Johnson’s revised rules will see hospitality and night-time venues closing at 11pm, with last orders to be taken at 10pm. Set to commence from Wednesday, December 2nd, Johnson’s new rules show almost no consideration towards the survival of the night time industry.

Night Time Industry Association Michael Kill released a public statement sharing his worries surrounding the new government restrictions. Kill stated “This announcement by the Government has led us to believe that they are intentionally aiming to collapse our sector…Every town and city across the UK stands to lose valued and much-loved venues.  This will be another stab in the heart of our town and city centres.”

Live music and independent venues, integral parts of British culture, are at stake, Kill warns. Kill argued that “We stand to lose the cultural institutions and amazing workforce of professionals that the UK are renowned for globally. Our clubs, bars, venues, security, freelancers, staff, managers, DJ’s and many more will lose their livelihoods and continue to suffer financial hardship without Government intervention.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Wearethentia (@savenightlife)

Kill went on to directly question the Prime Minister’s lack of support for the live music sector. Kill said: “I make a direct appeal to the Prime Minister –what are you doing to save the lives and livelihoods of the many businesses and workers within the night-time economy, businesses that have been closed since March and are continuing to suffer? 

Kill rightly pointed out that “they have staff and freelancers that will lose their jobs irrespective of furlough because the businesses won’t survive.” Kill concluded the statement with: “What do you say to that Prime Minister, I hope you are sleeping well at night because thousands within our sector are struggling to sleep, in fear of their future.”

In a survey taken of 400 UK businesses, the NTIA found that 75.6% of establishments confirmed that they will be closed by Christmas indefinitely. Additionally, 73% of them said they have made workers redundant since the pandemic began.

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Wearethentia (@savenightlife)

Whilst larger night clubs, such as London’s iconic Fabric, were aided by the government following the £1.5b Cultural Recovery Fund, countless others, which the government labelled as “culturally insignificant”, have been ignored.

In response to the Night Time Industry Association, a government spokesperson from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport said today: “Pubs, clubs and grassroots venues are the heartbeats of our vibrant night-time economy and we are continuing to work closely with the Night-Time Industries Association and medical experts to develop advice and guidance so that nightclubs can reopen when it’s safe to do so.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Lexington (@thelexingtonlondon)

Meanwhile, the Music Venue Trust has launched a brand new preservation campaign towards 30 UK Grassroots venues on the edge of permanent extinction. The MVT’s new #SaveThe30 campaign is vital in protecting beloved venues such as London’s Lexington or Halifax’s The Lantern.

Music Venue Trust CEO Mark Davyd stated: “If we don’t act to save them right now, we do expect a large number of them to be permanently closed – it’s as simple as that. Unless a significant movement is made in the next four weeks, we should expect them to start closing in the middle of December.”

More information about donating to the Music Venue Trust can be found here.

MVT is an organization that represents Grassroots Music Venues across the UK and has already raised over 1.2 million with the SaveOurVenues fight throughout the last 8 months. With only 2 weeks left until the campaign deadline, the Traffic Light phase is intended to showcase the venues that are at the highest risk of closing their doors for good.

Traffic Light gets its name because of the coloured categorization of the music venues according to their needs. There are 353 green venues that will be safe without outside funding until March 31st. Amber venues are safe until March 31st if given outside help. Red venues, currently under the spotlight, are the 30 that the organization has deemed in danger of closing without funding in the next few weeks.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Music Venue Trust (@musicvenuetrust)

The MVT has worked with audiences, local communities and councils, news and radio stations and creative communities in order to raise funds to save the venues, but it is now calling on everyone else to call their local councils and demand action and raise awareness. MVT states on their website that if music venues close, ‘they’ll never come back.’

The organization is now in partnership with Crowdfunder, a platform where the public can donate any sum they choose as a donation for the cause. The 30 venues that are on the MVT’s ‘red list’ are now available to donate to individually, so locals can choose to save their neighbourhood venues. 

If one venue receives an abundance of donations, then the extra proceeds will be used to save other venues that may not have been fortunate enough to meet their quota by the deadline. MVT and the venues are offering SaveOurVenues merchandise for the holiday seasons and will be donating the profits to the venues. 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Music Venue Trust (@musicvenuetrust)

Music venues have been hit hard during the Covid-19 lockdowns, but these venues struggle hardest because they do not qualify for government furlough or business funding. Venues are an integral friend to communities, not only providing a platform for artists to grow in their careers but also playing a large role in the success of the economy and culture of the area. The impact of Grassroots Music Venues is important enough to save.

Donations for SaveOurVenues and Traffic Light campaigns can be made through MVT’s Crowdfunding site here. Holiday merchandise can be ordered now, available here. For those who wish to simply raise awareness, use this hashtag on all social media platforms. #SAVEOURVENUES #SAVETHE30