Finding a suitable and affordable local space as a venue for regular music activity has become ever harder. What can be done?

Financial pressures have been mounting on all types of community spaces for ten years or more. The impact of Covid accentuated them, perhaps accelerating some to close down (e.g. social clubs, churches). Local authorities and councils have struggled financially, too, so closures or deterioration of spaces through neglect have also increased.

Halls are also often managed by volunteers, many of whom, exhausted by Covid, have given up. Potential additional regulation such as that in the UK government’s Terrorism draft bill could be the final straw for many.

Because of these pressures, another cause of the crisis now needs addressing urgently: the lack of understanding, by local policymakers in particular, of the importance and value of community spaces. They are not joining the dots between goals of regeneration and improving residents’ health and well-being, and this crucial local infrastructure.

The #MakeSpaceForMusic campaign is a focus for activity, with actions Making Music and music groups can take.

Hundreds of musicians about to lose their practice spaces inside the Sound Museum, a massive rehearsal complex in Brighton, may have a temporary new home. But the evolving saga has raised questions about whether the city could have done more to preserve a business that for decades has provided a critical service to the Boston music scene.

Following a quick review process, local nonprofit The Record Co. plans to open a temporary rehearsal space in March that Sound Museum tenants can apply to move into.

Tenants at the Sound Museum’s 155 North Beacon St. building were notified in mid-December that they must vacate by the end of January. Owned by Bill “Des” Desmond and his wife, Katherine Desmond, the location has provided practice, storage and recording space to musicians for more than 30 years. In 2021, the building was bought by developer IQHQ, which plans to demolish it to make way for a life sciences campus.