“Is London Calling?” The latest broadcast from Music Performance students at UEL,

According to the Music Venue Trust around a third of the UK’s small gig spaces have closed in the past decade, with the number of small music venues in the UK falling from around 700 to 450 with further estimates showing that a fifth of London’s grassroots music venues could be forced to close due to business rates increasing. With rising rents in London meaning many venues are struggling to survive we asked those who know, from performers to venue owners, how can music venues survive? Is there a way to save them from this trend of rising rent and austerity? Or is the investment in London leading to new and exciting opportunities for more venues to open and branch out in to other exciting areas? We found out.