We’re announcing the loss of another beloved grassroots venue, Six Six in Cambridge. For four years, and in the face of huge pressures felt across the sector, the team behind Six Six have been steadfast in their dedication to supporting grassroots music in Cambridge.

For many grassroots venues, the issue isn’t just the cost of PRS billing - it’s the time, pressure and exhaustion that comes with constantly trying to correct it. Mark Miller from Slay / Audio in Glasgow described the experience as “a constant and exhausting battle rather than a partnership.”

When Sarah Harris and the team took over the diary at The 1865 in Southampton, they expected the usual pressures that come with running a grassroots venue. What they didn’t expect was to receive a PRS invoice for £125,000 within their first year.

Huge congratulations to Music Venue Trust’s CEO and founder, Mark Davyd, for being recognised in Billboard UK’s 2026 Power Players list.

When we talk about inaccurate PRS billing, we’re talking about real venues facing real consequences. Le Pub received an estimated bill triple their average annual usage whilst Sam Dabb was critically ill in hospital. Within weeks, it escalated to a CCJ.

Somewhere between soundchecks, closing times and van journeys, entire music communities are being built. Music Venue Trust and HotWax present a new documentary celebrating the people and places sustaining grassroots live music across the UK. Directed by Jude Harrison. OUT NOW via the Link in bio!

Did you catch this piece from Big Issue last week? A really positive look at the momentum building across the grassroots music sector right now. Read the article here: www.bigissue.com/culture/musi...

New data has revealed that there was a massive 567% rise in “phone-free” events across the globe last year, as reported by Mixmag, Rolling Stone and other publications. Which can be a good thing. We don’t want our view to be ruined by a sea of phones from start to finish...

For decades, venues have been at the mercy of external energy providers. Off The Grid, supported by the LIVE Trust, and the amazing stadium and arena artists who have fed the top of the pipeline, is changing that equation. 📸 by Georgia Pennny

Congratulations to the mighty Globe in Newcastle, and their whole team and community for winning last night’s Spirit of the Scene honour at the Music Week Awards.

To stay up to speed on everything happening in the grassroots music venue sector - subscribe to The Last Safe Space on our YouTube channnel or your listening platform of choice. 📺 Watch at: youtu.be/2SEU8RFS-hw

Off The Grid, supported by LIVE Trust, is much needed modernisation and structural change. 📸 by Georgia Penny

Energy costs have destabilised grassroots music venues for years. Which is why today we launch: Off The Grid, supported by LIVE Trust, and bands like Coldplay who have donated funds via their stadium tours. 📸 by Georgia Penny

It’s a bank holiday. The sun might even come out (briefly) if we're lucky. If you’re in a venue pouring Fightback Lager, that pint is doing a bit more than you think.

This Sunday, 3 May at the V&A South Kensington, we're presenting a free entry series of events celebrating grassroots venues as part of the V&A's Annual Performance Festival.

When a venue reduces unnecessary costs or fixes something that’s been quietly draining resources, that money goes straight back into what matters. Paying artists properly. Supporting staff. Putting on better shows. Staying connected to the community around them.

Due to automated processes based on inaccurate fee estimations, 5 grassroots venues have already received unjustified County Court Judgements, and more than 50 others have faced the threat of the same action. 📸 by Georgia Penny

Licensing fees are often calculated using a venue’s maximum capacity, rather than what actually happens on the night. #FairPlay

Grassroots music venues are experts at firefighting - whether that's by themselves, alongside their communities, or with MVT's expert Venue Support Team. What they rarely have time for though is fixing the inefficiencies everyone knows exist.

Many grassroots venues are being charged for performance rights fees on promoter-run events, even when they are not the party receiving the income from the show. 📸 by Georgia Penny #FairFees #SupportGrassrootsVenues

This June... the festival isn’t somewhere else. It’s right where you are. Visit www.EverywhereFest.com, and sign up to hear first about the festival over the coming months.

Thank you to everyone who joined us at Stormont for the launch of Music Venue Trust’s Annual Report in Northern Ireland. 📸 Carrie Davenport

Grassroots venues are regularly confronted with licensing fees that are based on broad estimates rather than what is actually played on stage. 📸 by @georgiapennyphoto.bsky.social #FairFees

Fair licensing fees ensure venues are charged correctly, artists are paid promptly, and the entire music ecosystem functions as it should. 📸 by @georgiapennyphoto.bsky.social

Raise The Standard, supported by LIVE Trust, is about improving the fundamentals of live music. We're talking better sound. Better lighting. Better working conditions for artists and crew. And a better experience for audiences in the room. 📸 by Katie Frost

We’re in Northern Ireland today to present the MVT Annual Report 2025 in person.

Meet Gareth Kelly, our incredible Rights Management Specialist at Music Venue Trust. Gareth is a former senior licensing professional dedicated to ensuring licensing accuracy, fairness, and transparency for grassroots music venues.

Today we’re proud to announce more details of our RAISE THE STANDARD project, supported by LIVE Trust. 📸 by Jamie Chapman

Ahead of taking it to Northern Ireland this week, a quick note on the MVT Annual Report 2025. 📸 by @georgiapennyphoto.bsky.social

When you improve the conditions around touring, everything changes. Better accommodation means artists can stay on the road longer. It reduces costs that were making shows unworkable. It improves wellbeing. It raises the standard of performances night after night.

Stay The Night & Feel at Home starts from a simple reality. A lot of emerging artists are touring on the tightest margins possible. Accommodation is one of the biggest costs. Backstage spaces are often stretched and proper rest can be rare.

When touring becomes unaffordable, the live circuit starts to break down. We’ve launched Stay The Night & Feel at Home, supported by LIVE Trust, to deal with that properly.

Thank you to everybody who joined us at Venues Day 2026, and to those who helped make it happen. From start to finish it was a brilliant celebration of who we are, the work that we all do, and the passion that we share for live music. youtu.be/PiT6rEJJ7P8

We’re very excited to welcome Getdown Services as our newest MVT patrons, joining the likes of SOFT PLAY, Nova Twins, Enter Shikari, and Kate Nash.

In this episode of The Last Safe Space, Sean Adams, founder of the pioneering online music publication @drownedinsound.bsky.social, joins Toni for a conversation about the role of independent journalism in shaping grassroots music culture.

MVT welcomes the news that Hackney Council has refused the first planning application that threatened the future of Moth Club - however, another planning application still looms over this beloved grassroots music venue in East London.

Sheffield, this is for you. We’ve published a new practical guide focused on grassroots music venues in the city. It looks at how the current network is operating, the pressures venues are facing day to day, and what needs to change to keep them viable. Download at bit.ly/4dJJwsb and use it.

Ledled Cymru, lleoliadau bychain ydy sylfaen ein diwylliant cerddorol. Dyma lle mae artistiaid ifanc yn dod wyneb yn wyneb â’u cynulleidfaoedd cyntaf; lle mae technegwyr, hyrwyddwyr a rheolwyr yn meithrin a naddu eu crefft, a lle mae cymunedau’n dod ynghyd.

A huge thanks to everyone who joined us at Venues Day 2026 last week. 📸 by Georgia Penny

Over the last few months we’ve been sharing ideas from The Ethical Venues Project, exploring the values that connect communities and the impact that small decisions can have on belonging, ethics and the role venues play in public life. The project was developed together with Conway Hall.

MVT is proud to have partnered with Culture Sheffield, Sheffield Independent Venues Alliance, and Sheffield City Council to deliver a Planning Best Practice Guide for grassroots music venues.

If you care about grassroots music venues, everything you need is at: www.MusicVenueTrust.com We’ve spent years building the tools, the data, and the infrastructure to support this sector properly. It’s all public. It’s all accessible. And it’s all there to be used.

Opening May 30 at the V&A, South Kensington, is the Lost Music Venues exhibition - Featuring around 50 ‘lost’ performance spaces from the 1980s to 2010s.

Living your values isn’t a fixed destination - it’s an ongoing practice. Every venue learns by listening, adapting, and responding to the needs of the people who use the space. Reflection in action means being willing to adjust, try new approaches, and let feedback shape the culture. 📸 Mike Rushton

Legends has been part of Edinburgh’s alternative music ecosystem for more than three decades. Its closure marks the loss of a long established grassroots music venue that provided a home for the city’s rock, metal, punk and alternative communities.

There’s a simple truth about grassroots music venues, and that is the pint funds the pipeline. In most venues, live music itself can run at a loss. The bar keeps the lights on, pays the staff, and gives new artists a stage to play on. That’s the economic reality of grassroots music.

On 17 March, hundreds of people from across the UK’s live music ecosystem will gather at Shoreditch Town Hall for Venues Day 2026 - offering a rare chance for the grassroots live sector to all be in the same damn room.

When we talk about grassroots music venues, the conversation often starts with artists. And rightly so. These rooms are where future headliners first learn their craft. But they’re also where entire careers are built.

In this episode of The Last Safe Space at youtu.be/ACetbMoXf1g, we talk with Omar Lye-Fook, ahead of his ‘Brighter the Days’ tour. His run across grassroots music venues with MVT and AGMP kicks off in May. Tune in - and grab your tickets for this incredible tour.

We have joined a coalition of music sector organisations in signing a joint open letter led by Scottish Music Industry Association to BBC Radio Scotland regarding recent changes to BBC Radio Scotland’s late-night music output. Read the full letter via www.smia.org.uk