Grassroots venues fund launched to ease pressures
IndependentA £2.2m fund has been launched to ease the pressures on grassroots music and performance venues.
North East mayor Kim McGuinness launched the Small Venues Fund at Independent in Sunderland on Thursday after she said "more than half the venues" she spoke to said they did not make a profit last year.
Artistic and strategic director of the Straw Yard in Berwick, Ben Humphrey said the fund was a "needed initiative" due to finances being on a "knife-edge" for venues across the region.
The fund will be open for applications in the autumn with an initial £800,000 in grants available in the fund's first year.
Despite the recent success of the region's music scene, with events like the Mercury Awards, Radio 1's Big Weekend and BBC Proms, grassroots venues have been struggling against rising costs.
The owners of the Ouseburn venue Cobalt Studios previously told the BBC they were working 80-hour weeks unpaid to keep their heads above the water.
In March, the venue called for more help and for government bodies to recognise the "cultural power" of these venues.
The three-year fund will deliver grants from £3,000 to £100,000 to enable small venues in the region of up to 300 capacity or 500 standing to "invest in equipment and infrastructure or boost venue-making operations".
McGuinness said: "We know venues like this are struggling, more than half of them told me that last year they didn't make a profit and too many of them are disappearing from our local area.
"I want to see them thriving and that's exactly what this fund is about."
Developed in partnership with North East music development agency Generator, its CEO Mick Ross said the fund was "a landmark moment".
"It recognises that grassroots venues are essential to developing our pipeline of talent and without these amazing spaces to experiment, there will be fewer opportunities for people from every background to build careers on stage and behind the scenes," he said.
The Straw Yard has only been in operation for about two years and Humphery said: "Everything's always on a knife-edge with a small venue, you've got 50-60 seats which means you're not making much money on tickets.
"With that money, venues can start to give more opportunity to emerging artists.
"We don't all start fully fledged - we've got to cut our teeth somewhere and small venues are where it happens."
Meanwhile, Kay Greyson, a rapper from Newcastle, said: "I think it's amazing, I think it's going to be life-changing for a lot of people in the region.
"I think it's so important to support venues.
"It's where artists get to go and really start their development, but it's also where fans are made.
"So I think having those places for people to go to, be supported, I think that's really going to turn the scene into something even more special than it already is."
