Another of the UK’s grassroots music venues announced its closure yesterday. The 220-capacity Bath Moles has hosted the likes of Ed Sheeran, Oasis, Blur, Radiohead, The Smiths and The Killers since it opened in 1978.
“Massively increased costs of stock, utilities and rent compounded by our customers also feeling the impact of the crisis has made it impossible to continue,” said co-owner Tom Maddicott (pictured above).
“The reality is that live music at grassroots level is no longer economically viable and we will not be the only grassroots music venue forced to close.”
The UK’s Music Venue Trust sees the closure as a spark to redouble its efforts to persuade larger venues and the wider industry to offer more support to the grassroots circuit. It says that more than 120 smaller venues have closed this year, with another 84 ‘in crisis’.
“In France all major live music events are required to pay 3.5% of each ticket sale into a fund to support grassroots artists and venues,” said MVT CEO Mark Davyd.
The Trust has written to the British government this week calling for a “compulsory levy on every ticket sold for every live music event above 5,000 capacity” in the UK” to support grassroots venues.
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