ACE pledges £1.5m to grassroots music venues

Grassroots music venues and promoters received a welcome boost when Arts Council England (ACE) pledged funding of £1.5m to support them.

The money will come through ACE’s National Lottery Project Grants, and the funder will work with the Music Venue Trust (MVT) to help venues access it.

MVT, which has previously called for cultural parity in the past between grassroots music and classical music forms such as opera, described the funding as a ‘significant step forward.’ It said ACE’s support will ensure that ‘tangible improvements are made to the sound, lighting and facilities for both artist and audiences.’

MVT also announced growing support for its plans for a pipeline investment fund, designed to feed some profits from the top of the live music industry back into the grassroots. Major actions agreed for the fund so far include:
- Using apprenticeship levy funds to support apprentices in grassroots music venues
- Guest list donations at major events and venues
- Donation options on ticket sales
- Direct donations from major companies

The fund will be used for purposes including making improvements to infrastructure, acquiring the freehold of venues and supporting MVT’s emergency response service, which steps in to support venues facing noise complaints and licensing and planning issues.

For the full article (published by Arts Professional): http://bit.ly/2HxV6Go

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