LONDON (CelebrityAccess) — The LIVE Trust announced it has received its first £500K in ticket pledge contributions from a new funding scheme to support the UK’s grassroots music venues.
The infusion of cash comes from a voluntary surcharge of £1 per ticket from arena and stadium shows with a capacity of over 5000, with contributions coming from tours by artists such as Mumford & Sons, Pulp, and Hans Zimmer, among others.
he Trust, led by a panel of industry experts, develops a funding strategy to support the UK’s struggling grassroots music community.
The voluntary funding scheme appears to have widespread support from British music fans. According to a recent study commissioned by city councils in several key British music markets, 93% of respondents supported the idea that £1 from every ticket of any Arena or Stadium Live Music event should go to a fund that directly supports the Grassroots.
“This is a welcome milestone for The LIVE Trust and marks a very significant contribution to the grassroots live music sector. What this demonstrates is that there is a real appetite from performers and their teams to support the wider live ecosystem and we applaud and thank those that have already taken this initiative. Whilst this is an excellent start there is still much work to do if we are to convince government that a voluntary rather than statutory levy is both workable and sustainable,” said Jon Collins, CEO of LIVE.
