More than half of the UK’s grassroots music venues operated at a loss in 2025, according to new figures from the Music Venue Trust, underlining the fragile state of the country’s live music ecosystem.
MVT’s Annual Report 2025 reveals that 53 percent of grassroots music venues failed to turn a profit last year, despite the sector contributing more than £500 million annually to the UK economy. Over the same period, 30 venues closed permanently and around 6,000 jobs were lost, representing a near 20 percent contraction in the workforce. It is the sharpest employment drop recorded since the charity began collecting annual data.
The report also highlights a shrinking national touring circuit, with 175 UK towns and cities no longer receiving regular touring shows by professional artists. That loss of access, MVT warns, is cutting emerging artists off from vital development opportunities and weakening the talent pipeline that feeds the wider live and recorded music industries.
Music Venue Trust points to rising costs driven by changes to national insurance and business rates as a key pressure on venues already operating on margins averaging just 2.5 percent. The charity argues that the current economic model for grassroots live music is no longer sustainable.
Mark Davyd, Music Venue Trust’s chief executive and founder, said the sector has reached breaking point.
“We have reached the limits of what venues can absorb on margins of 2.5%. This sector has done all it can to keep music live in our communities. It now needs permanent protection, structural reform and leadership that recognises grassroots venues as essential national infrastructure.”
MVT has set out a £2 million intervention plan aimed at stabilising the sector, alongside support for a voluntary grassroots levy that would see stadium and arena shows reinvest a portion of ticket revenue back into smaller venues. If that levy does not deliver by June 2026, the charity says the government must step in and legislate.
“The future of British music depends on stabilising and rebuilding the grassroots touring network,” Davyd added. “This is no longer just about rescue. It is about restoring the infrastructure that music careers are built on.”
The Music Venue Trust Annual Report 2025 can be viewed in full HERE
