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Fatboy Slim helps to save ‘lifeblood’ music venue
A Brighton music venue, The Pipeline, is set to become community owned after DJ Fatboy Slim invested in a £7m scheme to buy up small music venues and protect them from closure. The initiative, run by Music Venue Properties (MVP) and also backed by Andy Burnham and Squeeze's Glenn Tilbrook, has been likened to a "National Trust for music venues" because it buys venue freeholds and leases them back to operators at stable rents, shielding grassroots spaces from rising costs and unsympathetic landlords.
The Pipeline, a 60-capacity venue on Little East Street, becomes the tenth site acquired by MVP, joining venues such as The Booking Kall in Dover and The Joiners in Southampton. Fatboy Slim, real name Norman Cook, played a sold-out show there in June as part of the Everywhere at Once festival and said such rooms are "the lifeblood of the music industry". Venue operator Thomas Evrenos, who has run The Pipeline since 2017, said the deal gave him long-term security and that he might otherwise have given up had a landlord tried to raise the rent.
In short
- Fatboy Slim helps fund purchase of Brighton's Pipeline venue
- Music Venue Properties now owns 10 grassroots venues nationally
- Scheme protects small venues from rent rises and closure
Explained simply
Small live music venues, particularly those hosting emerging artists, have faced growing financial pressure in recent years due to rising property costs and landlords seeking higher returns. Many have closed, raising concerns about the future of spaces that are crucial to developing new talent and sustaining the UK's live music culture.
Music Venue Properties (MVP) has launched a scheme to protect these venues by buying the buildings where they operate and renting them back to venue operators at fixed, stable rates. This arrangement shields venue owners from sudden rent increases and provides the financial security needed to keep smaller live music spaces viable long-term. The model has been compared to the National Trust because it aims to preserve cultural institutions that might otherwise be lost.
The initiative has attracted backing from music industry figures such as DJ Fatboy Slim and support from politicians including Andy Burnham, underscoring the perceived importance of protecting grassroots music venues. These spaces are widely regarded as foundational to a healthy music ecosystem across the country.