Wigan music venue's future looks bright

Atherton-based The Snug is set to be bought by fans as part of a new £3.5m initiative run by the Music Venue Trust, a UK charity which represents hundreds of grassroots music venues, that sees fans buy shares to purchase the freeholds to ensure their long term future in their community.

As one of the only grassroots music venue in the Wigan borough, it is an important cultural space where bands such as The Lottery Winners, Deja-Vega, Heavy Salad, The Lounge Society and Honeyglaze played in the early parts of their career.

The pilot scheme, named Music Venues Properties was created by MVT CEO Mark Davyd, in an effort to curb the surging numbers of grassroots music venues facing permanent closure all over the UK.

The scheme was launched last month and has already raised more than £200,000 of the £3.5m needed to buy the properties of nine venues across the UK.

The aim is that the money raised will allow the venues to be effectively owned by the trust and fans to protect them from rising rent and threats of closure.

Mr Davyd said: "The long term security and prosperity of grassroots music venues depends almost entirely on one thing, ownership.

"Too many have been at the mercy of some commercial landlords whose motivations revolve primarily around profit.

"We have lost over a third of our venues in the last 20 years and with over 90 per cent having only 18 months left on their tenancies, we could see the decimation of our sector if we don’t do something radical about it.

"This scheme will allow ethical investors and music fans to invest in the future of live music while receiving a healthy return on their money.”

The Snug got involved with the initiative after their landlord informed them that he was looking to sell the property as this threw up much uncertainty about its future, putting it at potential risk of being purchased by people with no interest in the arts who may wish to develop the site for residential properties.