Liveline is a new fund created by Save Our Scene and Music Venue Trust to distribute funding directly to grassroots venues, artists and promoters. It currently raises all its available funding from donations, partnerships and collaborations.

LIVE Trust is a new registered charity which was created to collect funds raised by a voluntary £1 contribution from arena and stadium tickets. As such MVT & SOS recommend that the Trust be the first point of call for those in touring seeking to support the grassroots.  The Trust plans to work with established funding distributors to get money into the hands of grassroots venues, artists and promoters.

The idea is simple: A £1 contribution from each arena and stadium ticket to be donated post-event to a charitable trust managed by LIVE, ensuring the full amount supports the grassroots music ecosystem benefitting venues, artists, and promoters.

MVT and SOS believe that it should be, yes. Now known as the ‘Enter Shikari model’ (after the band adopted this on their 2024 tour) £1 from every ticket is effectively ‘donated’ from gross revenues of ticket sales to the LIVE trust. We believe that fans should not face additional ‘add-on’ fees that are already creating considerable extra costs such as ‘booking fees’ and ‘print your ticket at home’ fees.

Once the LIVE Trust is fully operational, Liveline will present its funding opportunities to the LIVE Trust, seeking funds it can quickly and simply distribute to support the grassroots live music ecosystem. 

Information on how and when grassroots venues, artists and promoters will be able to apply for funding through Liveline will be shared in the coming year. A robust application and grant process will be established to ensure equitable distribution of funds to venues, artists, and promoters, focusing on projects that foster development and growth

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Neither. Liveline does not pay blanket fees or subsidise venues to open their doors. It is a risk-sharing programme designed to make properly budgeted shows viable while keeping the incentive to sell tickets and build audiences.

Each show or tour is budgeted in advance.

• If the show makes a loss, up to 80% loss is covered by the programme

• If the show breaks even, no funding is paid.

• If the show makes a profit, the promoter or venue keeps it.

This structure removes the fear of financial ruin without removing the motivation to make the show succeed.

Applying for 12 months worth of funding (with regular i.e. once a month event taking place) to cover the base ‘doors open’ costs of putting on the event. Building a brand/collective with a promoter (with a gap in the market for a certain type of night or genre) working with a venue that doesn’t predominantly put on electronic music in order to build a brand, collective or a community within the town/city. 

Liveline prioritises new and emerging artists in all markets and supports more established artists being routed into secondary and tertiary markets where touring has become financially difficult. The focus is on rebuilding sustainable touring pathways, not one-off headline events. For artists looking to travel extensively.

Budgets are created like any other show. Shows must take place in Music Venue Trust member venues. Promoters must be either members of the Association of Independent Promoters or venues acting as in-house bookers. All costs are assessed and approved in advance. Promoter fee to be included within the budget.

This fund supports the additional costs that stop tours reaching certain parts of the UK, such as long travel distances, fuel, accommodation and ferry crossings. It is designed to reconnect regions like the Highlands and Islands, West Wales and Northern Ireland to the national touring circuit.

Yes. The programme recognises that electronic music is often scene-led rather than tour-led. Liveline supports regular branded nights, promoter–venue partnerships and the integration of touring DJs into established local events.

No. Liveline is designed to rebuild confidence, touring routes and regular programming over time. The goal is to restore functioning local live music economies, not to create permanent dependency on funding.

Venues that want to host more live music but are constrained by financial risk, geography or declining touring routes. It is particularly well suited to venues working with independent promoters or operating in-house booking models who want to take creative risks without risking closure.

The grassroots contribution is envisioned as a sustainable, long-term solution, complemented by policies advocated by MVT to secure the financial health of grassroots music venues

We believe everyone involved in the live music industry should share the responsibility to invest in research and development, collectively contributing just £1 from the success of arena and stadium events into the LIVE Trust. Liveline is one of many mechanisms that can be used by LIVE Trust to distribute that income. Alongside this, Liveline is open now for donations, collaborations and partnerships from companies, organisations, brands, premises and artists.

As for the aim of the grassroots contribution and levy is that those in the music industry making the most profit, reinvest in the talent pipeline that supports and continues to drive those profits. The contribution will come from those involved in the design, promotion, and execution of music performances 

It should be noted that the leading arena owners and event promoters operating in the UK are national subsidiaries of multinational entities. These companies are already making financial contributions to schemes elsewhere in the world which ensure that grassroots music venues and artists benefit from the success at the top of the industry which they have contributed to.

The Liveline Fund is currently an entirely voluntary scheme. We are working with collaborators and partners directly, from Coldplay and Enter Shikari, to venues and promoters, on this. It is our hope that the live music industry adopts a model of contributions from arena and stadium tickets to support the LIVE Trust voluntarily, before it is enforced on a government level.

There will be an application and grant process for venues, artists, and promoters applying for funding from the Liveline Fund. Those involved in distributing the fund will come together to decide on a fair, unilateral application process and criteria that will ensure funding is directed towards certain projects that support the development and growth of the venues, artists, and promoters.