A music venue in Liverpool has received a grant from the charity Music Venue Trust (MVT), as part of a fourth round of recipients for its major new funding initiative, which provides grants of up to £5,000 for UK Grassroots Music Venues. Melodic Bar received £1705.73 from MVT’s Pipeline Investment Fund to pay for new staging, training, and seating.
Venue director of Melodic Bar James Zaremba said: “As a venue that opened right after the lifting of Covid restrictions, we’ve faced a number of financial challenges. This means that all money generated has been allocated towards basic operational costs and overheads. We’ve very rarely been able to invest in improving and growing the space. This funding allows us to make much-needed investments into our venue. The money will help to us to build modular furniture to make the most of our space, improve our overheads, allow us to put larger acts on with the extension of the stage, and help us create a safer more welcoming space through important staff training. We’re confident that this funding will improve our guests experience of visiting our venue!”
The Pipeline Investment Fund, established in 2022, is primarily funded by ticket sales of MVT’s recent ‘Revive Live’ programme of gigs around the UK, a hugely successful partnership with The National Lottery. To date £165,000 worth of grants have been awarded to 38 Grassroots Music Venues since December. This fourth round of payments sees a total sum of £97,516.97 awarded to a further 23 GMVs across the country.
The fund prioritises support for organisations who may have been excluded from other available funding and was open to all venue operators and organisations that meet any of the three definitions of a Grassroots Music Space, which can be found here.
Music Venue Trust is still actively seeking further donations, particularly from the wider music industry, to maintain and expand the Pipeline Investment Fund and make it a permanent source of support for Grassroots Music Venues. Please contact ozlem@musicvenuetrust.com for details of how this work can be supported.