Message from Beverley

Schedule

PANEL/INFORMATION SESSIONS

Louder than War presents Music Industry Issues

Where: Sackler Space
Chaired by John Robb

Localism + Community

Where: Clore

Localism + Community 2

Where: Dorfman Hub

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MORE INFO

Map – Roundhouse Ground Floor

Map – Roundhouse First Floor

Map – Roundhouse Second Floor

Themes for Venues Day 2016

Since the first Venues Day event in December 2014, awareness of the precarious position in which the UK’s small independent venues find themselves has grown enormously. Music Venue Trust, the charity created to champion and protect the nation’s grassroots music, continues to lead this work and is putting together this year’s networking day for highlighting and discussing key issues around two themes:

Venues Day 2016

is the only national event aimed specifically at the people who run small to medium scale independent music venues.

Venues Day 2016 Reveals Opening Panel

UK Music presents “Building on Progress”

Music Venue Trust is delighted to announce details of the opening panel for Venues Day 2016.

UK Music presents “Building on Progress” will kick off the debate at the national gathering of Grassroots Music Venues which takes place on Tuesday 18 October at The Roundhouse, London

UK Music has worked with Music Venue Trust to reconvene the much discussed Venues Day 2015 opening panel to assess what has been achieved in the last year and what needs to happen next.

Most of last year’s panel will return, with Steve Lamacq (BBC 6Music), Jo Dipple (UK Music), Rt Hon Ed Vaizey MP, Mark Davyd (Music Venue Trust) being joined by Laura Dyer (Arts Council England) and Lord Tim Clement-Jones for a forthright discussion chaired by Adam Sherwin (The Independent).

Last year’s opening panel provoked fierce debate around planning, development, licensing and the role of cultural funding. As a direct result of comments made during the debate, Music Venue Trust, UK Music and Musicians Union worked with government to change the Town & Country Planning Act to protect Grassroots Music Venues. The review of licensing currently being undertaken by an all-party parliamentary group and how best to support music venues through the cultural funding mechanism are likely to be the hot topics this year.

Jo Dipple of UK Music said: “The economic value of music to the UK is proven. It’s cultural value, to our communities and lives, needs more vocal national and local Government support. You cannot have a bigger night time economy without a strong cultural base to underpin it. Grassroots Music Venues create that cultural base in our towns and cities. UK Music is proud to sponsor Venues Day. It acts as a unique platform to work out what venues in the UK need and what bodies like UK Music must do in terms of lobbying Government and Parliament. We’ve changed a bit of planning law. We need to change more as well as influencing political hearts and minds.”

Mark Davyd of MVT added: “We’re delighted to be working closely with UK Music in a number of areas protecting, securing and improving Grassroots Music Venues. The recent success with the change to UK law on permitted development rights shows just what can be achieved by collaboration, and it’s great to have Jo and her team on board again to help us bring together a panel which can genuinely take action to support Grassroots Music Venues.”

Bringing Down Venue Costs, Building Up Venue Reputation

Music Venue Trust announces second major strand of work at Venues Day 2016: Localism & Community

Music Venue Trust is delighted to announce its series of sessions at Venues Day 2016 which aim to give venues the information and direct practical advice they need to drive down costs, increase audiences and improve relationships with their key partners.

Localism & Community is a series of six panels featuring MPs, Councillors, Lawyers, Tax and Rate specialists, and a wide range of examples of best practice which will encourage venues to restructure, relaunch and re-examine how they manage key partnerships.

Beverley Whitrick of MVT explains: “One of the key things we’ve noticed impacting on the economic and political stability of music venues is a failure to pick up on existing opportunities which are fully used by arts centres, theatres, museums, libraries and other parts of the cultural sector. On VAT, for example, it’s been a running suggestion across three years of work that tickets in these venues should be exempt from VAT. A method to do that already exists, deliberately created by the Treasury to support cultural institutions and activities, but music venues aren’t set up to take advantage of it. In this series of panels, we are going to explain how to recognise and utilise such opportunities”.

Music Venue Trust has gathered together experts from across a range of areas including licensing, planning, noise, rates, VAT, company structures, ticketing, grant funding and politics.

“We’re aiming to make a big difference to how venues structure themselves, but also how others see them,” continues Whitrick. “Your local music venue is a cultural and social hub. We are going to give them advice on how to engage with local councils to make sure they are perceived that way, and advice on how being perceived that way opens up access to rate relief, local and national grants.”

Localism and Community will take place across six panels at The Roundhouse on Tuesday 18 October as part of Venues Day 2016. Panellists already confirmed include: Feargal Sharkey, Kerry McCarthy MP, Cllr Jonathan Cooke (LB Wandsworth), Rebecca Walker (Sheffield Leadmill), Lohan Presencer (Ministry of Sound), Vic Galloway (BBC Radio Sotland), Vanessa Reed (PRS for Music Foundation), Richard Robinson (Help Musicians UK), Eamonn Forde (Journalist), Jane Beese (Roundhouse), Nick Wright (Altus RatesRecovery), Mal Campbell (Hebden Bridge Trades Club), Guto Brychan (Clwb Ifor Bach).

Since the first Venues Day event in December 2014, awareness of the precarious position in which the UK’s small independent venues find themselves has grown enormously. Music Venue Trust, the charity created to champion and protect the nation’s grassroots music, continues to lead this work and is putting together this year’s networking day for highlighting and discussing key issues around two themes: Localism & Community and Music Industry Issues.

Read Press Release here.

Latest News

Music Venue Trust is delighted to announce the final details for Venues Day 2016 which takes place on Tuesday 18 October at The Roundhouse, London.

The event, which is already sold out, features over 500 delegates this year, with more than 180 venues represented, 12 exhibitors, and 60 speakers spread across ten panels discussing issues such as planning, licensing, funding, music industry relationships, and audience development.

To complete the picture, Music Venue Trust will also be using Venues Day 2016 to make FIVE significant announcements on the day which will see the Charity move to act in every part of the sector to support its mission to protect, secure and improve Grassroots Music Venues across the UK.

To support those announcements, MVT has worked with a series of partners to create three brand new interactive areas at Venues Day, and will again offer an opportunity for delegates from venues to directly engage with experts in legal, licensing, planning, and acoustics to access one-to-one advice on any issues they are facing.

Jack Daniel’s Social Media Hub

The Jack Daniel’s Social Media Hub will see Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube making presentations and networking with delegates to tune up their social media presence to engage with audiences and improve their online presence.

Grassroots Ticketing presented by Ticketweb

Grassroots Ticketing presented by Ticketweb will introduce delegates to the next generation of the TicketWeb ticketing platform. In collaboration with Music Venues Trust and .tickets, TicketWeb has designed this client portal to specifically empower small independent venues and promoters.

White Light presents Focus on Sound+Vision

White Light presents Focus on Sound+Vision will launch a major intervention into Grassroots Music Venue support, providing delegates with an opportunity to discuss sound and lighting with experts from Yamaha, D&B, Shure and Martin.

Meet the Gurus

Meet the Gurus returns this year with an opportunity for one-to-one advice from 9 experts on issues impacting on Grassroots Music Venues. Delegates can pre-book sessions for any specific challenges they are facing, from noise to vibrations, local authority licensing to a new development.