More than £3,000 has been raised in less than 24 hours to support staff affected by the closure of popular Sheffield music venue Dorothy Pax.
The fund will help those affected by the shutdown by providing any wages that haven’t been paid, and helping with redundancy payments.
Briony Tuplin, former General Manager at the venue in Victoria Quays, expressed her gratitude for the donations on the GoFundMe yesterday.
“We’re all so chuffed and so very, very grateful for the support that you have shown to us Pax Staff and Freelancers.
“To have raised over £3,000 in less than 24 hours is magical,” she added.
The venue announced on Wednesday that it was shutting it’s doors eight years after opening, due to financial constraints and challenges within the industry.
In a heartfelt statement, the company highlighted the “uphill battle” that the grassroots music industry is facing, while also shedding light on the profit margins that it was fighting through.
“We’re all trying to make this work on a profit margin of 0.48 percent, whilst those at the top are reporting billions in profits.
“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,” it said.
Well over 100 donations are in on their GoFundMe so far, with over 1,500 reactions on their closure announcement, showing the huge support the venue has.
Our reporter, Sophie Street, has given us a rundown:
Lowri Rennick, a 19-year-old student, who frequented the venue and was at their last ever gig, said: “I know I speak for so many when I say that I will sorely miss The Pax. I’ll miss having a permanent slot in my diary for Jazz Hot Six on the first Tuesday of every month. I’ll miss scanning their posters in the loo for the next great event to come.”
The Music Venues Alliance said that more than 43 percent of over 800 UK grassroots venues that they surveyed last year were operating at an annual loss, with 25 of those venues having to close permanently.
The GoFundMe is currently at £3,967 of their £5,000 target.