The Pipeline, a small music venue located in Brighton’s Little East Street, has been purchased as part of an expansion of Music Venue Properties, a campaign focused on acquiring the freeholds of music venues to ensure their long-term viability. The acquisition marks the tenth property added to MVP’s portfolio, making the organization the largest dedicated landlord of grassroots music venues in the UK.
The initiative is supported by a number of high-profile investors, including DJ Fatboy Slim, whose real name is Norman Cook, as well as Andy Burnham and Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze. MVP has dubbed itself the “National Trust of music venues” due to its business model, which involves raising capital through investor funding and community share offerings to purchase venues and subsequently lease them to operators. According to MVP representatives, the organization functions as a supportive landlord that maintains stable rental rates and provides long-term security to venue operators.
Thomas Evrenos, who has managed The Pipeline since 2017, expressed that the acquisition provides significant assurance for the venue’s future, particularly given the challenging economic environment facing grassroots music spaces. Peter Cornforth of MVP emphasized the organization’s commitment to preserving the role that such venues play in supporting emerging artists and contributing to their local communities.
Data from the Music Venue Trust indicates considerable financial pressure across the grassroots music sector, with more than half of UK grassroots venues reporting no profit in the previous year. The sector experienced the closure of thirty live music venues and the loss of approximately 6,000 jobs, representing nearly 20 percent of the workforce. Despite these challenges, attendance at grassroots concerts increased by 13 percent, with 21 million fans attending performances by emerging artists.
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