In a landmark move for the UK’s music scene, a new law is set to try and reshape the future of live music, particularly focusing on stopping the abundance of closures of our grassroots venues.

Whilst major stadium tours and larger festivals continue to thrive, a portion of their profits will now be directed towards sustaining smaller venues that have long been the home & breeding ground for emerging talent. The new law is vital for creating a lifeline to struggling venues and a step in recognising the relationship between mainstream success & local culture.

For decades, grassroots venues have been heroes of music culture. These venues are where countless bands and performers have honed their craft. From warehouses of rave culture to more intimate punk gigs and indie nights, these spaces are areas of innovation, culture, and identity.

In recent years, these venues have faced huge challenges. High rents, gentrification, noise complaints, and the pressures of an increasingly corporate music industry have left many struggling to survive. The economic fragility of small venues was massively exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, where we saw many beloved institutions close their doors for good.

With a bleak future ahead for many cornerstone venues of the UK’s music scenes, the government’s newly passed law arrives as a crucial intervention to preserve the backbone of the live music culture. 

The new law states that a percentage of the profits from large concerts are allocated to a fund to support grassroots venues. The initiative sets aside 1-2% of revenue to be directed to small venues, helping them with the increasingly unaffordable costs.

The success of big concerts and festivals is built on talent crafted in these small venues. By creating a link between large-scale events and the survival of smaller, independent venues, this legislation creates a relationship that benefits both emerging artists and recognised performers alike.

Small venues—typically with capacities under 1,000 people—have always been at the heart of the UK’s music scene, often on small margins.

While these spaces might lack the massive budgets of their larger counterparts, they offer something far more needed: authenticity, intimacy and a sense of community.

The funds raised through this new initiative will hopefully provide venues with an essential cushion. Through this grassroots venues will be better equipped to offer the kind of creative, experimental spaces that have shaped music genres across the decades.

This law is as much about the music as it is a cultural revolution that speaks to the value of local, community-based institutions in an increasingly commercialised industry. Currently, everything seems to be moving towards larger scaled events, this legislation should be seen as reminder of the importance of supporting local creativity and preserving culture.

 Grassroots venues are way more than just spaces for music. They are community hubs, providing an area for anyone to come together and connect through the language of music. Many of these venues have been at the front of social movements, using music as a form of protest or a space for marginalized voices to be heard. This new law recognizes the role these venues play not just in the music industry, but in creating a larger sense of cultural expression.

 In many ways, this law is a blueprint for the future of live music—one that prioritizes sustainability, culture, and new talent.

This is a chance for the UK to reaffirm its commitment to independent music and invest in a future where creativity is supported, celebrated, and made accessible to all.