On Friday the 3rd of March, , MP for Bath and Chair of the
Music in Education All Party Parliamentary Group, met with
members of the Music Venue Trust to discuss the challenges facing
grassroots music venues in the city.
The MVT is a UK registered charity which acts to protect, secure,
and improve the UK’s grassroots music venue circuit. In Bath, the
trust represents seven venues: The Bell Inn, Chapel Arts Centre,
Komedia, Moles, The Royal Oak, St Jame Wine Vaults and Walcot
House.
Tom Maddicott, the owner of Moles in Bath, spoke with Mrs
Hobhouse about the role his venue plays in the city. Moles
supports Bath College and local musicians to practise their
skills in front of live audiences, while also attracting swathes
of visitors by hosting large acts such as Slowthai.
Tom and Wera discussed how the seven grassroots music venues in
Bath could have the potential to boost the local economy by
encouraging gig-goers to stay in hotels and use local services.
However, there are significant barriers stopping the Bath venues
from maximising their potential. Grassroots Music Venues operate,
on average, with a 0.2% profit margin. This makes them uniquely
vulnerable to external factors such as the cost of living crisis
and artist popularity.
Moles also reported that the energy costs for the venue have
doubled, and that people are not going out as much as the cost of
living crisis continues to pinch.
Under Liberal Democrat proposals, small and medium-sized
businesses would be offered government grants covering 80% of the
increase in their energy bills for one year, up to a maximum of
£50,000.
, Chair of the Music in
Education APPG, commented:
“As someone who is deeply passionate about the transformative
power of music, I cannot stress enough how crucial it is to
support grassroots music venues in Bath.
“These cultural hubs provide an essential platform for emerging
local artists and musicians to hone their craft, showcase their
talent, and build a dedicated following.
“The challenges facing these venues cannot be ignored. It is
abundantly clear that the Energy Bill Support Scheme must be
extended to help save venues from collapse.”
“We must protect and support Bath’s businesses so that our local
economy and cultural identity can continue to thrive for future
generations to enjoy.”
Sophie Asquith, Music Venue Trust Coordinator for England,
commented:
“Music Venue Trust (MVT) was extremely pleased to meet with
and have the opportunity to
communicate the startling facts that our Annual Report, launched
in Parliament this year, has brought to light about the
Grassroots Music Venue sector.
“MVT’s mission to protect, preserve and secure Grassroots Music
Venues (GMVs) in towns like Bath, and across the UK, has never
been more critical. GMVs face unprecedented challenges coming out
of the Covid-19 pandemic and aggravated by a cost of living
crisis, failures to recognise the importance of GMVs within
culture, high overheads and miniscule profit margins.
“Despite this, the GMV sector remains resilient, determined and
proactive, and MVT was encouraged by Wera’s understanding of
their value and impact on local and national economy and culture.
There is no reason that the live music industry, such as the
eight new arenas due to open around the UK, cannot also share
these values, step up and reinvest in the talent pipeline that
these GMVs represent.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
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The MVT’s annual report can be found here
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More information about the Trust can be found on their
website here
