OPINION
In LIVE we Trust
Broadcaster , DJ and the first chair at LIVE ( Live music Industry Venues & Entertainment ), Steve Lamacq has long been a strong supporter of grassroots talent . Here he calls for the industry to support the LIVE Trust and create a fighting fund for festivals , venues and artists
Almost to the week , 36 years ago , in my past life as a journalist for the New Musical Express I was dispatched to Bath to review the most exciting new guitar band in the country at that point . The Sundays , a group whose success would help reshape the music industry ’ s view of ‘ Indie ’ music , were on a short tour of grassroots venues tour to promote their debut single ‘ Can ’ t Be Sure ’.
They were , by degrees , angelic and frosty and warm and embracing . And from that night on , as they blossomed in confidence on that tiny , low lit stage , their route to Top 20 major label status was assured . The venue itself , the legendary Moles Club in Bath also enjoyed further triumphs . It would go on to help launch all manner of other careers including early gigs by Oasis and Ed Sheeran . Until , out of the blue , in December 2023 when it announced it was to close with immediate effect . Not because it was badly run or was faced with dwindling local audiences ( on the contrary , its gigs regularly sold out ); instead , Moles was forced to shut because it simply couldn ’ t keep up with the tide of rising bills it was being presented with .
Its closure however was something of a wakeup call . And as more and more venues began to shut their doors , it became clear that something needed to be done to help sustain the now shrinking grassroots circuit .
At the start of 2024 , now recently ensconced in my role as Chair of LIVE , Jon Collins its CEO and I conducted a series of one-to-one meetings with LIVE
“ IT IS A POTENTIALLY GAME-CHANGING MOMENT FOR THE LIVE INDUSTRY .”
board members to assess their own feelings about the problem and what solutions we might feasibly find to stem the closures . It was out of these informal conversations that the idea of a LIVE Trust was born .
We also learnt however that problems with the grassroots ecosystem weren ’ t just confined to the dire financial plight of many venues . Artists too were starting to find it too expensive to go out on tour . And promoters were increasingly nervous about booking shows which , amid a costof-living crisis , looked ever more risky .
This helped guide our thinking about the Trust , as the idea began to take shape and build momentum throughout
Steve Lamacq
the year ( including an explanation of its proposed aims during the evidence sessions before the Commons Select Committee into Grassroots Venues last May ).
So it has been a long time coming , but we are delighted that the LIVE Trust has now been formally launched . Adopting the idea of a voluntary £ 1 contribution from arena and stadium shows over 5000 capacity – a proposal long campaigned for by the Music Venue Trust – we hope to accrue a fighting fund that can benefit all the players involved in the grassroots scene , from venues to musicians and promoters to production .
The Trust itself , responsible for distributing the money raised , will , we hope , also represent through its line-up , a broad view of live music and where our financial help should go . Applications to become a trustee are open now .
It is , I believe , a potentially gamechanging moment for the live industry and a demonstration to government that we are willing to work together to champion British music from the ground up . And it could be Bath Moles ’ greatest legacy yet . accessaa . co . uk 11