135 grassroots music venues have been saved by emergency funding as part of the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund including FOLD in Canning Town, West Ham. The Government is making available an immediate rescue package worth £3.36 million as grassroots music venues are the first recipients from the massive Culture Recovery Fund.

Venues receiving funds include The Troubadour in London, where Adele and Ed Sheeran performed in the early days of their career, as well as The Jacaranda in Liverpool where The Beatles played their first gig. The Government encourages public to be Here for Culture and support local cultural organisations as Covid-19 secure performances restart and museums and galleries reopen.

The Government has announced a £3.36 million fund, to save grass roots music venue at immediate risk of closure including £52,997 to help FOLD. The fund is providing vital support to 135 music venues, which otherwise would face collapse due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Accelerated funding is being provided to cover ongoing running costs incurred during closure, including rent and utilities, so that some of the country's most treasured venues can survive.

This support is on top of the £500 million in grants being delivered to cultural organisation by Arts Council England, who are still accepting applications until 4 September. All this funding forms part of an unprecedented £1.57 billion rescue package for culture and heritage from the Government to see these sectors through the coronavirus pandemic.

Indoor performances can now restart with socially distanced audiences so music venues are now able to reopen safely, alongside other culture venues and heritage sites. Ministers and local London Assembly candidate Nick Vandyke are encouraging everyone to visit reopened venues and support cultural organisations starting to put performances back on.

Nick Vandyke welcomed the announcement:

I welcome the fantastic support being given to support the arts in West Ham, which really shows that this Government is here for culture.

Grassroots venues like FOLD are the engine room of the hugely successful British music scene. Providing aspiring musicians with an important source of income and honing the craft of the great musical talents of the tomorrow. FOLD is being saved by the Government because it is so vital to our vibrant music industry, as well as being a local treasure.

Commenting, the Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden said:

This Government is here for culture and these grants today show we are determined to help our exceptional music industry weather the Covid storm and come back stronger.

Grassroots music venues are where the magic starts and these emergency grants from our £1.57bn fund will ensure these music venues survive to create the Adeles and Ed Sheerans of the future.

"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.

Notes

The government is providing a £1.57 billion rescue package for Britain's globally renowned arts, culture and heritage industries. This is the biggest ever one-off investment in UK culture. (Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, Press Release, 5 July 2020.)

The first recipients of the funding will be grass roots music venues.

• 135 at risk grassroots music venues have been saved by emergency funding as part of the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund.
• The original funding of £2.25 million has been increased to £3.36 million in order to provide extra support.
• Accelerated funding has been delivered by Arts Council England in under a month to save grassroots venues previously facing insolvency.
• Emergency grants of up to £80,000 will cover on-going running costs incurred during closure, including rent and utilities.

(Press Release, Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, 22 August 2020.)

The Arts Council England is accepting applications to distribute £500 million of support funding to cultural institutions, including music venues. (Arts Council England, 21 August 2020.)

The music industry has welcomed the financial support.  

• Tom Walker, Brits winner, platinum selling artist and holder of a number 1 album said: "This is great news for the music sector and fans alike. Grassroots venues play such an important role in kickstarting many careers, including my own, so it is vital that they are supported. The welcome investment from the government will safeguard venues across the country so that the next generation of home grown talent can shine through."
• Mark Davyd of the  Music Venue Trust, said: "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."
• Frank Turner, singer-songwriter, said: "I'm very pleased to see that the government's headline announcement of the Culture Recovery Fund is now blossoming into practical assistance for grassroots music venues in dire need. These spaces are an irreplaceable part of the live music infrastructure in this country and play a vital role in building the careers of internationally successful artists and in our culture more generally."
• Gilles Peterson of Brownswood Recordings, said: "This is vital funding for the cultural sector that is being hit the hardest by Covid. So many people in the music world are reliant on the live music sector, and without this government help irrevocable long-term harm threatened the world leading UK music industry and those who rely on it for a living."

(Press Release, Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, 22 August 2020.)