Music / Patreon
Two Bristol venues launch Patreon to ensure survival
As the pandemic continues to rumble on, and venues continue to have their doors firmly shut, owners are finding new ways to stay afloat.
The Louisiana and Exchange have come together to create a Patreon so fans support them even while both venues remain closed.
“Obviously these are tough times for everyone, but especially venues,” says Iwan Best, venue manager of Exchange.
is needed now More than ever
“We’re now nearing 12 months since we were last able to host a live show and realistically the aftereffects of this will be felt for years to come.
“We wanted to make sure that the Bristol independent music scene is safeguarded and so we’ve needed to look for innovative ways to do that.”
The two venues have set up the joint Patreon, a subscription-style giving platform, to ensure they will return post-pandemic.
Exchange and the Louisiana want to ensure their return post-pandemic. Photo: Aphra Evans
Fans can donate £3, £7 or £20 per month in exchange for perks. The tiers, “Opening Act”, “Main Support” and “Headliner”, offer different rewards.
The £3 tier is “for the legends, because everyone knows the opening acts are the ones to watch” which offers no physical rewards but does offer “an enormous sense of wellbeing”.
The perks currently listed for the £7 tier are early ticket access and 20 per cent of Exchange merchandise, and more rewards are to be announced.
The limited edition £20 tier, of which more than half the space sold out in less than 24 hours, offers the same perks as the £7, as well as 10 per cent off at Exchange bar a free Exchange ticket every month, a free Louisiana ticket every month, free ‘Friends of The Venues’ tickets and free access to all live streams.
The Friends of the Venues tickets allow access to The Fleece, Bristol Beacon, Effigy, Deadpunk and 1%.
The highest tier will offer tickets to other venues in the city, such as the Fleece. Photo: Phil Riley
“Primarily we want to make sure that both our venues not only survive the pandemic, but continue to prosper beyond,” says Iwan. “We are also really excited to explore new ways to interact with the people to whom these venues are so critical.
“You should sign up if you care about these venues and you are able to. This is a really hard time for everyone!”
Main photo: Simon Holliday
Read more: Bristol’s independent music venues spotlighted in new Idles video
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