140 British music venues have been taken off the MVT’s “critical” list after a rush of donations from fans, artists and music industry professionals.

After raising $1.8 million, The Music Venue Trust’s #saveourvenues initiative has provided 140 British music venues with some much needed cash to stay out of bankruptcy. The MVT’s “critical” list shows those venues closest to shutting their doors for good.

Launched three weeks back, 3000 fans, artist and music industry professionals have donated to the cause. While MVT are thankful for the support, they emphasise there are 400 venues still on the “critical” list and the 140 are not safe from closure.

The fact we have managed to remove 140 grassroots music venues off of our critical list in the last three weeks is, of course, a cause for celebration but we are not complacent as this is only a relatively short-term fix. Whilst the immediate threat of closure for these venues has been halted they are still under real threat in the coming months as are over 400 others. This is a good start and we can’t emphasise how grateful we are to those music fans, music industry companies and public organisations who have supported the #saveourvenues campaign so far, but we cannot relax as we still have a mountain to climb to secure the long-term future of this sector. We still desperately need more music industry companies to step up and help with donations alongside real action from government specifically around rent relief, more financial help and clearer guidance.

Mark Davyd – Founder and CEO of MVT

Head to Music Venue Trust to donate and remember to support the venues you love to help keep local artists and independent music alive.