Youth Music, the UK’s leading charity helping marginalised young people make and monetise music, has today announced its partnership with Outernet Venues. The iconic London events spaces will be supporting the charity’s £1 million ‘Rescue the Roots’ campaign - an urgent effort to protect the future of grassroots youth music. 

Outernet Venues, home to the state-of-the-art 2,000-capacity live events space, HERE at Outernet and The Lower Third, a 350-capacity venue dedicated to platforming breakthrough talent, has committed to its first ever yearlong charity partnership, pledging sustained support in response to the growing funding crisis.  

At the core of the collaboration is a shared mission to nurture the next generation of music talent. From giving young artists, a stage to perform, to creating opportunities to learn behind the scenes, the partnership directly empowers marginalised young creatives across the UK. 

Outernet Venues has confirmed a £5 minimum house guestlist compulsory donation at its HERE at Outernet space. With concerts from world-renowned DJ Kaytranada and singer-songwriter DIIV scheduled for this year, each guestlist donation will contribute to the vital work of the Rescue the Roots fundraiser.   

Beyond the fundraising, Outernet Venues has granted the charity access to its The Forge at The Lower Third. The cosy event space connected to their public cocktail bar will host a series of gigs for Youth Music artists – supporting NextGen creatives with the opportunity to share their music on the iconic stage.  

Youth Music and Outernet Venues are also exploring training opportunities for its NextGen community as part of this venture. The training events will allow young creatives to learn about different roles within the music industries, such as marketing, tech and music and event production.  

Talking on the partnership, Co-Founder of Outernet Venues Karrie Goldberg says: 

“We are excited to be partnering with Youth Music on their Rescue the Roots initiative. Supporting emerging artists and those working behind the scenes has always been a big part of our mission. Through HERE and The Lower Third, we aim to shine a light on new talent and highlight just how important independent venues are to the grassroots music scene. Youth Music’s work is vital, and we’re excited to come together to help create more opportunities for the next generation.” 

Youth Music’s Rescue the Roots campaign aims to highlight and mobilise fundraising efforts as without action, the future of young people’s lives in music will be even more bleak. Youth Music predicts:  

In ten years, young people across eight UK regions will lose access to grassroots youth music projects  

This prediction is based on funding cuts over many years, the current cost-of-living crisis and the resulting impact on maintaining essential community music spaces where young people make music, make friends and develop their musical skills.   

• Two in five (41%) grassroots youth music projects at risk of closure - an increase of 17% v 2024 (24%)  
• 54% of Youth Music’s funded partners have a waiting list of young people that want to take part but can’t due to lack of funds - an increase of 4% v 2024 (50%) 
• Youth Music is only able to support less than one in five (18%) of the applications it receives, leaving over 260,000 young people without access to music-making, creative development and potential pathways into the music industries 
• The financial position of 41% of Youth Music’s funded partners are set to get worse over the next 12 months, an increase of 8% v 2024 (34%), with over a quarter (28%) uncertain about the future 

To combat the crisis, Youth Music’s ‘Rescue the Roots’ fundraiser campaign will provide crucial support for over 18,000 young people. The campaign is a call to arms from Youth Music to individuals and organisations who care passionately about saving UK music to donate what they can, with the charity match funding up to £1 million, taking the fund to £2 million. 

The impact of Youth Music’s work is reflected in a new ‘Rescue the Roots’ documentary by Tell Studio that powerfully illustrates the importance of music in young people’s lives, socially, personally and musically. It can be watched here. 

Matt Griffiths, Youth Music CEO, says: “We are delighted to be partnering with Outernet Venues, an institution committed to supporting grassroots music projects and young creatives with the access and support that they deserve in a new strand of fundraising for our Rescue the Roots campaign. 

“Organisations such as these are critical in helping to safeguard the future of music, and the funds raised through guestlist donations, as well as the opportunities that will allow our NextGen community to learn the necessary skills to make and monetise their music are vital, and it is honour to have their support for the remainder of the year.” 

Youth Music is urging people to join them and donate to Rescue the Roots. The campaign offers various opportunities for music businesses, artists and fans to get involved. Donate now to safeguard the future of UK music. https://youthmusic.enthuse.com/cf/rescue-the-roots