Jazz venues ‘hanging by a thread’

The UK’s jazz scene will “irrevocably change for the worst” without adequate support, musicians have warned.

A letter addressed to Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, co-signed by 68 Parliamentary Jazz Award recipients, says UK jazz is “hanging by a thread” as funding channels fail to reach grassroots venues.

Jazz guitarist Nigel Price, author of the letter, said a number of promoters and venues have already “succumbed to the dire financial straits faced”.

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The letter calls for funding to be allocated to venues and promoters previously deemed ineligible for Arts Council England (ACE) grants.

DCMS’ reply, which pointed to a 2020 recovery funding round reserved for grassroots music venues, left signatories feeling their claims had been dismissed.

Grassroots jazz venues, over 90% of which Price estimates are volunteer led, largely failed to qualify for the Emergency Grassroots Venues Fund or successive Culture Recovery Fund rounds because they often lack permanent premises or company status.

The UK’s jazz scene was on the back foot coming into the pandemic after JazzUK, a grant giving supporter of these venues and promoters, closed in 2017. 

Formally known as Jazz Services, the charity formed part of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio for 10 years until 2014 and “took the sting” out of financial pressures, Price said.

Covid exacerbated the loss, with research from the Music Venue Trust estimating up to 50% of Jazz, Folk and Blues touring opportunities may have vanished.

“It’s clear that if we want a live art form that creates work for hundreds of musicians, and means so much to so many people across the country to have any kind of future on these islands, then we are going to have to be prepared to fight for it,” Price said.

Fragile ecosystem

About a dozen jazz clubs have closed since the start of the pandemic, including North London’s Herts Jazz Club, which shut its doors for the final time in December.

The St Albans venue, operational for 50 years, reported losses of hundreds of pounds each week in the run up to its closure. 

Grassroots venues rely heavily on volunteer promoters, who often subsidise losses from their own pockets, meaning some venues are “one or two bad nights away from closing forever”, Price explained.

Jazz Jurassica Director Julie Sheppard said the struggle is particularly acute outside of London, where reliance on volunteers is highest.

“[Promoters] have little support for the vital work they do – and many will soon ‘retire’ with little sign of who will replace them. 

“If jazz is to thrive outside the big metropolitan centres, then this fragile part of the ecosystem needs bolstering.”

Application angst

Price’s letter called for an overhaul of ACE’s “complex” application portal, Grantium.

Echoing concerns from other parts of the sector, it said grassroots promoters are unlikely to succeed when in “direct and fierce competition” with professional bid writers employed by larger establishments.

It suggested a ringfenced grassroots fund, aimed at those without permanent premises or company status, with a simpler application process and a ban on professional bid writers.

Digby Fairweather, Founder of Jazz Centre UK, agreed the funding channels available to jazz have become “excessively complicated” and favours those who employ professional fundraisers.

“The redress of this long-term musical misbalance is a matter of urgency for governmental intervention at the highest level.”