Political parties urged to “seize the moment” as Music Venue Trust share manifesto for the grassroots ahead of election

nme.com:

UK General Election on July 4.The push arrives following the MVT delivering their full report into the state of the sector for 2023, showing the “disaster” facing live music with venues closing at a rate of around two per week.Presented at Westminster, the MVT echoed their calls for a levy on tickets on gigs at arena size and above and for major labels and such to pay back into the grassroots scene, arguing that “the big companies are now going to have to answer for this”.Now, a new report has been published, ‘A Manifesto for Grassroots Music’, which aims to get politicians working to help save the sector from the deepening crisis it finds itself in.In the report, MVT set out the steps that need to be taken to slow down the closures of grassroots music spaces across the UK, and highlights the importance of these venues for both music lovers and for emerging talent.

These include the push for a £1 grassroots investment contribution from every arena and stadium ticket sold, which would be used to support grassroots music venues, artists and promoters.An abolition of VAT on tickets for grassroots music venues is also listed, as well as a reduction of VAT on cultural ticketing in the live music industry to the European average (between five and seven per cent).