The FREENOW taxi app is raising money for Music Venue Trust.
Music fans in Leicester can now help to save grassroots music venues when using the taxi app FREENOW.
The Round Up and Donate function on the FREENOW app will raise money for Music Venue Trust (MVT), the charity that supports grassroots music venues, to help it support venues at risk of closure.
MVT has described 2023 as the most challenging year for the sector since the Trust was founded in 2014. In total 16% of GMVs closed or ceased programming live music in 2023.
The cross-party Culture, Media and Sport Committee, recently issued its report which highlights how grassroots music venues (GMVs) which are integral to the pipeline of professional, creative and technical music talent are stopping performances of live music or closing entirely at a rate more than one per week.
The report also highlights how artists are facing a cost of touring crisis and are struggling to get venues for their shows.
Music Venue Trust will use funds raised through the FREENOW Round Up and Donate feature to operate the Emergency Response Service (ERS), which has saved hundreds of venues from closure since it was established in 2017.
In 2023 the ERS offered specialist advice in 164 cases, the largest number it has ever dealt with in one year.
The primary threats that ERS addresses are:
Threats to venues from redevelopment
Threats to venues from noise complaints/licence issues
Threats to venues from rising energy costs
Threats to venues from disputes with Landlords
Fresh off the back of their No.1 album The Libertines said: "The UK grassroots music circuit is more than just small local venues.
"It is absolutely crucial to emerging talent. It is the vanguard of independent expression and free speech outside the corporate and commerce-based music industry.
"It is a labour of love for those who run the venues and it is a rite of passage for new acts cutting their teeth. Without this community we would never have gotten our music into the wider world at large.
"We have played hundreds of these gigs over the last 2 decades, each one unique and intimate in a way that only these smaller venues can provide. We also run a couple of our own.
"We hope this new partnership with FREENOW and MVT raises loads of cash to keep them going and we’re honoured to be joining MVT as patrons to help recognise and protect the grassroots circuit.
"Long live the MVT, long live grassroots venues and long live new music."
The partnership between MVT and FREENOW follows on from previous initiatives, including underwriting 160 shows around the country (2022), donating £1 a ride (2023) and providing transport for Frank Turner during his successful MVT World Record attempt (May 2024).
Steve Lamacq, radio presenter and Music Venue Trust Patron added “It's terrific to see a company like FREENOW investing so heavily into grassroots music venues for a third time. Their continued support makes a real difference.”
Mark Davyd, Founder and CEO of Music Venue Trust, who is calling on music lovers to support the initiative, added: "FREENOW have already proved themselves to be great supporters of grassroots music venues and the broader live music ecosystem with their groundbreaking Ride for Music project.
"This new initiative takes our partnership to the next level, offering a chance for everyone to contribute to the music ecosystem "
Mariusz Zabrocki, General Manager at FREENOW UK, said: "The UK's vibrant and innovative music scene is crucial to the nighttime economy.
Over the last few years, the industry has struggled, and many grassroots venues in London and beyond have closed, impacting those directly and indirectly related to them, such as our users and taxi drivers.
As such, supporting MVT for a third consecutive year was a no-brainer, and we are delighted to direct our Round Up and Donate funds in the UK to MVT to ensure grassroots venues stay open and that our night-time economy in the capital and beyond can thrive."
This music industry-wide backing comes off the back of FREENOW’s previous initiatives with Music Venue Trust that garnered public support from artists including Ed Sheeran, Tom Grennan, Nova Twins, Public Service Broadcasting, Benjamin Clementine and Bernard Butler.
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