Answering the call to rescue dying independent venues, Coldplay promise to donate a chunk of their upcoming tour’s ticket revenue.

Coldplay has announced plans to donate 10% of their earnings from their upcoming 2025 UK tour to the Music Venue Trust (MVT), a charity dedicated to supporting grassroots music venues across the UK. This comes after calls to rescue the UK’s dying independent venues, following a swathe of closures in 2023.

The significant donations will come from ticket sales for the band’s shows at London’s Wembley Stadium and Hull’s Craven Park Stadium in August 2025. The initiative will help struggling local music venues, many of which play a crucial role in the development of emerging artists.

The band’s decision to donate to the MVT underscores their recognition of the importance of grassroots venues in the music industry. Coldplay, who started their career performing in small venues, understand the value these spaces provide to new talent. According to MVT’s CEO, Mark Davyd, this support could prevent further venue closures, ensure local communities continue to have access to live music, and create opportunities for new and upcoming musicians​.

The contributions will not only come from Coldplay, but also from the concert promoters, booking agents, venues, and official ticketing platforms like Ticketmaster, See Tickets, and AXS​. This collective effort will funnel much-needed funds into the local music scene, which has been under significant financial pressure in recent years. Research by the MVT revealed that in 2023 alone, 125 grassroots venues across the UK closed, resulting in the loss of thousands of jobs and countless performance opportunities.

Despite the UK live music sector recording its biggest contribution to the UK economy last year, smaller grassroots venues are still struggling. A considerable portion of the revenues generated by the live music sector in 2023 came from large-scale performances. Artists like Taylor Swift, Beyonce, and Coldplay are among the bigger contributors. This is what makes Coldplay’s donation so important. Sharing the huge wealth generated by massive tours will ensure local venues can keep their doors open, and this shows other major artists that they can also help.

The Music Venue Trust has called for major artists playing arena or stadium tours to contribute £1 per ticket to local venues. A few months ago, a group of MPs also agreed that a £1 levy on arena and stadium concert tickets is the best way to support local venues.

Hopefully, after Coldplay’s 2025 tour takes place, we will start to see the financial health of the UK’s grassroots venues improve. It remains to be seen whether other major artists will follow Coldplay’s philanthropic move, but if they do we could see the fate of many beloved UK venues change for the better.