The Music Venue Trust (MVT) has announced its first event in Wales.
The MVT, created in 2014 to protect and champion the UK’s grassroots live music venues, is inviting venues from across the country to come together at Cardiff's Clwb Ifor Bach from 11am to 4pm on May 17.
The one-day event will be an opportunity for networking, to hear from national cultural and music industry organisations and crucially, to contribute to a discussion of the challenges faced on a local and national basis.
"As a UK-wide organisation it's important for us to emphasise that we represent grassroots music venues from across Britain and in order to do this we need to go out and talk to the people that run those venues,” said the MVT’s strategic director Beverley Whitrick.
“We are aware that we have a limited number of Music Venues Alliance members in Wales to date but are keen to build our networks and listen to the issues for venues there. Some of the challenges will be the same as in England or Scotland but others may be specific to Wales so this is something we need to know."
Created in partnership with UK Music and with support from Arts Council of Wales, delegate passes will be free to venue representatives. Guests from across the live sector and MVT partner organisations including The Musicians’ Union, UK Music and Attitude is Everything will take part in the day, offering information, tips and experiences to drive the discussion.
“We are looking forward to visiting Cardiff to discuss the many challenges facing small venues in Wales,” said UK Music CEO Jo Dipple. “Last year UK Music published the Wish You Were Here, a report which showed music tourism generated £95 million towards the Welsh economy in 2014, whilst attracting over 211,000 music fans to live music events.
“Music venues are vital part of the ecosystem that incubates new local talent and must be encouraged. Our live music census in nearby Bristol last October revealed that half of the venues surveyed said they were negatively affected by developmental, noise or planning issues. Getting conditions right to support all Welsh music venues and encourage them to flourish is a priority for UK Music. In June we will publish a new version of Wish You Were for 2016, which will look in greater depth at Cardiff and the Welsh live music scene and the enormous contribution it makes to tourism in Wales.”
Travel bursaries to attend the meeting are also available on request. Email venuesday@gmail.com to request a place.
Venues Day 2016 will take place on Tuesday, October 18, at Roundhouse, London.
