Live Trust Welcomes $568K In Ticket Contribution Pledges

In the beginning of the year, UK trade body LIVE (Live music Industry Venues & Entertainment), which represents 15 live music industry organizations, launched the LIVE Trust, the latest UK initiative offering financial support to those working across grassroots live music.

According to a press release from LIVE, the trust has already had over £500,000 ($568,000) pledged in ticket contributions from UK tours of domestic and international artists, including Pulp, Diana Ross, Mumford and Sons, Hans Zimmer, and more.

The LIVE Trust receives funding from a voluntary contribution of £1 per ticket from arena and stadium shows with a capacity of over 5,000.

To Support The Vital Parts Of The Biz: UK Trade Body LIVE Announces Launch Of The Live Trust

Overseen by a panel of industry experts, “it then sets a funding strategy to support those delivering vibrant, grassroots music experiences to communities across the UK – be they artists, venues, festivals or promoters,” by LIVE’s own admission.

As the trust points out, “passing the half million figure coincides with new fan research which shows the concept behind the Trust is hugely popular,” referring to the “Music Fans Voice” report released last week, which surveyed over 8,000 live music concert goers, and found that 93% of respondents supported the idea that £1 from every ticket of any arena or stadium live music event should go to a fund that directly supports the grassroots.

Jon Collins, CEO of LIVE, commented, “this is a welcome milestone for The LIVE Trust and marks a very significant contribution to the grassroots live music sector. What this demonstrates is that there is a real appetite from performers and their teams to support the wider live ecosystem and we applaud and thank those that have already taken this initiative. Whilst this is an excellent start there is still much work to do if we are to convince government that a voluntary rather than statutory levy is both workable and sustainable.”

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