and support struggling communities.“We welcome the support for theatres, museums, art galleries and orchestras, but once again we note that all of the Chancellor’s announcements on tax relief for these sectors exclude Grassroots Music Venues and artists.

We also note that the opportunities to support research and development in this sector has been once again missed; the R&D tax reliefs announced are not relevant to the Grassroots Music Venue sector.‌The MVT continued: “We remain keen to work with the Government to unlock the opportunity that the Grassroots Music Venue sector presents.