FEATURE:
Plan B
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The Uncertain Future of Venues, and the Human Cost Involved
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THESE are tense times…
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and the future of many venues is under threat. There are various estimates, but some say that up to 90% of venues could be at risk of permanent closure by October if there is not a sufficient amount of money injected into the sector to ensure they can hibernate until then – otherwise the effects could be devastating for the industry. The sector needs a £46 million rescue, a roadmap to reopen, support to recover, and it seems like there is a contrast between what the Government is proposing, and what is needed in order to ensure that the live sector can survive until later this year. This article from The Evening Standard explains the Government’s recent five-step plan – and how it has been received by some:
“The CEO of the Music Venue Trust, the body representing grassroots music venues in the UK, has slammed the Government’s proposed ‘roadmap’ plan for restarting live concerts.
It comes after Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden outlined a five-step plan, which aims to get in-person performances back up and running in the nation’s theatres and music venues.
Responding to the plan, Mark Davyd, CEO of the MVT, said: “We have consistently told [the] Government that what the culture sector needs is the support to enable them to do what they do best.
“We don’t need guidance on how to organise creative activity and connect with audiences, this is what our venues do professionally. We need the money to survive the crisis and plan our own route back to full use.”
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Mr Davyd proposed an alternative five-step plan for the sector. Read it in full below:
"Step 1: Create the sector support financial package that is immediately required so that any sort of grassroots music venue sector survives to require any more steps at all.
"Step 2: Check if you have completed Step 1. If not, keep checking until you have.
"Step 3: Get out of the way of one of the most dynamic and innovative creative industries in the world and let them get on with it.
"Step 4: Continue to receive massive social cultural and economic benefits for decades to come because you got Step 1 right.
"Step 5: Realise this doesn’t need five steps, it only needs Step 1."
The MVT has called on the Government to provide a £50m financial aid package, writing an open letter which was signed by more than 550 venues across the country.
Grassroots music venues are particularly at risk during the pandemic. No concrete date has been given by the Government as to when they will be able to welcome audiences again, and many venues are crowdfunding to survive”.
This week, there will be a lot of discussion and protestation regarding that five-step plan, and I have seen on social media so many venues setting up initiatives so that they can raise money. Things are a bit of a mess, so it is imperative that the Government react to what has been said regarding their plan, so that they can revise it and help venues stay alive. The weekend just gone would have been Glastonbury, and many of us have caught various sets of the past via the BBC iPlayer.
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There are big plans for next year, and many of us are looking forward to festivals happening then. The problem is, if a lot of venues are forced to close, that will have an impact on festivals. New artists will not have anywhere to play, and I think, if you remove the grassroots venues, then that will make it a lot harder for underground acts to be discovered, which will have a real impact on festivals. I hope that there will be a structured recovery plan, and we can preserve as many venues as possible. A lot of people are bemoaning the fact they cannot see gigs and get together with other people. Others just what that social aspect but, in truth, how many of us consider the people who make venues run and the human cost that would come with their closure?! From administrators and managers through to cleaners, technical staff and those who work behind the bar, there is a chain of people, a family, who make the venues what they are. At the moment, these people are subsisting on furlough payment, and others are applying for Universal Credit. There is a lot of anxiety around, as they are not sure when they can return to work – if at all. Some venues have already closed, and many more are in a precarious position. It is a terrible predicament, and I do hope that things get better very soon. The public and patrons have been great regarding donating to their local venues are getting involved with the #SaveOurVenues initiative. You can do your part here, because so many venues risk having their doors closed permanently.
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I do think it is the people that keep these spaces buzzing that deserve our fondest wishes and thoughts. Few of us realise how many people work at venues, even the smaller ones, and keep them going. Right now, no venue can assume they are safe and make solid plans for next year. The Government do need to put that £46 million into the sector, and that will allow venues to keep their doors closed longer, to ensure that people are safe and they are not forced to reopen soon and risk making people ill. It is a struggle between wanting to open and get artists playing again but having to follow advice and wait patiently. There are drive-in festivals happening, and some have suggested that socially-distanced gigs could take place, though there would be very few people allowed into a venue and, really, how useful would that be?! Would people even want to do that?! The reopening of record shops has been brilliant, and it has helped physical music sales rise – many feared a lot of record shops would have to close, but most have survived. Venues are not as lucky in the sense that they can provide an online service and welcome people back in with measures in place. Because of that, they require money so that they can keep their staff furloughed, and they can pay rent/other expenses until they can safely reopen. It is the people in these venues that are struggling, in addition to artists who would normally be performing at this time of year. It is a tense time, but I have optimism that there will be some good news soon. Venues are waiting on tenterhooks for some tide of positive change and, considering all that they give us, it is…
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THE least they deserve.