London’s V&A Museum will host an exhibition on town’s misplaced music venues subsequent yr – and it’s in search of assist from most people.
Working alongside the Music Venue Belief, the museum will exhibit the legacy of town’s numerous music venues which have shut down and it’s calling on folks to submit their “artefacts and music ephemera” to finish their assortment.
The exhibition will launch in 2026 and Londoners have till Could 31 this yr to ship in any gadgets to this deal with from between 1988 and 2025 for consideration.
“We’re proudly working with the V&A on an thrilling new mission that champions grassroots music venues and their cultural legacy – and you may be part of it,” the Music Venue Belief wrote on Instagram.
The ‘Misplaced Music Venues’ exhibition will platform the “significance of grassroots and impartial music areas – from pub venues to nightclubs throughout the UK”.
“Do you could have any flyers, signage, flooring, tools, set lists, posters, pictures, movie footage, DJ decks, microphones, designs or clothes from an impartial membership or venue? We’re in search of materials courting from 1988-2025.”
The exhibition comes at a time of disaster for small music venues. One proposed try at addressing the issue is a mannequin whereby arena-sized venues and above would undertake a £1 ticket levy, with the cash being redistributed again into the grassroots ecosystem to assist maintain the expertise pipeline flowing.
A survey earlier this yr discovered that the coverage was supported overwhelmingly by music followers, with 93 per cent of 8,000 individuals saying they “strongly agreed” that the coverage could be a constructive transfer.
The proposal has been backed by the likes of Coldplay, Sam Fender, Enter Shikari and Katy Perry, and an replace from MVT stated the levy has meant that “over £580,000 has already been reinvested into the grassroots community by way of 147 grants”.
The push for extra assist for dwell music venues comes after startling figures have been shared at first of the yr, revealing that 70.6 per cent of impartial UK acts have by no means toured, whereas 84 per cent of unsigned artists merely can’t afford to. One other examine shared in January revealed that 2024 noticed the UK lose one grassroots music venue each two weeks – with practically half making a loss and 200 remaining in a state of emergency.
There was intervention from the UK authorities to assist protect the way forward for dwell music although. Firstly of this yr, it was shared that parliament was wanting right into a value cap on how a lot touts can re-sell tickets for, in addition to an official session into the trade and controversial ‘dynamic pricing’ practices.