BLACKOUT TUESDAY - A STATEMENT
Yesterday the Music Venue Trust team stepped back from our own messaging and campaigning. We chose to do this as part of a collective initiative by the music sector to reflect on the continuing challenge of racism in our society and in our industry.
Our team chose to be silent in our messaging for a day so we could pause and properly listen to BAME colleagues. We wanted to learn from their experiences and reflect on what we do as an organisation to acknowledge their contribution, support and promote their work.
Reflecting on what we learned, our team has chosen some some articles and comments from BAME colleagues that we felt were helpful to us and important to read, understand and act upon. The first of these is by Keith Harris and you can read it here: musicweek.com/management/rea…
We’d like to ask you to share this @MusicWeek article so that everyone, in our industry and outside, can read and understand the real experiences of people in their own, authentic voices.
One day of silence and reflection is not going to solve the issue of racism in our society or our industry. As an organisation we acknowledge that we are not taking enough positive and supportive steps to play our part in the change required.
Music Venue Trust intends to take those steps and challenge ourselves to do better. #BlackOutTuesday
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
AN OPEN LETTER TO RICHARD SHARP, CHAIR OF THE BBC BOARD
The Future of BBC Introducing
We are writing to you as a group of organisations that represent key stakeholders in the live music industry...
BBC Music Introducing is a FUNDAMENTAL cog in the machine of the grassroots sector 🧵 @bbcintroducing
Its network of radio shows across the UK support new and developing music at grassroots level, through local shows on stations across England and the Channel Islands and flagship programmes in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. @bbcintroducing
We are delighted that @PRSforMusic has been able to find a way to avoid the proposed cuts to @PRSFoundation. The work the Foundation does in supporting Grassroots Music artists and venues has been a vital element within the ecosystem that creates new British talent.
There was grave concern across the sector that the proposed cut to funding from 2024 would have a significant negative impact on artists and venues still struggling to recover from the pandemic. @PRSFoundation@PRSforMusic
This new funding agreement across multiple years is excellent news and 100% the best decision by @PRSforMusic.
People working hard to do the right thing... good start to a Tuesday.
STATEMENT: RESPONSE TO THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF ADDITIONAL FUNDING SUPPORT FOR HOSPITALITY & CULTURE
We welcome any announcement from Treasury that recognises the very serious situation facing grassroots music venues, and other cultural and hospitality spaces, operators and staff.
Regrettably today's announcement appears seems a woefully inadequate response to the reality of the position.
Through a local authority process, the Treasury appears to be offering grassroots music venues up to £6,000 (if they meet certain criteria). This sum is intended to mitigate losses for an as yet unknown period in which business has not just fallen, it has completely collapsed.
'Grassroots Music Venues have faced a tough couple of decades.
2/ For the first time in twenty years, thanks to a combined effort by the sector itself, national government, local government, the music industry, artists, audiences, local communities and Music Venue Trust, 2019 was the first time since 2000 that the year finished with more…
3/ …trading grassroots music venues than it started.
This was a remarkable turn around, a fantastic concerted effort to make a sector that had become economically unsustainable viable once again. To achieve that, all sorts of steps had to be taken.