ArtistDirect News
Liveline Fund Opens Applications to Boost UK Grassroots Music Scene
From the roar of a stadium to the intimate hum of a local club, the Music Venue Trust (MVT) has opened applications for the latest round of the Liveline Fund, a joint effort with Save Our Scene (SOS) and the Association of Independent Promoters (AIP). Backed in part by Coldplay and the LIVE Trust, the initiative seeks to cut financial risk for grassroots venues, promoters and artists across the United Kingdom.
Liveline emerged after a series of pilot projects proved that targeted, incentive‑driven support could revive touring routes and reinforce local music ecosystems. Rather than a blanket grant, the fund offers tailored streams that tackle specific obstacles—high travel costs, venue hire fees and genre‑specific barriers—that have made grassroots touring increasingly fragile.
Coldplay’s contribution comes from a 10 % allocation of the band’s proceeds from their record‑breaking 2025 UK stadium tour, while the LIVE Trust channels arena and stadium ticket sales back into the grassroots sector. According to reports, the combined capital will be deployed to restore touring routes, strengthen local scenes and create more performance opportunities for artists.
The Liveline Fund is structured around four distinct streams:
1. Guarantorship Scheme – underwrites up to 80 % of approved losses on eligible shows, allowing venues and promoters to keep any profits from successful events while mitigating financial risk. 2. Tour Extension & Regional Access Fund – helps artists and promoters extend tours into communities that are increasingly bypassed because of travel costs, accommodation expenses and geographical challenges, reconnecting underserved parts of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with the national touring circuit. 3. Local Scene Development Fund – supports venues and promoters building sustainable local music ecosystems through regular programming and promoter development, covering venue hire costs and promoter training. 4. Genre Specific Safety and Access Fund – supports genres, scenes and communities that carry extra costs or face additional barriers to putting on a night.
Mark Davyd, CEO of MVT, said: “The collapse of touring across the UK requires a robust and coordinated response from venues, bookers, promoters, agents, managers and artists. With Liveline, we are all working together to bring truly revolutionary support to the market. Liveline means everyone involved in creating, producing, developing and delivering a show can move forward with confidence, get shows happening, and be focused on the need to reignite towns and cities across the country with the thrill of extraordinary live music. We are a music nation, and music is written deep into our history. Liveline ensures music remains part of our future.”
Luke Hinton, Chair of the Association of Independent Promoters, added: “Independent promoters are a major force behind live music in communities across the UK, but too often they’re forced to make decisions based on financial risk rather than artistic ambition. Liveline gives promoters the confidence to back emerging artists, develop new audiences and invest in local music scenes that might otherwise be left behind. We’re proud to be partnering with Music Venue Trust and Save Our Scene on an initiative that recognises promoters as an essential part of the grassroots music ecosystem and helps create more opportunities for live music to thrive.”
George Fleming, CEO of Save Our Scene, said: “Today marks a landmark moment for UK music. Liveline applications are now open! If you are a venue, a promoter or an artist who has been struggling to make it work, this fund was built for you. For too long, we have watched the pipeline that produces world‑class talent shrink and Liveline is our answer to that. We are so proud to be working alongside a small but amazing team of people bringing that answer to life.”
The Liveline Fund is open to grassroots music venues, independent promoters, in‑house venue programmers and artist representatives—including managers, booking agents and artists themselves. Funding can support individual shows, tour dates, regular venue programmes, promoter development initiatives and longer‑term activity that strengthens local live music ecosystems.
Applications can be submitted through the Liveline website. The initiative is expected to provide a more resilient framework for grassroots music, allowing venues and promoters to programme more live music, extend touring activity and invest in long‑term audience development.
The Liveline Fund represents a coordinated effort to address the rising costs and shrinking touring circuits that have made it harder for promoters and venues to programme new artists, particularly in secondary and tertiary markets. By sharing financial risk and targeting specific barriers, the fund seeks to restore the viability of grassroots live music across the UK.
For more information and to apply, visit the Liveline Fund website.
Liveline emerged after a series of pilot projects proved that targeted, incentive‑driven support could revive touring routes and reinforce local music ecosystems. Rather than a blanket grant, the fund offers tailored streams that tackle specific obstacles—high travel costs, venue hire fees and genre‑specific barriers—that have made grassroots touring increasingly fragile.
Coldplay’s contribution comes from a 10 % allocation of the band’s proceeds from their record‑breaking 2025 UK stadium tour, while the LIVE Trust channels arena and stadium ticket sales back into the grassroots sector. According to reports, the combined capital will be deployed to restore touring routes, strengthen local scenes and create more performance opportunities for artists.
The Liveline Fund is structured around four distinct streams:
1. Guarantorship Scheme – underwrites up to 80 % of approved losses on eligible shows, allowing venues and promoters to keep any profits from successful events while mitigating financial risk. 2. Tour Extension & Regional Access Fund – helps artists and promoters extend tours into communities that are increasingly bypassed because of travel costs, accommodation expenses and geographical challenges, reconnecting underserved parts of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with the national touring circuit. 3. Local Scene Development Fund – supports venues and promoters building sustainable local music ecosystems through regular programming and promoter development, covering venue hire costs and promoter training. 4. Genre Specific Safety and Access Fund – supports genres, scenes and communities that carry extra costs or face additional barriers to putting on a night.
Mark Davyd, CEO of MVT, said: “The collapse of touring across the UK requires a robust and coordinated response from venues, bookers, promoters, agents, managers and artists. With Liveline, we are all working together to bring truly revolutionary support to the market. Liveline means everyone involved in creating, producing, developing and delivering a show can move forward with confidence, get shows happening, and be focused on the need to reignite towns and cities across the country with the thrill of extraordinary live music. We are a music nation, and music is written deep into our history. Liveline ensures music remains part of our future.”
Luke Hinton, Chair of the Association of Independent Promoters, added: “Independent promoters are a major force behind live music in communities across the UK, but too often they’re forced to make decisions based on financial risk rather than artistic ambition. Liveline gives promoters the confidence to back emerging artists, develop new audiences and invest in local music scenes that might otherwise be left behind. We’re proud to be partnering with Music Venue Trust and Save Our Scene on an initiative that recognises promoters as an essential part of the grassroots music ecosystem and helps create more opportunities for live music to thrive.”
George Fleming, CEO of Save Our Scene, said: “Today marks a landmark moment for UK music. Liveline applications are now open! If you are a venue, a promoter or an artist who has been struggling to make it work, this fund was built for you. For too long, we have watched the pipeline that produces world‑class talent shrink and Liveline is our answer to that. We are so proud to be working alongside a small but amazing team of people bringing that answer to life.”
The Liveline Fund is open to grassroots music venues, independent promoters, in‑house venue programmers and artist representatives—including managers, booking agents and artists themselves. Funding can support individual shows, tour dates, regular venue programmes, promoter development initiatives and longer‑term activity that strengthens local live music ecosystems.
Applications can be submitted through the Liveline website. The initiative is expected to provide a more resilient framework for grassroots music, allowing venues and promoters to programme more live music, extend touring activity and invest in long‑term audience development.
The Liveline Fund represents a coordinated effort to address the rising costs and shrinking touring circuits that have made it harder for promoters and venues to programme new artists, particularly in secondary and tertiary markets. By sharing financial risk and targeting specific barriers, the fund seeks to restore the viability of grassroots live music across the UK.
For more information and to apply, visit the Liveline Fund website.