The U.K.’s LIVE Trust has announced its first wave of funded programmes which will see £500,000 ($688,000) distributed through a grant strategy (Jan. 27).
The news comes as Harry Styles is the latest artist to pledge £1 from every ticket sold for his ten-night stand at London’s Wembley Stadium this June. Given the stadium’s 90,000 capacity, he could raise approximately £900,000 ($1.23m) for the LIVE Trust across the ten shows.
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Styles joins a number of influential U.K. and international names who have voluntarily pledged funds to support grassroots touring venues, following Coldplay, Sam Fender, Katy Perry, Radiohead, Ed Sheeran, Lorde and more. In 2026, the LIVE Trust is already expecting to take portions of the proceeds from three million concert tickets.
The LIVE Trust was established in January 2025 to support the grassroots music scene and help distribute funding from proceeds raised. Last week, a report from the Music Venue Trust said that over half of the U.K.’s grassroots music venues were unprofitable and required urgent intervention.
MVT, a charity which supports grassroots venues, will receive £200,000 to share and distribute among its members, and help provide emergency support and increase efficiency amid rising business and energy costs. A U.K. artists’ touring fund, delivered by the Featured Artists Coalition, Music Managers Forum and Musicians’ Union, will receive £125,000 to assist artist costs as they seek to tour internationally.
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The remainder of the initial £500,000 is shared between schemes delivered by the Association of Independent Promoters (£125,000), the Oh Yeah Centre in Belfast (£25,000), Scotland’s Wide Events (£15,000) and Production Futures (£10,000).
Jon Collins, chief executive of LIVE & LIVE Trust said: “It has been quite a journey over the last year as we registered the Trust with the Charity Commission, appointed trustees, developed a grant making strategy and built support across UK live music. I would like to thank the LIVE Board, our trustees and every promoter, manager, venue, agent and artist that has stepped forward in support of this vital work.”
