PRS for Music Completes Back to Live Music Venue Competition Awarding £10,000 to Six Music Venues
Competition injects much-needed financial support into venues dedicated to improving live music experiences in their local communities
Take a look at the winners video
PRS for Music, the UK-headquartered organisation that represents the rights of over 160,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers around the world announces the six music venue winners from across the UK of the PRS for Music Back To Live Music Venue Prize. The recovery-focussed nationwide competition was launched in March 2022 by PRS for Music as a direct response to the devastating effects of the global pandemic on live music venues in the UK. The competition gave independent live music venues across the UK the chance to win one of six regional prizes of up to £10,000 and inject much-needed financial support into venues who are dedicated to improving live music experiences in their local communities.
“Music venues are crucial. Foundational to the music eco-system and central to communities, they nurture local talent, and are a much-needed developmental stepping stone that allow artists to find their audiences and their road legs in order to build long-term careers” explains Tony Barton, Head of Writer Relations, PRS for Music. “We’re delighted to be able to support vibrant music venues from across the United Kingdom at this essential time. Congratulations to all of our PRS for Music Back To Live music venue winners for your hard work, vision and dedication to the music community”, said Andrea Czapary Martin, CEO, PRS for Music.
PRS for Music Back To Live Music Venue Prize winners by region: Wales: Carmarthen grassroots music bar CWRW (pronounced koo-roo)
“Winning PRS for Music’s Back to Live Music Venue Prize is incredible. Incentives like these are fundamentally important for grassroots venues like ours to continue to provide creative spaces for the community and emerging talent to develop their skills. The funds will be used to develop the audience experience, inclusion and continuing to support the next generation of artists.” - owner Michael Hilton
Northern Ireland: Bangor’s The Goat’s Toe
“The Goat’s Toe is thrilled to be awarded the PRS for Music Back To Live Prize. The venue has come on leaps and bounds since it opened its doors in 2011, with a focus on live music. The Goat will continue to support and showcase original, up-and-coming, and established musicians across the board. With the much-appreciated support from PRS, we will grow and expand our ideas and our facility. We are excited to see where the journey takes us. Bangor as a city has a lot to offer, may we continue to shine!” – manager Mark Ennis
Scotland: The Bungalow
“We can’t express how deeply grateful we are for this award. It is a great privilege that we have been chosen as the winner of The Back to Live Venue Prize in Scotland. It gives our team here at The Bungalow the confidence and motivation to work harder within our community to further develop which is already a fantastic music town. This is such an incredible moment for us and the money will significantly improve our assets which in turn will provide better opportunities both for grassroots and professional artists” – managers Alan McEwan and Tommy McGrory
Midlands & North of England: Chesterfield’s rock & metal bar The County Music Bar
“We are hugely thankful to PRS for Music for this initiative and of course for the recognition in winning this award. We as a venue had barely survived the pandemic and know of many that didn’t. However, we did. This is a testament to the support from bands and fans alike who rallied around as soon as we could provide entertainment again. We now, however, face the perfect storm. Recovery from the pandemic, facing a cost-of-living crisis and a frankly ludicrous energy bill hike of nearly 550%. This money will provide a significant breathing space to repair and replace equipment and better facilities for all while we focus on our further survival in these difficult times. We want to continue to be a local music hub for all and provide access to up and coming as well as more established bands.” - co-owner Phillip Deacon
South and East of England: Arts and community venue The Sub Rooms
“This recovery-focussed nationwide competition was aimed at helping venues remain at the heart of the community – and we’re certainly doing that. We’re determined to serve our local community not only by providing a huge cross section of top-quality entertainment but also by encouraging the wealth of local talent that is out there. The Sub Rooms recent call out for local performers to send in material with a view to support headline acts are already being filled. The PRS for Music Prize will help us develop better spaces for emerging talent – it will be a real leg up for local performers.“ - Director Hugh Phillimore & Fundraiser Nadja Singh
London: East London live music venue Doña
“As a grassroots venue Doña started on a shoestring and an idea to provide space for emerging creative performers and musicians. Since we opened, we are immensely proud of the community we have around us, and the fact that we survived the Covid pandemic! Receiving this prize from PRS is not only incredibly helpful and transformative in enabling us to take a big step up in terms of our sound and light set up, but it is also hugely validating and a big honour that we feel very grateful for. This money will enable Doña to improve its performance space, enabling artists to make state of the art live videos in our venue whilst also elevating the space and its capabilities as a performing arts venue. Thank you PRS!” – co-founder Lucia Massey
