English music venues welcome extra emergency funding

Small music venues in England have welcomed the announcement of a further £1.1m emergency government funding.

Many venues, which have been closed since mid-March due to Covid-19, are facing the threat of closure.

Last month, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden rolled out his plan for a £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund, including £2.25m for music venues.

That has now increased to £3.36m due to high demand. The fund will be split between 135 grassroots venues.

• Arts industry welcomes £1.57bn support package
• Emergency money for culture ‘won’t save every job’

Recipients include The Troubadour in London, where Adele and Ed Sheeran performed early on; and The Jacaranda in Liverpool, where The Beatles played early gigs.

The grants range from £1,000 to £80,000, with the average working out at £25,000 per venue.

‘Breathing space’

“We warmly welcome this first distribution from the Culture Recovery Fund which will ensure that the short-term future of these venues is secured while we continue to work on how we can ensure their long-term sustainability,” said Mark Davyd of the Music Venue Trust.

He said the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport together with Arts Council England had “worked very quickly to fully understand the imminent risk of permanent closure faced by a significant number of grassroots music venues across the country”.

The funding “creates a real breathing space for under pressure venues”, he added.

Which venues have received the most money?

• The Amersham Arms, London – £80,000
• Chalk, Brighton – £80,000
• The Clapham Grand, London – £80,000
• The Troubadour, London – £80,000
• Camp and Furnace, Liverpool – £79,604
• The Dublin Castle, London – £78,583
• Liverpool Olympia – £73,900

The money is intended to cover ongoing running costs including rent and utility bills.

Indoor performances can now restart with socially distanced audiences, so some music venues are able to reopen. The future remains uncertain for many, however, especially with the furlough scheme coming to an end in November.

Mr Dowden, said: “I encourage music fans to help too by supporting music and cultural events as they start to get going again. We need a collective effort to help the things we love through Covid.”

Follow us on Facebook, or on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.