Music Venue Trust (MVT), the charity which represents hundreds of UK grassroots music venues (GMVs), has confirmed that funds raised from Sam Fender’s arena tour at the end of 2024 have now been distributed, via its Liveline Fund, to support 38 independent venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The package, worth over £100,000, has provided urgent emergency assistance alongside essential improvement grants, forming a full programme of support that protects, secures, and improves the grassroots ecosystem.
The Liveline Fund was created by Music Venue Trust (MVT) and live music advocates Save Our Scene (SOS) to distribute funding directly to grassroots venues, artists and promoters with financial support raised by contributions from arena and stadium ticket sales. Artists including Sam Fender, Katy Perry, Coldplay, and Enter Shikari were early adopters of the Grassroots Levy and have enabled Liveline to begin fuelling the future of UK grassroots music.
A total of 19 venues have been supported through the Emergency Hardship Relief Fund and Emergency Response Team – a lifeline package that steps in to prevent imminent closures. These interventions address urgent challenges such as licensing issues, legal disputes, noise complaints, financial crises, and sudden, unpredictable shocks like floods, fires, or bereavement. Each grant or intervention is tied to a full audit and support process to ensure long-term sustainability. This proactive work directly prevents closures and stops venues from falling into crisis, ensuring viable grassroots spaces remain open.
Alongside this, a further 19 venues received over £50,000 in direct improvement grants, enabling upgrades to facilities, technical equipment, and infrastructure that directly benefit artists, staff, and audiences.
Speaking about the news Sam Fender said, “It’s brilliant to see that the money raised from the arena tour is making a real difference to so many venues. The grassroots circuit has been decimated over the last 10 years or so and the idea that money from shows in big venues supports the smaller venues, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just common sense. These places are legendary.”
The impact is being felt across England, Scotland, and Wales. Venues to receive funding include Stereo, Sub Club, Paper Dress Vintage, The Hunter Club, The White Hotel, The Strines Nightingale, Spanners, The Garibaldi Hotel, Moor Beer Vaults, Slay Glasgow, Hippos, Ashburton Arts Centre, Clwb Ifor Bach, Newhampton Arts Centre, The Verdict, The Peer Hat, and venues based in the North East like Little Buildings, NE Volume Music Bar & Venue, and The Globe.
In Bury St Edmunds, The Hunter Club called the support “a game-changer”, explaining that it empowers them to provide a better experience for artists and audiences while continuing to nurture the next generation of musicians.
In London, Paper Dress Vintage highlighted the importance of resilience: “Our trade relies on us being able to put on music and our mixing desk, which was irreparably damaged recently, is absolutely central to all this activity. Having this new, protected system in place will make us more resilient and protect us from future damage and loss of earnings.”
Manchester’s The White Hotel pointed to the stark financial pressures faced by independent cultural spaces: “The increased cost of running a hospitality business, especially one that prioritises art and culture, is increasingly difficult. This financial support is vital to us.”
In Cardiff, Clwb Ifor Bach said the grant has resolved a critical technical issue: “This funding means we finally have our main room back up to the standard we expect of ourselves for the artists who visit our venue.”
And in Glasgow, the iconic Sub Club explained how support from the Liveline Fund has been transformative: “It allowed us to do much needed repairs and upgrades to our ‘Body Sonic’ dance floor, upgrading the amps and servicing the entire floor system. This provides an intense dance floor experience for our patrons that’s unmatched anywhere else in Scotland and we believe is an integral part of the Subbie experience.”
Mark Davyd, CEO of Music Venue Trust, said: “This remarkable contribution from Sam Fender, his management, and his team has created a real and lasting impact on the grassroots music ecosystem. These venues are the places where artists like Sam take their first steps, where local communities come together, and where live music truly begins. By investing directly into their future, we are strengthening the entire live music sector.”
This initiative underscores how funds raised from arena and stadium events can play a pivotal role in sustaining the grassroots infrastructure that underpins the UK’s world-renowned live music industry. MVT’s Annual Report 2024 revealed that, on average, GMVs operated on a profit margin of just 0.48% with 43.8% of them reporting a loss in the previous 12 months.
