Ticketmaster has donated over £60,000 ($75,000) to Music Venue Trust (MVT), the UK charity representing hundreds of grassroots music venues (GMVs).

The donation is part of a practice that Ticketmaster’s UK branch has been carrying out for two years. Fans have the option to make a donation when purchasing tickets. In doing so, the ticketing company says it has helped raise £60,000 through its annual MVT upsell in 2024, with every pound donated by fans on its website being doubled.

“This brings our total upsell value to £150,000 in just two years,” Ticketmaster UK managing director Andrew Parsons said in a statement.

“This initiative is a big deal for us and this year we have teamed up with some iconic venues including Epic Studios, Hackney Church, Alfies, The Piano Bar, Soul Mama and Y Plas nightclub and we are looking forward to welcoming them to and other grassroots music venues well into the future.”

According to MVT, venues across the UK are closing or suspending performances twice a week due to rising costs.

“The sobering reality is that only 11 of the 34 grassroots music venues Oasis played on their first tour still exist today,” MVT said in a statement on social media.

Music Venue Trust CEO Mark Davyd said they were very grateful to Ticketmaster and its customers for their support at a time when this type of initiative was much needed.

“Their recognition that grassroots music venues have great difficulty maintaining operations without these types of donations, and their efforts to do something about it, are extremely welcome!” Davyd concluded.

The funds will go directly into MVT’s Pipeline Investment Fund, which was launched in 2022 with the aim of supporting UK-based grassroots music venues, artists and promoters.

MVT reports that since its launch, several other companies and organizations have taken initiatives and made donations to the Pipeline Investment Fund, which has raised and committed over £5 million to date.

Back in November, the UK government announced it would direct the live music industry to impose a voluntary levy on all stadium and arena tickets to support grassroots venues.

Creative Industries, Arts and Tourism Minister Chris Bryant said he wanted a voluntary levy on arena and stadium tickets for concerts in 2025 to come into effect as soon as possible.

“To meet this timeline,” he added, “we want to see tangible progress across the music industry by the first quarter of 2025. We want to achieve an industry-led levy to focus on driving rapid progress.”

Bryant also said they would welcome the leadership of artists such as Coldplay, Sam Fender and Katy Perry, who would donate a portion of their upcoming tour proceeds to support the grassroots sector.

Companies that support MVT’s work with regular donations include O2, Fred Perry, Strings & Things Ltd., Fightback Lager, Manchester Academy, Ether Tickets, Gigtix and TicketPort.