Photo by Modesta Žemgulytė on Unsplash
The UK’s live music sector has officially launched the new LIVE Trust initiative that will see grassroots music assisted by a voluntary contribution from stadium and arena events.
The launch of the trust – established by trade group LIVE – comes after years of campaigning for the industry’s giants to offer support to venues and artists at the other end of the live music ecosystem.
LIVE said that LIVE Trust is designed to deliver funding where it is most needed with an initial focus on the grassroots music sector. Initially, LIVE Trust will receive its funding from a voluntary contribution of £1 per ticket from arena and stadium shows with a capacity of over 5,000.
LIVE chair Steve Lamacq, Azorra chief executive Kirsty McShannon and Royal Albert Hall chief executive James Ainscough have been named as three founding trustees.
Funding strategy will be set on a periodic basis by the trustees, with input from LIVE and the wider UK live music sector. They will decide and control how money is raised, how much needs to be raised and where that money will be allocated.
Industry responds to grassroots’ challenges
The trust has been formed after the Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) Committee Report on Grassroots Music Venues recommended that the live music industry introduce a voluntary levy to support grassroots music. The report was commissioned in the wake of a concerning decline in the wider live music industry, with 125 grassroots music venues close permanently in 2023 and 78 festivals lost in 2024.

Jon Collins, chief executive of LIVE, said: “The launch of the LIVE Trust marks a significant step change in how the grassroots live music sector will be supported moving forward.
“By putting in place a robust infrastructure that can receive and allocate the financial resources needed to support the survival of this vital part of the music ecosystem we have responded to the appeals of the grassroots sector and the recommendations of the CMS Report that asked us to implement tangible and workable solutions. We would like to thank all of our members for their hard work in making this bold and ambitious plan a reality.”
Escalating cost
LIVE said that the escalating cost of event production aligned with the UK’s continuing cost of living crisis has conspired to squeeze the grassroots ecosystem. The trust is designed to work to support those who are keeping venues open, festivals trading, artists touring and those involved in the promoting and staging of live music performances.
LIVE said that a number of existing financial support schemes will continue to run independently of the LIVE Trust. The trust, LIVE said, will have a central philosophy to act for the good of live music by augmenting and amplifying existing schemes where they are working well and coordinating its activities across these various initiatives to deliver the biggest impact and best value for the sector.
Additional LIVE Trust trustees will be appointed to ensure representation from all elements of live music.
In November 2024, the UK Government instructed the live music industry to initiate a voluntary levy on all stadium and arena tickets in the coming year to help support grassroots venues. Ministers made clear that they wanted to see a voluntary levy come into effect during the first quarter of 2025. The announcement was welcomed by the Music Venue Trust (MVT), which has campaigned for a £1 levy for some years.
Industry giants supporting grassroots music
The trust’s launch comes after a series of positive announcements concerning voluntary support from industry giants.
In December, Ticketmaster made a £60,000 donation to Music Venue Trust. The contribution comes from Ticketmaster’s optional fan donation, which allows concert attendees to support grassroots venues with each ticket purchase. Ticketmaster matches each pound that is donated, and has helped to raise more than £150,000 to support grassroots music.
ASM Global’s UK venues, including OVO Arena Wembley and AO Arena, introduced new opportunities for concert-goers to support the MVT. Every ticket sold for Katy Perry’s upcoming ‘The Lifetimes Tour’ of arenas in the UK will include a £1 donation to MVT.
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