Coldplay are to donate 10% of the band’s proceeds from their 2025 UK dates in London and Hull to the Music Venue Trust, the UK charity that supports grassroots music venues.
Earlier this year, parliament’s culture, media and sport committee heard from promoters, artists and industry body representatives about the “crisis” facing the country’s smaller venues, nearly all of whom backed the idea of a £1 levy being placed on tickets from concert arenas to be distributed to smaller venues.
In 2023, 125 small venues closed in the UK.
Coldplay’s initiative follows that of UK metal band Enter Shikari, who donated £1 from every ticket sold to their OVO Wembley Arena show in February 2024.
In a statement, Music Venue Trust CEO Mark Davyd said: “Coldplay are the perfect example of a UK band who came through the grassroots circuit on their way to worldwide, stadium-filling success. It’s fantastic to see them celebrating their own pathway to Wembley by giving back to the grassroots music venues that supported them and recognising the artists and promoters that are struggling more than ever to build their own careers.
“Through our partnership with Save Our Scene – who introduced us to Coldplay last year – this money will go directly into work that ensures communities right across the country will continue to have access to great live music on their doorstep. The band’s support really will stop venues closing, make tours happen and bring the joy of live music to thousands of people.”
Davyd had previously lobbied for a compulsory, French-style system of a centralised pot of around €200m (£172m) that venues, artists and promoters can apply for, funded by a levy on the gross value of tickets sold at big venues.
In January, John Drury, the chair of the National Arenas Association, told the committee that if arenas were forced to pay the £1 levy, “the impact would be something like 20% of our profit”. Other parties proposed a reduction in VAT on tickets, which is currently 20% – higher than in France, Italy and Germany.
In addition to Britain’s grassroots music scene, Coldplay’s London dates will also benefit the environment: their performances at Wembley Stadium pledge to be the world’s first stadium shows powered by 100% solar, wind and kinetic energy. The B-stage at each show will also be powered by a kinetic dancefloor and power bikes available to the audience.
In June, Coldplay said their ongoing Music of the Spheres tour had exceeded their pledge to reduce emissions from their previous tour in 2016-17 by 50%, reaching 59%, figures they said had been certified by MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative. They also said they had planted 9m trees.
Coldplay release their tenth album, Moon Music, on 4 October. The album also progresses their environmental initiatives: each 140g “vinyl” LP is made from nine recycled bottles. The band say they will reduce carbon emissions compared with regular 140g vinyl production by 85%, and prevent the manufacture of 25 tonnes of virgin plastic. CD copies will be made from 90% recycled plastic, with a 78% reduction in emissions compared with traditional CD manufacture.