Attempting to answer the question "How can we save our grassroots music venues?" in an article for Rolling Stone last month, Emma Wilkes argued that the most significant problem is their ownership - so it's good to hear that the Music Venue Trust (MVT) have not only created Music Venue Properties, a charitable community benefit society that can take on cultural ownership/stewardship of premises, but also actually made an initial acquisition: the Snug in Greater Manchester. The arrangement will help to secure the venue's future, ensuring that it - unlike so many other grassroots spaces - will no longer be at risk from the whims of a capricious/greedy landlord.
Clearly, the scheme has only been made possible by substantial financial backing, both from investors and arts funding bodies, but the MVT deserve enormous credit for driving the project forwards. In the current climate, it's easy to get despondent and defeatist - so the MVT's determination to roll up sleeves and develop practical plans like this, rather than merely generating hot air, is heartening for all concerned.
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