Skiddle, one of the UK’s leading independent ticketing companies, is proud to announce a ground-breaking partnership with Music Venue Trust (MVT), aimed at protecting the future of grassroots music venues (GMVs) in the UK.
Amid a particularly difficult economic period, with more than a hundred grassroots music venues closing in the past year alone, operators have been faced with mounting financial costs.
The UK’s grassroots music scene provides a nurturing environment for new artists to flourish and helps influence and shape popular culture. Without these venues, festivals, arenas and stadiums will face a long-term shortage of artists as emerging artists have no platform to develop their craft.
In response, Skiddle is leading a new initiative to champion Britain’s grassroots music venues by providing long-term support to the sector. The company plans to introduce a 50p ticket levy, with 100% of proceeds going to the Music Venue Trust’s Pipeline Investment Fund, helping music venues across the UK.
Skiddle has also pledged to match all money raised through the ticket levy, effectively doubling the impact of every contribution made. In addition, Skiddle has set out plans to offer market-leading financial and support packages to UK base locations. These packages include a portion of the booking fee, free localized marketing, and more.
Duncan King, Head of New Business at Skiddle, said: “The situation for GMVs is critical. As an independent company within the music industry, we understand the pressures our local venues are under better than most. The MVT’s Pipeline Investment Fund provides a much-needed lifeline to locations across the country, without which they would not be able to continue operations. Our partnership with the MVT will provide vital funding to keep culture thriving in Britain. This partnership serves as a call to action for the entire music industry. It’s time to stand up and take action. We hope to be the catalyst for change across the sector.”
Mark Dayd, CEO of Music Venue Trust said: “This is an incredibly important step from Skiddle which will be warmly welcomed across the grassroots music sector. It shows that positive change is possible. As an industry, we can work together to ensure that the success of each individual artist or event can support everyone across the community. We hope that many other companies will be inspired to follow this groundbreaking initiative.”