The Music Venue Trust (MVT) has reiterated its call for a £50m support package to help grassroots music venues survive the next three months, after the Government revealed “close-proximity” spaces would have to “remain closed for now”.
More than 550 venues across the UK — including 99 in London, such as Bush Hall, Fabric and the 100 Club — signed the MVT’s open letter calling on the Government to “do the right thing” and provide financial aid for struggling music spots.
Sweeping restrictions will be lifted across England from July 4, with much of the country’s cultural sector — including cinemas, museums, galleries and restaurants — able to reopen for the first time in months.
However, in a speech to the House of Commons on June 23, Prime Minister Boris Johnson failed to give a concrete date for when live music venues and nightclubs would be able to welcome customers again.
The open letter acknowledged that activities such as singing, dancing, standing close to other people and being in a confined space for a long period were all “high-risk activities”, but that “these are the four pillars of the live music experience we offer in our venues”.
It added: “We understand that in order to protect the public, [reopening safely] should not be done until the health guidance changes and we also know that trying to do it is economic folly which would be financially ruinous; not just for us but for our entire sector.”
The MVT called upon the Government to provide a “£50m financial support package immediately, and for “a reduction in VAT on future ticket sales, bringing tax in UK grassroots music venues into line with our major international competitors”.
Read the open letter in full here, and check out our guide to which London venues are crowdfunding in order to survive the pandemic.
