Centre Stage: Mark Davyd on succession planning for the grassroots venue sector

Music Venue Trust CEO Mark Davyd’s monthly deep dive into live music’s biggest issues... On top of al the other issues currently besieging grassroots music venues – from the costs of doing business, to the drop in the number of tours and events artists can afford to perform – the Music Venue Trust (MVT) has recently identified a challenge which perhaps places the greatest threat to the sustainability of the sector: a lack of any ability to create a succession plan, which is about to meet a cresting wave of venue operators retiring. It’s a long-standing thread of comment in these columns that the economic and personal pressures on venue operators has whittled down the pool of individuals prepared to do this work into a hardcore of passionate people with an unshakeable belief in the role live music should play in their community. The ’80s-’90s cliché of the venue owner as a part- time mafia boss with a roll of £20 notes in their pocket for ‘sorting the bands out’ at the end of the night is a distant memory. More than a quarter of the UK’s remaining GMVs are operated under a not-for-profit structure, frequently a community interest company or community benefit society, a model which gives considerable say to the local community in how the venue is run and the kind of programme it presents. These entities – almost unheard of in the sector less than 10 years ago – have advisory boards, volunteers and links into other community activities and service providers. But all of the venues in the Music Venues Alliance are still largely driven, whatever their structure, by the drive of one or two individuals who effectively run the venue. The MVT’s 2023 Annual Survey of these venue operators, both inside the not-for-profit structures and elsewhere, established that salaries for doing this work are far from rewarding. The average venue operator works 62 hours a week and pays themselves £6.17 an hour. This is way below minimum wage, and significantly in excess of acceptable working conditions, but there isn’t the leeway within the current economic model to do anything more. Venue operators will frequently have members of a workforce team who earn more than their total salaries for part-time work – you can pay yourself less than minimum wage but you can’t, and should not, do that to your staff. More than 50% of the venue operators also admitted to having a second job. Over half of those individuals said that their second jobs were, in reality, their primary source of income, with over a third noting that this primary source of income was used, in part, to fund the venue. Salaries, to summarise, are not anywhere near enough to attract new venue operators into the industry. How do you make £1 million running a GMV? Start with £2m. No reliable data on the age of these venue operators exists, but in the last three months the MVT Venue Support Team has identified seven venues where the imminent retirement of the current operator is the main factor in an almost unavoidable closure. From being nowhere on our register of likely causes of closures, retirement of the venue operator is now the third most likely cause of a venue permanently shutting its doors. There are lots of ways to tackle this issue, such as training, skills transfers, apprenticeships and invoking the community infrastructure models. There are also a pleasing number of young people coming through various educational avenues showing an interest in running a venue. However, it is the lack of any economic reward for doing so, which, in any way, reflects the level of commitment, responsibility and passion required of those people, that must be tackled in order to unlock all those responses to this issue. Members of the MVT team give lectures for music colleges on GMV issues and opportunities. Ultimately, all of those presentations fall apart on the issue of financial recompense for taking the role on. To be frank, would you pursue a career where the top of your profession, actually running the venue, pays less than a minimum wage? It’s a constant theme of any discussions about the grassroots sector that there simply has to be more money in the system than there currently is. There are many ways for the government to do something to help, like removing pre-profit taxation and reducing demands on venues, but none of that would be enough to create the uplift we need to see in venue operator remuneration in order for it to return to being a viable career. Learning how to run a music venue offers a set of skills that are essential to a full understanding of the live music industry. The vast majority of the agents at all our major companies started in their local grassroots music venue or at a student union bar. A failure to address this succession planning isn’t just going to be the cause of more venue closures, it’s going to hit career paths into all areas of the live industry – all the way from sound engineers to national promoters.

Digital Discourse: How software created by AI could be a huge disruptor

I’ve written a lot about AI, covering its everyday applications, impact on licensing and role in marketing. But recently, something former Google CEO Eric Schmidt said during a talk at Stanford University struck a chord with me. Schmidt highlighted the potential for anyone to create apps and code using AI. This could be the most significant disruptor the music industry has ever faced, yet many in the business seem unaware. The focus has been on music creation and distribution, so much so that we’ve overlooked a critical emerging area: personalised, on-demand software. If licensed correctly, this could open up new revenue streams, but it also poses major challenges. We’ve seen technology transform the music industry before – from the rise of peer-to-peer sharing to the streaming revolution – but what’s on the horizon could eclipse all these changes combined. AI, especially language models such as Anysphere’s Cursor, OpenAI Codex or Anthropic’s Claude, is not just about improving how music is made and distributed, it’s set to revolutionise how software itself is created. If we don’t prepare now, we risk being left behind. This isn’t a prediction – it’s a warning that this technology could define our future. AI is not just another tool, it’s a force that’s rewriting the rules of software development. Consider how long it takes giants such as Apple, Spotify or Google to develop their apps, with teams of engineers and developers. Now imagine a world where anyone, anywhere, can create, test and deploy their own software in seconds. Tools such as GitHub’s Copilot are not just assisting developers with code – they’re capable of building entire applications. Just recently, an eight-year-old girl made headlines for creating a fully functional chatbot using AI in 45 minutes. If she can do it, imagine what developers, artists and fans could accomplish. We’re on the cusp of a world where software can be generated from instructions, requiring little to no coding experience. This could revolutionise how artists and fans interact, enabling them to create apps tailored to their exact needs without relying on third-party developers. However, it also opens the door for malicious actors to do the same. The potential for personalised, on-demand software creation is something we cannot afford to overlook. In the past, building an app required a deep understanding of programming, design and experience. Today, AI can handle that complexity, making the barriers to entry lower than ever before. This means that individuals, including artists and fans, could bypass traditional platforms and tools, creating software for everything from fan engagement to music distribution. Many existing apps could become obsolete. Imagine someone being able to describe what they need to an AI, and in moments, they have a functional app. That’s happening now, and if we don’t adapt, we’ll find ourselves struggling to catch up in an evolving landscape where traditional models of control no longer apply. Indeed, among the opportunities this new technology presents, there are also many challenges, and one of the most pressing is the risk of fragmentation. If everyone starts creating their own software, the standardisation that currently allows our digital ecosystems to function smoothly could collapse. We’ve all experienced the frustration of using apps that don’t integrate well with each other. Now, imagine that problem multiplied across thousands of custom-built solutions. The result could be chaos. That being said, it could also drive innovation in a market that many feel has stagnated in terms of user experience. The explosion of custom apps could also lead to an overwhelming choice for consumers. In a crowded marketplace, standing out is crucial. If the market becomes flooded with niche applications, the role of centralised platforms that help curate and distribute software could diminish, making it harder for users to discover the best tools and content. On the flipside, this could lead to the emergence of thriving ecosystems for subcultures. AI democratises software creation, but it also depends on access to the internet, computing power and AI platforms. These resources aren’t evenly distributed, creating a risk that those without access will be left behind. As this technology evolves, we must ensure it does so in a way that includes everyone, not just those with the means to leverage the new tools it presents. Another critical issue is the legal and licensing implications of AI-generated software. Who owns the rights to AI- generated content? Is it the person who gave the instructions, the developer or someone else entirely? How will licensing work, and what will tracking and collection look like? Will these be integrated into licensing deals or require new micro-licensing frameworks? These questions have real consequences for our industry. We need clear licensing frameworks that protect our interests and ensure creators are compensated. With all this in mind, AI-driven software does present new business opportunities. As the landscape shifts, we can carve out new revenue streams by offering services that benefit everyone in the industry. But we have to be proactive in identifying those new opportunities. AI’s ability to democratise software creation is poised to be a huge disruptor. If we embrace this change, we can lead the way in shaping a more innovative and inclusive digital landscape. But we must act now. The future is unwritten, but one thing is certain: AI will play a central role in it. Let’s ensure that we’re not just part of the story, but writing the script.