Call closed Grass Roots Music Venue Innovation

Technology interventions for grass roots music venues that connect artists, audiences and venues in new ways. Outcomes should be portable, scalable and support the development of new business models in the pursuit of a more equitable live ecosystem.

Black-and-white photo of a female crowd-surfing performer being carried above a packed concert crowd. She wears a black crop top and jeans, has tattoos on her left arm, and points outward with her right arm while fans reach up to support her

Led byNational Lab

In collaboration withMusicFutures

Supported byMusic Venue Trust

DatesNov 2025 - March 2026

Extending the reach of grass roots venues to connect artists and audiences in new ways

About the call

Summary

Grass Roots Music Venues have intrinsic cultural value. They provide shared social experiences. They offer emerging artists their first opportunities, and they stimulate local economies.

The Music Venue Trust’s 2024 Annual Report acknowledges a significant decline in the number of grass roots venues, with two closing every month in the UK. It also emphasizes the need for practical interventions and action to address the challenges facing the grass roots sector.

FULL CALL BRIEF

Last year the UKRI-AHRC CoSTAR National Lab (CNSL) and the UKRI-AHRC MusicFutures Creative Cluster (Liverpool City Region) invited UK-based companies to develop and pilot creative and technologically innovative ideas that will start to address some of these challenges. We selected ideas that can extend the reach of grass roots venues, connecting artists and audiences in new ways inside grass roots venues, and that point toward new portable and scalable business models and solutions.

This was an opportunity for companies to develop, test and own IP that they can then go onto commercialise. Selected companies were provided with extensive research conducted by CoSTAR National Lab across the UK’s live music sector and dedicated access to our technical infrastructure and research teams to deliver their ideas.

In addition, applicants could apply for cash funding of up to £40,000 per project. We are seeking to award up to 3 projects, one of which will take place inside the MusicFutures Creative Cluster, in the Liverpool City Region.

Awarded projects had access to the COSTAR National Lab Futures Studio in Egham Surrey for prototyping and rehearsing in October/ November/December 2025, as well as access to MusicFutures facilities in Liverpool. Pilots were then tested on location in front of audiences at grass roots venues across the UK ending 26 March 2026.

For further information about this closed call read the Full Call Brief, the Summary of Key Terms, our Research - Executive Summary and FAQs

CSNationalLab_GrassRootsVenue_Collage_BritROWs

Digital Love - Professor Will Saunders on the research behind the Grass Roots Music Venue Innovation call

Partnering technical innovators, grass roots venues and artists

This competition invited applications from companies and consortia partners across the UK. Consortia included a variety of UK-based companies, technologists, researchers and creative practitioners, however, the lead applicant had to be a UK-based company and demonstrate a high level of ambition to deliver technological advancement and business growth in its application to creative industries challenges.

We also asked each project application to include at least one grass roots venue as a consortia partner (as defined by the Music Venue Trust) and at least one live performer.

Interested Venues

UK grass roots venues who have expressed an interest and were happy to be contacted by applicants can be found below.