The process of an artist climbing the rungs of the music industry and making their way to the top of the heap is one that may have changed somewhat over the years, but as a pair of recent graphics shared by the Music Venue Trust has confirmed, there’s still plenty of importance to be placed on grassroots venues.
Indeed, were it not for the artists who’ve played such venues during the course of working their way up the ladder of success, there’d be virtually no one performing at the Glastonbury or Reading & Leeds festivals this year.
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds play the Pyramid stage at the Glastonbury festival 2022
"Today’s festival headliners can only sell thousands of tickets because of the essential role played by these venues in their development," wrote the Music Venue Trust. "Nurtured in grassroots music venues, they built their audiences from tens to hundreds, laying the foundation for their success on the grand stages of festivals like Reading & Leeds.”
As you can see below, the graphics bear this out: in a scenario where artists who played grassroots venues are left out of contention, all of the headliners for both festivals are gone. Indeed, only a handful of acts are left at all, headlining or otherwise.
The Music Venue Trust's graphics to demonstrate the importance of artists who've played grassroots venues in their careers.
The state of indie music venues has been decidedly precarious in the wake of the pandemic, when many struggling clubs were unable to survive the costs incurred as a result of being unable to hold shows. On the Music Venue Trust's website, this concern is noted within their FAQ, under the question, "If the local Music Venue closes, won't another one just open?"
"This is applying the 'if it ain’t broke don’t fix it' rule long after we can see that it is actually broken and it will really need fixing," the site explains. "Rising property prices, aggressive development, nuisance laws and the state of the music industry have combined to create a real and tangible drop in the number of Music Venues, and the ones that have survived are under real pressure. Across the UK we’ve seen cities losing their last good small venue and it not being replaced. Ask yourself this; if you had half a million to spare right now, would you open a small Music Venue as a business venture?"
To further clarify just what the MTV is, here's an additional excerpt from their website that should do the trick nicely:
"Created in January 2014, we aim to secure the long-term future of iconic Grassroots Music Venues such as Hull Adelphi, Exeter Cavern, Southampton Joiners, The 100 Club, Band on the Wall, Tunbridge Wells Forum etc.
These venues have played a crucial role in the development of British music over the last 40 years, nurturing local talent, providing a platform for artists to build their careers and develop their music and their performance skills.
We work to gain recognition of the essential role these venues fulfil, not only for artist development but also for the cultural and music industries, the economy and local communities. We aim to preserve and improve venues, making them more efficient and improving the experience for performers and audiences. Long-term we plan to acquire the freeholds of as many of these vital venues as possible."
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