“This grant will help us with the growth and enhance our reputation as a venue that strives to do its best for artists and audiences alike.”

The Grayston Unity, a music venue in Halifax has received a grant from the charity Music Venue Trust (MVT). The MVT’s Pipeline Investment Fund Grant will go towards paying for backline equipment including drums, monitors and amps.

“We applied and were successful in being awarded money to buy our own backline, which will save us money having to hire equipment in, it will make our gigs run more smoothly and make us more self sufficient. Finally it will make us more attractive to touring bands to play for us, especially bands from out of the UK ” said The Grayston Unity’s owner Michael Ainsworth.

“Like many other grassroots music venues we are facing very challenging times due to the impact of the cost of living crisis and the ongoing changes we’ve experienced since Covid. To find the money would have been both difficult and not prudent given the above circumstances. The funding means a lot to us, it really does. Despite everything, and with the help of MVT and others, we are growing albeit slowly, as a venue. This grant will help us with the growth and enhance our reputation as a venue that strives to do its best for artists and audiences alike.

The Pipeline Investment Fund was established with the support of members of the Music Venues Alliance and was primarily funded by donations from ticket sales of MVT’s recent ‘Revive Live’ programme of gigs around the UK, which was a partnership with The National Lottery.

The first recipients of the grants are 11 Grassroots Music Venues who have received almost £40,000 in total for a range of lighting, sound and associated equipment purchases, air conditioning units and building work.

Mark Davyd, Founder and CEO of Music Venue Trust said, “The Pipeline Investment Fund is proof of what a huge difference relatively small amounts of money can make to local Grassroots Music Venues. Music Venue Trust is investing this money directly into facilities for artists and for local music communities improving venues for everyone. We’d like to see every stadium and arena show in the country making a small contribution to this fund. Every headline artist should be able to know with confidence that when they reach the top of our industry the impact of their success ripples back to directly support the venues and communities where the launched their career. MVT has created the mechanism to make that possible, we need the music industry to come together and make it happen.”

The fund prioritised 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 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.