Crowdfunding: Saving The Cellar

SAVING THE CELLAR

By Gabrielle Van Meurs

The story of how some some nightclubs are relying on crowdfunding to stay open.

So many clubs, pubs and music venues bring a

community together. They have so much history with people that when they are on the brink of closure it isn't money that saves them, it's the people. A recent case of this happening is with the last family ran music venue, the Cellar, in Oxford.

A nightclub and live music stage that dates back to the 1970s, The Cellar has been named one of Oxford's finest independent music venues and even plays host to the occasional comedy night. It is loved by the people of London for staying true to

itself and not being pressured into going corporate like a lot of other nightclubs. Back in 2017, safety regulations stated that the fire escape was too small and that the venue would only be able to cater to a mere 60 people

instead of its original 150. This put the future of the business in jeopardy and closure was on the horizon. It was around this time that the Cellar

Forever campaign and hashtag #savethecellar was

created. The Cellar has had many famous music guests such as Foals, Mumford & Sons, Glass Animals and Noah and the Whale. This has gained them a lot of popularity and a reputation for giving

up and coming stars a start. So when manager Tim Hopkins launched the crowdfunding page and campaign he was met with a huge response. The original goal was £80,000 to fund new building work that would keep the place alive however it

quickly surpassed that amount and is currently at a massive £92,970 with thousands still supporting the page. During the campaign some bigger names such as the former member of Pulp Jarvis Cocker, folk singer Frank Turner, Rick Stein, and DJ Judge

Jules got involved to show their support. Philip Selway, from Radiohead, donated a signed snare drum to the cause and when talking about it

lifeblood of music, they support and nurture new and emerging talent." The hashtag #cellarforever is still filled with people calling it “the best thing about being in Oxford" and willing others to join and help save the

place that brings them so much joy. The situation was even taken to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee when rapper ShoaDow told MPs of how instrumental the venue was in building his career.

The Cellar has yet to be back up and running however people's outraged response to it being closed just goes to show how important these places are and how many memories and historic moments are stored in them. The amount of power

people have when places like The Cellar bring us together is incredible. London seems to be a hub of crowdfunding ventures and a community that loves getting together to save places they love. Back in 2016,

the iconic London nightclub Fabric was saved from closure due to people raising more than the £200,000 goal less than a week after launching. Months after having it's licence revoked due to a painful history of drug related deaths, the venue

launched the #saveourculture campaign. It was immediately backed by thousands of clubbers even the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, showed support for the club, “London's iconic clubs are an essential part of

our cultural landscape. Clubbing needs to be safe but I'm disappointed that Fabric, Islington Council and the Metropolitan Police were unable to reach agreement on how to address concerns about public safety. As a result of this decision,

thousands of people who enjoyed “going to Fabric as an essential part of London's nightlife will lose out." But the real battle was between nightclubs around London and the police. During the fight to save

Fabric the managers released statements saying, “The council and police “abused archaic licensing laws" in order to close the venue." There seems to be an ongoing battle between the people and the closure of clubs they love.

We need communities that let music thrive and people have a good time! It doesn't matter how big and impressive the venues look, if you dig deeper into the history you'll find that any place has such an interesting history.