Sheffield’s Dorothy Pax “heartbroken” to announce closure: “Support your grassroots music venues”

Sheffield’s Dorothy Pax has announced their closure with immediate effect and urged the public to support grassroots music venues.

• READ MORE: UK grassroots venues suffering from “the complete collapse of touring” – here’s how you can help

Taking to their official Facebook page, Dorothy Pax’s management team shared a lengthy statement explaining that they are “heartbroken to announce that The Dorothy Pax is now closed with immediate effect.” They shared that the decision was not something made lightly as it is something that affects their whole team, staff and the wider Sheffield community.

“We’ve had some amazing parties, produced several festivals, hosted countless world-class talent on our stage, laughed, cried, shared incredible evenings, made lifelong friends and boogied the night away,” they wrote, adding: “However, we cannot continue to do so. I don’t want to point fingers, but we’ve had our fair share of battles, and we’ve always come out the other side, but we’ve got too many wounds to lick now to continue.”

They explained that it is hard to now become a statistic and being added to the number of various grassroots music venues that have shuttered their doors within the past years due to the impact of COVID-19 and the cost-of-living crisis.

“The grassroots music industry is facing an uphill battle, as a whole we’re all trying to make this work on a profit margin of 0.48 per cent, whilst those at the top are reporting billions in profits,” they wrote. “If £1 per ticket at stadium shows, arena gigs and large festivals went back to us collectively, we wouldn’t have to subsidise ourselves in excess of £160,000,000 to carry on doing the work we do.”

They added that they did end up subsidising themselves because “we love it, understand its importance to our wellbeing, community and cultural output.” They continued, sharing that they know they do good work and explained how nothing beats the “high you get when you see a full room of people dancing, enjoying each others company, whilst the musicians on stage are performing their hearts out with smiles across their faces. Nothing will ever come close to that feeling.”

They went on to highlight the Music Venue Trust and how without the work that the organisation does, they most likely would have had to close down years ago. “They’ve not only had our side but they’ve tirelessly worked so hard in supporting 900+ of our colleagues within the grassroots music industry.”

A GoFundme was created in efforts to raise money for the Dorothy Pax staff and freelancers as a way to “have a party and put some money into their bank accounts so they can cover their expenses until they find another job.” You can visit here to donate to the fund.

They concluded their statement with: “Continue to support your grassroots music venues, your local pub and independent businesses because now is the time that they need you the most. Use them, or lose them. So, thank you all for the best 8 years. DPx signing off.”

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“Music Venue Trust has worked closely with Dorothy Pax since they joined the Music Venue Alliance in 2019, and over those years the charity has grown to admire and respect the venue operators and what they represent within our community. The team at Dorothy Pax are generous, committed, conscientious and loving people. They did everything they could to grow and tend a scene around them,” shared the Music Venue Trust in a statement.

They continued: “Sold out shows no longer necessarily pay the bills. The profitability of grassroots live music has collapsed and revenue from the sale of drinks, previously relied upon to underwrite the losses, is just not there anymore as the cost of living is felt in the consumers’ pockets too. MVT have been warning about this for years – the provision of grassroots programming shouldn’t require the sale of alcohol to be a viable exercise.

“Music Venue Trust is working towards a future where venues don’t have to compromise on their programming, where they can support their community and create opportunities to lift up others without it impacting on their business. A future where that work is recognised, rewarded and, most importantly, sustainable without sacrifice.”

“The music industry and the government are fully aware of the available solutions that will address the known issues that grassroots music venues are facing,” they added. “The fact that these solutions still have not been applied, before it was too late for Dorothy Pax, is another horrible day for the charity, for Sheffield and for music fans and grassroots artists, present and future. We need actions, not words.

2024 saw the UK lose one grassroots music venue every two weeks – with nearly half making a loss and 200 remaining in a state of emergency as the country faces a “collapse in touring”.

The idea that the upper echelons of the music industry should be paying back into the grassroots and wider ecosystem was backed by the government’s CMS Select committee enquiry last year before a levy on stadium and arena gigs was recommended. A deadline of March has been set for voluntary action before the government step back in and investigate making it mandatory.

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