Grassroots Music Venues remain under extraordinary pressure. This year’s Music Venue Trust Annual Report showed 810 venues trading in 2024, down from 835 the year before. More than 200 needed emergency support in the last 12 months, almost a quarter of the sector. 

Profit margins averaged just 0.48%. Touring has shrunk dramatically: the average UK tour in 1994 visited 22 cities; by 2024 it was 11, with only 12 locations now considered on the primary circuit. Cities such as ...