Swindon & Wiltshire News
‘Bold new strategy’ to secure Bristol’s indie music venues to be unveiled
A ‘bold new strategy’ to secure Bristol’s independent music venues is to be unveiled.
Bristol Nights, a partnership project whose purpose is to promote and protect the city’s night-time economy, has been working for over a year to establish a Bristol Music Fund.
The proposals will be shared with music industry leaders during an event at the Bristol Beacon on Wednesday, November 6.
Bristol Music Fund – A Ticket to the Future will be addressed by Tom Kiehl, CEO of UK Music, the umbrella organisation that represents the collective interests of the production side of UK’s commercial music industry.
While the details of the fund will be kept under wraps until the event, it’s likely that a levy on concert ticket sales at the city’s venues will go into a pot to support small, independent venues.
Bristol Nights has previously said such a fund would create “a self-sustaining investment pipeline for local music talent.”
Small music venues are the lifeblood of the UK music scene, supporting musicians at the start of their careers.
But even well-established venues can find themselves in a precarious position.
In neighbouring Bath, legendary venue Moles – which played host to The Smiths, Radiohead, Oasis, Eurythmics, Bastille, Mumford & Sons, and Ed Sheeran at the start of their careers – filed for insolvency and closed in December 2023.
The venue, which had just celebrated its 45th anniversary, was one of 120 live music venues to close in that year alone.
Meanwhile, the arena and stadium end of the market had a bumper year with record profits.
Latest: ‘Bold new strategy’ to secure Bristol’s indie music venues launched
