Small music venues should be prioritised over building new arenas, says Mark Davyd of the Music Venues Trust. And every ticket for a largescale arena should include a contribution to the grassroots circuit.
As you may have seen, Music Venue Trust launched its 2022 annual report at the end of January. The report provided comprehensive data about the grassroots music venue sector and attracted a lot of press and parliamentary interest. There were some key concerns highlighted in responses to the report, things that have been covered many times in this column and in Music Week generally: VAT on UK tickets is too high, the business rates system is broken and grassroots music venues should enjoy the same protections in law as other culturally important spaces.
However, it wasn’t these concerns or requests to the government that attracted the most comment, but MVT’s position on the building of new UK arenas, which provoked an outraged reaction from some potential arena operators. They responded by stating their good intentions and how committed they are to grassroots venues and new talent. That’s lovely to hear. But as my grandmother used to say, “Fine words butter no parsnips”.
There seemed to be some confusion about our intent, and whether MVT was ‘picking on’ specific new arenas or companies’ commitments to these issues. So, let’s clear that up. Here is our position, one which we believe is incredibly reasonable...Keep reading on Music Week.
As you may have seen, Music Venue Trust launched its 2022 annual report at the end of January. The report provided comprehensive data about the grassroots music venue sector and attracted a lot of press and parliamentary interest. There were some key concerns highlighted in responses to the report, things that have been covered many times in this column and in Music Week generally: VAT on UK tickets is too high, the business rates system is broken and grassroots music venues should enjoy the same protections in law as other culturally important spaces.
However, it wasn’t these concerns or requests to the government that attracted the most comment, but MVT’s position on the building of new UK arenas, which provoked an outraged reaction from some potential arena operators. They responded by stating their good intentions and how committed they are to grassroots venues and new talent. That’s lovely to hear. But as my grandmother used to say, “Fine words butter no parsnips”.
There seemed to be some confusion about our intent, and whether MVT was ‘picking on’ specific new arenas or companies’ commitments to these issues. So, let’s clear that up. Here is our position, one which we believe is incredibly reasonable...Keep reading on Music Week.