Night Time Economy Summit: Supporting the future of grassroots music

The Night Time Economy Summit is set to take place at Birmingham’s Hockley Social Club this week, bringing together innovators and leaders from the night time industry to discuss the ongoing trends in the sector and pave the way for the year.

Hosted by the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), the summit is Europe’s largest gathering of the night-time economy community. With over 250 speakers from 20 countries, the event will highlight key trends, challenges, and opportunities to shape the sector in 2025.

At the heart of these discussions is GigPig, with co-founder Kit Muir-Rogers moderating the panel, ‘Grassroots Music: Supporting The Future.’ This session features industry experts including Sophie Bignon (Head of PA, MVT), Lyle Bignon (NTIA Birmingham), George Fleming (Save Our Scene), Carly Heath (NTE Advisor, Bristol), and Joe Frankland (PRS Foundation).

By sponsoring and leading discussions at the summit, GigPig is ensuring a fairer, more sustainable live music industry, one where both artists and venues can thrive. Our vision with the NTIA closely aligns with driving the sector forward and improving the industry, and we’re pleased to support their work at the summit.

The panel will explore the challenges facing grassroots live and electronic music and highlight the importance of nurturing homegrown talent to secure the future of UK nightlife.

The Challenges Facing Grassroots Music Venues

The summit comes at an essential time for grassroots music venues after coming off the back of another incredibly challenging year.

The Music Venue Trust (MVT) Report found that a grassroots venue shut every two weeks. Additionally, 80 venues have stopped hosting live music, and over 200 have sought emergency assistance from MVT.

But the impact extends beyond venues. Without spaces for artists to perform, they can’t climb the ladder in the music industry, gain exposure and build a community around their music.

This was underpinned in the report with a decline in touring opportunities. In 1994, a typical UK tour spanned 22 dates across 28 locations, now tours have shrunk to 11 dates in 12 major cities. Consequently, live music shows have dropped by 8.3%, and ticket revenues have seen a 13.5% decline compared to the previous year, showcasing that the spaces for musicians to showcase their talent are suffering.

This has made it more important than ever to support the future of grassroots music venues in 2025.

GigPig’s Commitment to Grassroots Music

For musicians within the grassroots space, GigPig ensures a sustainable future for the sector, as the platform gives artists free access to thousands of the best venues across the country, so they can regularly gig to hone their craft, gain their stripes and build a community around their music.

The cultural and economic significance of grassroots music is undeniable. In 2024, the sector hosted 162,000 live music events featuring nearly 1.5 million artist performances, with close to 20 million fans in attendance. However, while grassroots music contributed £526 million to the UK economy, venues are operating on a profit margin of just 0.48%. GigPig is committed to reversing this trend by fostering a thriving live music ecosystem and supporting it from the ground up.

In what has been deemed ‘the toughest period for hospitality since 2020’, the number of pubs in the UK has fallen below 39,000. This is why GigPig has launched its instant booking service to provide a much-needed lifeline for venues grappling with rising costs, falling consumer spending and a record number of closures, allowing operators to immediately book local musicians on-demand and boost revenue with live entertainment.  

It enables pubs and bars to easily sign up to the platform and provides them with access to over 10,000 live artists, as well as data analytics to help venues identify the type of artists and genres most likely to drive sales in their area.

This solution supports the future of grassroots music by future-proofing live entertainment in the sector as venues’ live music operations will be streamlined and simplified with the GigPig platform to empower venues and artists to cultivate unforgettable moments and support a vibrant, thriving community for live entertainment.

Speaking to the CEO of the NTIA, Mike Kill, about GigPig’s contribution to the NTIA Summit, he said: “We've built a fantastic relationship with GigPig and their ethos and drive behind cultivating talent is vitally important.

“There are some exciting panels around grassroots music, and I know GigPig will be involved in the conversations off the back of it. It's so important to help the government recognise the importance of this space with a mandate to support it.

“Last year’s conference was a pinnacle moment for us, so we're excited to be able to host it and do the work that we're doing in Manchester. Manchester was a great host. We're hoping Birmingham will be similar. There are some really interesting outputs that I think will be very exciting for the conference.

“It’s a very colourful and diverse group of people coming together to share their views and perspectives, which is extremely exciting."

Key Wins Will Shape The Future of the Sector

2024 saw significant wins for the sector, and those should be the driving force in sustaining the future of grassroots music.

MVT described the introduction of the ticket levy as ‘the single most significant shift in the UK music industry in over 50 years.’ The historic move sees a £1 voluntary ticket levy imposed on stadium and arena shows to ensure the sustainability of the grassroots music sector.

Measures are starting to be implemented for the ticket levy, where Enter Shikari, Coldplay, Sam Fender, Katy Perry, Mr Scruff and Frank Turner have already donated or committed £1 of every ticket from their upcoming tours to MVT.

MVT’s efforts extend beyond policy changes. Their ‘Own Our Venues’ campaign has been instrumental in preserving grassroots venues and securing the future of spaces at risk of closure. In 2024, they successfully acquired The Ferret (Preston), The Bunkhouse (Swansea), The Booking Hall (Dover), and Le Pub (Newport), following their first purchase of The Snug in Atherton, Wigan, in 2022.

About the significance of MVT to the grassroots venue, the Event Manager for The Snug, Ben Morgan, said: “MVT saved us once before during lockdown with support from cultural recovery fund that Arts Council put on, and that was pivotal in keeping us alive after the pandemic so they have always been someone we have looked up to.

“They didn’t just save the music venue, they saved a community space for the whole of Atherton. To keep grassroots music alive in the local area was quite touching for us.”

A Defining Moment for Grassroots Music

As the Night Time Economy Summit unfolds this week, it represents a vital opportunity to drive positive change. These discussions with key stakeholders come together to strategise and implement long-term solutions that ensure the longevity of grassroots music.

GigPig plays a pivotal role in this movement, providing a tangible solution for artists and venues to thrive. By offering a seamless platform that connects musicians with venues, GigPig is actively shaping the future of grassroots music.

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