AFTER more than a decade of cuts to arts funding, as well as the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing cost of greed crisis, grassroots music venues and theatres around the country are at risk of imminent closure.

Without these absolutely invaluable community assets, millions of people would be deprived of the opportunity to experience live music, performance and theatre. If the government does not address the threat to our creative sector, we face losing an entire generation of talent to austerity.

According to the most recent annual report of the Music Venues Trust, 29 million people saw live music at grassroots music venues, which contributed approximately £500m to the UK economy.  This figure is not insignificant by any means, but with operating costs running at over £499m for the whole sector, there is only a miniscule profit margin of 0.2 per cent.

The reality is that this is unsustainable and thousands of jobs are at risk — and that is why the Peace & Justice Project has launched its Music For The Many campaign, which is demanding urgent action from the government to secure the long-term and sustainable future of the UK’s grassroots music venues.

These demands, whilst simple, would be a powerful and efficient mechanism to ensure the viability of independently run and grassroots music venues in the UK.

We are asking for a tax on the corporate sponsors of larger music venues such as OVO Wembley Arena, AO Manchester Arena and Utilia Birmingham Arena, to name just a few. If these huge corporations are to use music venues to advertise their services and profit from the success of the talents who can fill their arenas, they must invest in the next generation of artists who rely on grassroots music venues to tour and build a following that can advance their careers.

The application of this tax, for example at a rate of just £1 per ticket, at a sold-out event at London’s O2 Arena could generate £20,000 in one night. This tax must then be used to create a specific Grassroots Music Venue Fund to protect the UK’s most vulnerable creative spaces and their sustainable futures, as well as providing security and stability to the 30,000 people employed in the British live music sector.

We are also advocating for these invaluable funds to be invested back into our towns and cities, supporting those in marginalised communities to access jobs and opportunities in the music industry, and to break the often very elitist and narrow entry points into a career in the arts.

There are, of course, other imminent risks to music venues in the UK. The Leadmill, for example, has played a vital role in forging the careers of some of Sheffield’s biggest bands such as Pulp and Arctic Monkeys, but its existence as we know it could see its identity and heritage stripped away by a new management group despite concerns over Electric’s viability to safely operate The Leadmill.

The Peace & Justice Project has proudly joined “The Battle for the Soul of Sheffield” on the side of the Leadmill and its 80+ dedicated staff in their fight against eviction by the Electric Group. Our movement is mobilising and will play its part in protecting this vital community asset and its workers by organising around the upcoming public meeting  at Sheffield City Council.

Music For The Many has continued to grow and we are delighted at the response to our campaign, which has brought communities together in defence of their local music venues. Our event at The Leadmill on August 19 will be our biggest yet and we are delighted that ZAND, one of the most exciting, formidable and hotly tipped stars in alternative pop will be taking to the stage in support of Music For The Many and securing the future of The Leadmill.

Their debut Ugly Pop EP has racked up over 1 million streams on Spotify and has led to appearances at major European festivals including SlamDunk and the upcoming Reading & Leeds Festivals.  Later this year, they will embark on their first US tour.

We will continue to fight for music for the many, and peace and justice for all.