A new Hull-founded grassroots music platform has officially launched with a mission to help artists, bands, and independent venues build more sustainable futures in an increasingly challenging music economy. Play One We Know (POWK) has been created to encourage music fans to move from passive listening to active support, making it easier to discover, share and directly back the artists, venues and local music communities that need it most.
At the heart of the platform is a simple message: make money, save money and make grassroots music more sustainable. POWK provides artists and venues with practical digital tools designed to convert attention into income, gain a better understanding of their audience and business, and build stronger direct relationships with the people who support them.
The launch comes at a time when many emerging artists are finding it increasingly difficult to translate visibility into financial sustainability. While streaming has transformed music discovery, many grassroots musicians continue to face significant challenges in building loyal audiences, generating meaningful revenue and sustaining long-term careers.
Independent venues are under similar pressure, with rising operating costs, changing audience behaviour and increased competition from digital platforms threatening the future of the spaces where new talent develops.
POWK was co-founded by technology entrepreneur Gerard Toplass and Gerard Gibbons, Board Director at Hull’s iconic The New Adelphi, following years of supporting the grassroots music scene together. The pair attend around 100 live shows each year across Hull, Yorkshire, and the wider UK, giving them first-hand insight into the challenges facing artists and venues.
Gerard Toplass said: “Streaming has changed music forever. It has made discovery easier, but it has not solved the problem of sustainability for artists and venues at the grassroots level. As a technology entrepreneur, I can see the huge potential of digital platforms, but I can also see where they fall short. Attention does not always turn into income, and discovery does not always turn into meaningful support. POWK is about making that support simple. A fan should be able to scan a QR code at a gig, on a poster, at a venue or online, and immediately take an action that helps an artist or venue—whether that’s buying merchandise, making a donation, sharing content, joining a community, booking tickets or simply finding out more. Our message is simple: we want to help grassroots artists and venues make money, save money and build more sustainable futures.”
Gerard Gibbons added: “Grassroots venues are where music culture starts. They are the places where artists learn, audiences discover something new, and music scenes begin to grow. Through my work with The New Adelphi and through attending gigs across the country, I see firsthand how much talent exists at the grassroots level, but also how fragile the ecosystem has become. POWK is about backing the people and places that keep music alive. We want to give artists and venues simple tools that help them generate support, better understand their needs, reduce waste, make informed decisions and build stronger, more direct relationships with their audiences.”
Hull-founded Play One We Know launches to help grassroots artists and venues build more sustainable futuresAs the platform continues to develop, POWK aims to become a central hub for grassroots music, helping artists, venues and fans work together to create a stronger, more sustainable live music ecosystem across the UK.
