NTIA, Save Our Scene & Brixton BID Launch Campaign to Save Brixton Academy from Closure

11 May 2023 - Press release

The NTIA are working hard alongside Save Our Scene and Brixton BID to keep Brixton Academy open! It is at serious risk of permanent closure if we don’t stand up as an industry and show support for this iconic venue.

The academy attracts over 650,000 people to the UK and London, and over 150 shows a year, this historic venue has cemented itself as one of the most culturally significant performance spaces in the UK.

The Brixton Academy has been part of the cultural tapestry of London, delivering over 50 live albums and winning NME best venue 12 times since the mid nineties whilst under AMG management. It has also hosted performances from thousands of British and International artists from Deep Purple in the 70’s, UB40, The Clash in 1981 with The Smiths playing their final show there in 1986.

In the 90’s the venue continued to set the precedent with shows from Stone Roses, David Bowie, The Prodigy and the who’s who list of American greats including Sonic Youth, The Ramones, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Rage Against the Machines, Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, Green Day, Offspring and legendary performances from icons such as Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan.

2000 saw the Queen of pop, Madonna, perform an exclusive London gig in Brixton, after a 7 year hiatus from touring and watched by David Bowie and Mick Jagger. The performance was streamed live across the internet to an estimated 1 million viewers worldwide.

Today it stands as one of the most celebrated venues in the UK, hosting performance royalty from a hugely diverse internationally acclaimed pool of talent , including Eddie Izzard, Lady Gaga, Coldplay, Groove Armada, Rema, Little Simz, Little Britain, Davido, Arctic Monkeys, Skrillex, Stormzy, Kylie Minogue, Ziggy Marley, Burnaboy, LCD Soundsystem, Rihanna, on top of the countless award ceremonies and ambassadorial moments representing the UK globally.

Without this venue in London, we would see a huge void in our cultural economy, a considerable gap in touring capability, loss of jobs and one less platform for headline domestic and international artists to perform, losing out to our international counterparts.

This venue is a huge talent bed for new artists, and for many performing within this space, it has been a turning point within their career, with many artists today citing this space as one of their pinnacle career moments.

For decades the Brixton Academy under Academy Music Group management has been a safe and inclusive space for people to enjoy a wide range of cultural activities, from awards, live and recorded music, comedy to corporate events and filming. The venue has a considerable workforce and is one of the key employers of young people within the area, supporting a wide range of businesses and freelancers within the local community and across the UK, making a huge contribution to the local and national economy.

It’s played a huge part in shaping communities, provides a safe space for all who live, work and seek entertainment and leisure within the area, and is important to the physical, social and mental well being of the community.

The potential impact of this closure would have huge ramifications within the local economy, recent research has shown that we are already seeing an estimated 1/2 million pounds worth of lost revenue being suffered by local businesses every week since its temporary closure, with some unable to weather the suspension period.

We cannot lose sight of the tragic incident that occurred in December, but would respectfully ask that the Authorities consider working with AMG and the venue to learn from what has happened and enhance the licence and safety measures to ensure that this never happens again.

At this moment I would urge all involved to step forward and engage in productive and meaningful discussions, with an aim to resolve the current challenges and present a unified position on delivering the safe and effective management of this space in the future.

Michael Kill CEO NTIA

“The Brixton Academy is a huge part of the cultural economy within London and the UK, and is without doubt one of the landmark performance spaces in the world. It is responsible for shaping and nurturing artists' careers past and present.”

“The loss of this venue would be catastrophic for the industry, so would urge all involved to step forward and engage in productive and meaningful discussions, with an aim to resolve the current challenges and present a unified position on delivering the safe and effective management of this space in the future.”

Gianluca Rizzo MD Brixton BID

“Brixton Academy is one of the most iconic music venues in the UK and beyond. Whilst artists dream about performing in Brixton, our business community is proud to be home of such venue. Not only it is one of our key cultural destinations, the Brixton Academy contributes positively to the local economy as well as opportunities for our community. We stand by the Brixton Academy”.

George Fleming CEO Save Our Scene

“Our worry is that if the council & government continues to undermine culture and close down venues, we could see the industry move further underground where there is not the same level of regulation or safety. All they have to do is look at what happened in the 90s.

"In this case, we are urging Lambeth Council to work with Brixton Academy on finding a constructive way to keep this sacred space open & safe for people to enjoy. It’s far too important for the local economy & our culture to close down and would set a precedent, which our sector can not afford."

Support the campaign here: https://www.ntia.co.uk/save-brixton-academy/

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