Fatboy Slim has invested in ‘The National Trust for Music Venues’ by purchasing a “lifeblood” venue called The Pipeline in Brighton.
The Brighton DJ has helped purchase DIY punk venue The Pipeline through Music Venue Properties. The Pipeline has now become the 10th space to be owned by the MVP, whose campaign acquires small venues to ensure their futures. The campaign’s investors also include the likes of Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
The Pipeline will now be under community ownership thanks to Fatboy Slim (real name Norman Cook), who performed at the venue in June. Speaking to the BBC, he praised The Pipeline, explaining: “I love venues like this because they remind me of when I started out, that youthful excitement and feeling about having to perform.”
“Rooms like this are where dreams come true or where memories are made, and enormous acts learn their craft,” he added. “Venues like this are the lifeblood of the music industry.
Cook went on to say that it is “quite hard for [venues] to survive” in the current economic climate – however, if the MVP purchases these venues, “we can be the benevolent landlord that doesn’t raise the rent, listens to them and gives them long term security.”
So far, other venues acquired and saved by the initiative include The Snug in Atherton, which was the first to be saved and protected by the scheme in October 2023, Preston’s The Ferret, The Bunkhouse in Swansea, Le Pub in Newport, The Booking Hall in Dover, The Joiners in Southampton and The Croft in Bristol. Northern Guitars in Leeds and Gut Level in Sheffield were also saved last June.
This morning, Andy Burnham announced he is cutting tax for pubs, clubs and live music in England by 20 per cent.
It would save the average pub around £1,100 next year, with 32,000 other businesses enjoying similar benefits. Large music venues will be excluded from the tax cut.
Though cuts are estimated to cost £100million a year, Burnham will be raising taxes for “anti-social businesses” that “do not make a positive contribution to local communities”. He has singled out vape shops and “online marketplaces” that “do not comply with their tax obligations”.
Just days ago, the government announced details of a £45million investment to “turn up” music industry – just as Keir Starmer left office on July 20, leaving significant work for former Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham.
In the government’s ‘Music Plan’, over 40,000 artists and businesses, 2,000 projects and millions of children wil be supported by the investment over three years. The government hopes to help destroy the glass ceiling that is seeing less people from working class backgrounds enter the world of music. The UK’s music industry is currently worth around £8billion to the economy.
It comes after the success of the £1 ticket levy, which sees £1 donated from major artists’ arena shows to grassroots music venues. So far, the scheme has seen contributions from Sam Fender, Mumford & Sons, Pulp, Radiohead, Kneecap, Wolf Alice and more, who have raised over £500,000.
However, despite a target of 50 per cent of arena and stadium shows signing up to the ticket levy being set for last June, only 8.8 per cent of shows in 2025 signed up to the levy.
Speaking to NME, Media and Arts and for Digital Government and Data Ian Murray MP said his goal was to have “100 per cent” of tickets to have the voluntary levy, adding: “We want this to be voluntary because it’s for the industry to come together, but we have always said that if it isn’t on a voluntary basis then we might look to legislate for it. It works best when the industry comes to the conclusion that this is good for the industry.”
Elsewhere, over half of UK grassroots venues made no profit in 2025, with 6,000 jobs lost.
