Jeremy Corbyn’s Peace & Justice Project announces ‘A Summer To Save Live Music’ to push government to protect venues 

Jeremy Corbyn has announced a new live music campaign, in a bid to push the government to help protect the UK’s music venues.

• READ MORE: 2025 could be a game-changer for funding UK grassroots music – but when will we see action and where will the money go?

The initiative was created by Corbyn’s own Peace & Justice Project, which formed in 2021, and is dubbed ‘A Summer To Save Music’.

It will comprise six shows in grassroots music venues across the country this summer, all of which are organised by the group’s Music For The Many campaign. They are being held to amplify urgent calls to the government to implement the proposed £1 ticket levy – where arena-sized venues and above adopt a ‘Premier League model’ by paying back into the ecosystem to help keep the talent pipeline flowing.

“The inaction of successive governments has left many of Britain’s grassroots music venues facing the imminent threat of staff redundancies or being forced to shut their doors for good, which is a devastating blow to communities, local economies and our country’s rich cultural heritage in the arts,” Corbyn said in a new statement.

“For the past two years, our Music For The Many campaign has been calling for a modest ticket levy on large music venues and their corporate sponsorship as the fairest way to fund grassroots music in our communities,” he added. “Almost a year ago, the parliamentary DCMS committee vindicated this approach with a recommendation in its report on British live music, which was subsequently acknowledged by the government as a viable option.

“But a year on, we continue to lose grassroots music venues at a truly alarming rate.  It is the government’s chronic failure to act that has pushed many more beloved community creative spaces to the brink of permanent closure.”

“Our message to the government is clear: we’ve only got a Summer to save music. Act now, introduce a ticket levy on the corporate superpowers in the music industry and save our grassroots music venues,” he added.

Performances as part of ‘A Summer To Save Music’ will be held at venues including London’s Piehouse and Manchester’s Night & Day Café – both of which have been under threat in recent years. Shows in Bristol, Birkenhead, Brighton and Norwich are also planned.

Artists taking part include ARXX, Shelf Lives, Kid Bookie, The Menstrual Cramps and Hongza.

“The government’s lack of action to protect grassroots music venues is unforgivable,” said Music For The Many organiser, Samuel Sweek. “These spaces provide tens of thousands of jobs around the country and play a vital role in nurturing the talent and creativity of artists across every genre of music.”

“We are proud to announce ‘A Summer To Save Music’ features a diverse slate of performers standing with us in defence of our live music scene. This multi-genre line-up recognises the importance of independent venues in supporting the next generation of British music talent, building community and celebrating creativity,” he added.

“‘A Summer To Save Music’ is not hyperbole.  Every single day the government sits on its hands as incredible venues cease to exist is a tragedy and a waste.”

Visit here for tickets and more information.

Backing for the proposed ticket levy on live shows has come from Coldplay, Sam Fender, Enter Shikari, Katy Perry and more, a recent update from Music Venue Trust confirmed that it has led to “over £580,000 already being reinvested into the grassroots network via 147 grants”.

Just last week, it was also confirmed that over 90 per cent of music fans are supportive of the £1 ticket levy to help support the survival of grassroots music venues.

The demand for large music venues to support their smaller counterparts comes amid starling figures about the UK’s live music scene in recent years. This January, for example, figures showed that the UK lost one grassroots music venue every two weeks in 2024 – with nearly half making a loss and 200 remaining in a state of emergency. In November, it was also reported that the country’s grassroots music scene is said to be facing “complete collapse” without urgent help and government intervention.

Recently, Creative Industries Minister Sir Chris Bryant MP spoke to NME about what MPs are doing in 2025 to try and protect the future of live music in the UK.

“You don’t get big venue success tours without small venue innovation and creativity,” he said. “We’re the first government that have made it very clear that we support the calls for a voluntary levy. If there isn’t a voluntary levy in short order, then we will take action. That would mean a statutory levy which would take time, so I’d much prefer a voluntary levy. I’m quite hopeful that we’ll have something in place soon, and I’m working quite hard on it.

“There’s nothing more special than going to a big arena show of an act that you first saw in a tiny, tiny venue,” he added. “If you don’t have any tiny venues then you’re never going to have the British success stories that the industry depends on.”

The upcoming gigs from the Peace & Justice Project follow on from other efforts made by Jeremy Corybn to help protect the live music industry in the UK. Back in 2023, the former Labour leader teamed up with Zand to announce a show at Sheffield’s Leadmill venue, in a bid to support grassroots venues.

“Exciting new artists like ZAND are just part of the reason the government must do more to protect venues like The Leadmill. Without them, wonderful talents like ZAND will not be able to develop their craft and build up support to advance their careers,” he said at the time.

He continued, adding that it was about “bringing together communities who are passionate about music and the arts to defend these vital spaces” and doing so “until the long-term, sustainable futures of grassroots music venues are secured.”

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