LIVE Trust announces £1m funding boost for UK grassroots live music, taking total to £1.5m

• LIVE Trust's Phase Two funding programme doubles the amount distributed in Phase One, providing support to new partners and taking total grants made to £1.5million
• Funding has already supported nearly 700 venues, festivals, and artists, with Phase Two set to reach even more

LIVE Trust, the charity established by LIVE to protect, expand, and support grassroots live music across the UK, has doubled the amount of funding distributed through its Phase Two programme, bringing the total to £1.5 million.

The funding comes from a voluntary £1 contribution added to tickets for shows with a capacity of more than 5,000. The funding will support programmes that help keep venues open, festivals running, artists on the road, and the people behind the promotion and staging of live music.

Since launching in January 2025, LIVE Trust has secured more than 6 million ticket pledges, working with 10 promoters across more than 100 tours.  Less than a year since LIVE Trust's first meeting, the latest figures highlight the rapid and continuing growth in support for an industry-led funding model for grassroots live music.

The announcement comes as Government launches its Music Plan, which recognises LIVE Trust's contribution to supporting grassroots live music. The Rt Hon Ian Murray MP, Minister for Creative Industries said: "Britain's iconic music scene relies on our ability to put on great live shows, and it's encouraging to see the major players stepping up to support the grassroots talent that makes music so special. This second round of funding is a testament to the growing momentum behind the Trust, and the very real difference it is making to the pipeline of UK talent. We would encourage all promoters and artists to do even more with this industry initiative.

"The government is fully committed to supporting grassroots music, and our Music Plan published today underlines that commitment. We will continue to work hand in hand with the industry to nurture the emerging stars of the future."

Earlier this year, LIVE Trust distributed £500,000 through its Phase One funding programme to support artists, venues, festivals, promoters, and others across the live music industry.  That funding has already helped 372 venues, 211 shows and 81 festivals across the UK, demonstrating the reach and impact LIVE Trust is already having.

Phase Two doubles the funding distributed through LIVE Trust's first round, continuing support for four key programmes while expanding into new programmes to reach even more people across the grassroots live music ecosystem:

• Continued support for Phase One partners: Music Venue Trust, UK Artist Touring Fund, the Association of Independent Promoters, and the Association of Independent Festivals.
• New partnerships with Youth Music and Help Musicians, allowing LIVE Trust to tap into their expertise and established infrastructure to accelerate support.
• Targeted investment through Anthem Wales, Attitude is Everything, Back Up Tech, and Black Lives in Music, supporting people facing geographic, financial, and accessibility barriers while developing the skilled freelance workforce that is the backbone of the industry.

Kirsty McShannon, Chair, LIVE Trust, said: In just over a year, LIVE Trust has shown what the live music industry can achieve when it works together. We set out to create a long-term way of supporting grassroots live music and the response has been overwhelming. Every artist, promoter, venue, and festival that contributes helps secure the future of live music across the UK.

Jon Collins, CEO, LIVE Trust, said: LIVE Trust is already proving that money raised by the industry can be distributed quickly and effectively.  Phase Two enables us to build on that success by continuing to support core programmes while working with new ones to deliver targeted support for those facing additional barriers.  We are incredibly excited about the opportunities ahead, and I would like to thank every promoter, manager, venue, agent, and artist who has stepped forward to support this vital work.

LIVE Trust is already working towards the next funding round, allowing more programmes to apply for support. As more tours and live events choose to include the voluntary £1 ticket contribution, LIVE Trust expects to increase the support available for the UK's grassroots live music ecosystem.

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Notes to Editors

About LIVE Trust

LIVE Trust was established by LIVE, the voice of the UK's live music industry, in response to calls from across industry, Parliament and Government for long-term support for grassroots live music.  Funding comes from a voluntary £1 contribution added to tickets for shows with a capacity of more than 5,000.

Phase Two funding recipients

• Association of Independent Festivals' Festival MOT Programme, which is a diagnostic service for independent music festivals in crisis. The festival MOT will provide a report, resources and support for festivals across the UK.
• Association of Independent Promoters' Independent Promoters Grassroots Bursary Scheme, which empowers new and emerging promoters to deliver events, strengthening the live music pipeline, and increasing diversity, accessibility, and innovation in promoting.
• Featured Artists Coalition, Musicians Union, and Music Managers Forum's UK Artists Touring Fund, will be expanding their programme, to provide more tour support to artists, helping make live shows and touring financially viable and inclusive.
• Music venue support through Music Venue Trust which delivers several programmes that stabilise grassroots music venues, prevent closures, reduce urgent financial pressures, and lay the groundwork for longer-term recovery.
• Youth Music's Industry Connect programme, which gives young people the skills, training and experience to help them establish live music industry careers.
• Help Musicians' Fast Track Award and Career Clinics, which support early career artists to embed live performance as an enabler for long-term career growth and sustainability for early career and working musicians.
• Anthem Wales' Anthem Live, which is a connected programme of youth-led live music showcases delivered in partnership with grassroots venues and organisations across Wales.
• Black Lives in Music's LIVE Pathways, which is a 12-month pilot that supports people coming through the live music pipeline, addressing the current inequality of opportunity for Black, Asian and Ethnically Diverse people in the music industry.
• Back-up Tech, which is supporting industry technical professionals, crew and production personnel, and people working in the technical supply chain.
• Attitude is Everything, which will launch guidance and an accessibility framework, enabling practical improvements around accessibility to grassroots and community music.