Music Venue Trust and MusicPlanet Live are delighted to announce a major new partnership to reinvigorate and diversify the grassroots music scene in the UK. Fightback: Grassroots Promoter is a £100,000 intervention aimed at young women who are passionate about live music and want to learn the skills to become an independent promoter.
FB: GP will make £100,000 in subsidy guarantees available to underwrite 100 Fightback fundraising shows at Grassroots Music Venues promoted by the next generation of young, female, independent promoters.
To apply to be part of Fightback: Grassroots Promoter, head over to www.musicplanetlive.com and create an account. Then email Music Venue Trust at info@musicvenuetrust.com to receive full details on how to bring your show together.
Under 25s who want to promote a show are often put off by the risk or the lack of information about who to speak to, how to get the best deal, or what connections they need. At the same time, Grassroots Music Venues are crying out for new young promoters with fresh ideas. Add into that mix, a lack of diversity in the music industry and it adds up to a series of barriers to young women taking up promoting and adding their unique voice and ideas to the grassroots scene.
MVT and MPL want to change all that with a specific initiative aimed at enabling 100 young female promoters to put on a show at their local Music Venues Alliance member Grassroots Music Venue. FB: GP offers a no-risk financial entry point for young women to take their first step in promoting or develop their promoting skills.
Beverley Whitrick of MVT says:
‘We want to make a big change to the independent promoter scene in the UK, enabling 100 young women to take a chance on promoting a show they believe in. With their support, we are not only going to raise money for Music Venue Trust, we are going to start the process of identifying the next wave of fantastic new independent promoters and tackle head-on diversity in this sector. There’s not enough female promoters working in grassroots music venues, and we’re going to change that.’
MVT will supply a toolkit and contacts young women need to put on their show. Alongside this, the FB: GP scheme will match them with music industry experts with experience of every aspect of delivering a successful event who can mentor them through the process. The package of support includes:
A Gig-In-A-Box – everything you need to know about how to book, manage and promote a show
Support from your local Grassroots Music Venue and leading Independent Promoters and music industry professional acting as mentors
Be part of a national campaign with your own local event – profits from your Fightback show directly help to keep venues open through the Emergency Response service
Fightback: Grassroots Promoter is a targeted initiative from Music Venue Trust and MusicPlanet Live that sits alongside MPL’s announcement of £1 Million of incentives and grants to support emerging UK promoters and artists. MusicPlanet Live will be funding artists, projects and live events up to £5k each across the UK. In addition to show sponsorship, the site is designed so artists, venues and promoters of all levels can use its service to increase exposure and following, create a new audience and generate income through various means.
Richard Taylor of MusicPlanet Live says:
‘We’ve chosen to work alongside Music Venue Trust on this very special initiative because we want to ensure we provide opportunities for everyone to get involved in music. We all share the same passion and we believe it is vital to support everyone that has a love for music, especially young people whose voice isn’t being heard yet. Ironic as it sounds as an online platform, we want to encourage people away from their computer screens and out experiencing more shows. We want to help keep live music thriving from grassroots venues to the biggest arenas. We’re providing finance for hard working promoters to help them put on the shows they want. We want these shows to happen, we want the venues paid, the artists paid and as such we want to help cover costs, so promoters can afford to put on a show risk free.’
Fightback: Grassroots Promoter is supported by key organisations and figures from every level of the music industry.
‘It is our experience that grassroots music is where there is more gender parity than any other economic level of the industry and we are proud to be involved in this essential programme to support the success of more young woman in music, to lead by example to ensure other areas of the industry follow suit.’
Toni-Amanda Coe, Programme Manager, The Green Door Store – Brighton
‘We are very excited to be involved in this brilliant initiative, helping to bring new independent female promoters and bookers into grassroots venues whilst supporting the vital work of the Music Venue Trust. The Half Moon has 55 years of experience of putting on shows every night of the week, and our staff have over 30 years of experience promoting them. The next generation of bookers are our future and its imperative we support and arm them with the best knowledge available to grow and develop our industry further’.
Nina Jackson, Venue Manager/Music Programmer, The Half Moon, Putney
‘Supporting live music is something Ents24 has done since 1999, and we’re more than proud to get behind Fightback: Grassroots Promoter. By providing the experience and development for promising promoters, the live music scene can only benefit from equal opportunities, and it’s no surprise to see the grassroots music scene once again at the forefront of change.’
Graham MacLean, Entertainment Liaison, Ents24
‘We’re passionate supporters at Karousel of the work the MVT does to safeguard and support the live side of the music ecosystem. As an organisation that strives to support new acts both personally, and by supporting those around them, we try and pitch in where we can with those who share that goal; I also hope we do our bit in trying to drag aspects of our industry in to a fairer, and more equal 21st century. We’re made up to be asked to take part in the new mentor scheme that MVT have put together with Music planet – it’s something we already try to engage on in our little bubble with nights like the great new 13 per cent presents event that started up at the end of last year in London. This is a brilliant initiative, thrilled to be involved.’
Chris Sheehan, CEO, Karousel Music
‘Creating opportunities for young female promoters is paramount to ensure a diverse industry into the future. Ticketmaster has been a long-time supporter of MVT in their quest to safeguard the future of grassroots music venues, and we’re proud to be a part of this Fightback: Grassroots Promoter campaign. It’s great to see such an inclusive approach and we’re sure it will produce some incredible live shows.’
Andrew Parson, MD, Ticketmaster UK
‘This is an incredibly positive thing to be involved in and I’m happy to lend my experience and mentor someone in the dark arts of being a promoter.’
Steve Tilley, Kilimanjaro Live