Over 550 independent music venues are facing permanent closure as a result of coronavirus.
The Music Venue Trust has launched #saveourvenues, a new campaign to highlight the struggle independent music venues are facing during the coronavirus lockdown and raise funds to sustain them through the crisis.
According to the Music Venue Trust, more than 550 independent venues are faced with the immediate threat of closure. The campaign highlights these venues and the amount of money needed to stay open and encourages artists to put on ‘at home’ shows in order to help raise the funds needed. Each venue has its own crowdfunding page, with any excess once the target is reached going into a central #saveourvenues fund.
“The situation is dire, government support has been exhausted, and it now falls to artists, music fans, local communities and the wider industry to take action,” a statement on the campaign’s website reads. “Put bluntly, without these venues the opportunities for artists and audiences to connect in a meaningful way at a local level will simply disappear in a lot of cases. And if they go they will never come back. Please help us to help grassroots music venues to survive this unprecedented threat to their existence.”
Earlier this month, US-based medical experts claimed live music and festivals may not return until “fall 2021”.
For more information head to the #saveourvenues website.
