UK live industry orgs react to King’s Speech
Live music business organisations in the UK have delivered their verdicts on the King’s Speech.
Addressing the Houses of Parliament, King Charles outlined the new Labour government’s legislative priorities in the wake of their landslide general election victory.
Perhaps most pertinent to the live industry is Sir Keir Starmer’s party’s commitment to anti-terror measures for venues, dubbed ‘Martyn’s Law‘ in tribute to Martyn Hett, who was killed alongside 21 others in the bombing at Manchester Arena on 22 May 2017.
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill – also known as Protect Duty – will require venues to take steps to improve public safety, with measures dependent on the size of the venue and the activity taking place. Penalties for non-compliance would range from fines to permanent closure and criminal sanctions.
“Measures will be introduced to improve the safety and security of public venues and help keep the British public safe from terrorism,” said the King.
“The previous draft would have failed to deliver these objectives while placing disproportionate burdens on venues and festivals”
The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) says the move “represents a major leap forward in public safety”.
“It is crucial that this law harmonises with existing legislation, supports and improves current operational practices, and remains cost-effective in today’s economic environment,” says CEO Michael Kill.
Elsewhere, Jon Collins, CEO of LIVE, says the trade body is looking forward “to working collaboratively with Labour in government to unleash the potential of our sector”, but reiterates its plea for the anti-terror measures to be revised.
“We recognise government endeavours to improve the safety and security of public venues and keep the British public safe through the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill,” says Collins. “We fully support the objectives of this Bill, but the previous draft would have failed to deliver these objectives while placing disproportionate burdens on venues and festivals, so an urgent review of the government’s approach is needed.”
Previously, the Home Affairs Committee warned the measures would “place a significant and disproportionate burden on smaller venues” in its current form, while “failing to ensure adequate safety measures at all public events at risk of terror attacks”.
“We remain committed to working with government to ensure any new requirements are workable and, crucially, build on existing steps taken by industry to deliver greater reassurance and safety for concertgoers,” continues Collins.
“The government’s plans to reset relations with the EU can enable UK artists to tour more easily, and we urge quick action on this”
Other pledges relevant to the live biz include an effort to “reset the relationship with European partners and work to improve the United Kingdom’s trade and investment relationship with the European Union”.
“The government’s plans to reset relations with the EU can enable UK artists to tour more easily, and we urge quick action on this,” says Collins, who also supports plans for the formation of a new body called Skills England, as well as legislation giving new powers to metro mayors and combined authorities.
“We welcome the creation of Skills England and plans to reform the apprenticeship levy which align with our Live Music Manifesto proposals,” adds Collins. “The English Devolution Bill will be a positive step in awarding metro mayors with greater powers to drive local economic growth.”
While no mention was made in the King’s Speech of Labour’s pledge to introduce new consumer protections on ticket resale, the NTIA has backed the announcement of the introduction of a specific crime for spiking.
“This legislative change, one of the key asks from the previous government by the NTIA at the House of Lords select committee, will significantly enhance the role of the police,” says Kill. “By providing a robust data source to address this issue and focusing on direct intelligence to capture perpetrators, we can better protect our patrons and ensure safer environments in our venues.”
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LIVE urges government to revise ‘Martyn’s Law’
UK trade body LIVE is calling on the government to revise anti-terror measures for venues after proposed legislation was included in the King’s Speech.
In his first address to both Houses of Parliament since becoming monarch, King Charles yesterday (7 November) outlined the laws government ministers intended to pass in the year ahead, including to “protect public premises from terrorism in light of the Manchester Arena attack”.
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill – also known as Protect Duty – has been dubbed ‘Martyn’s Law’ in tribute of Martyn Hett, who was killed alongside 21 others in the bombing following an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena on 22 May 2017.
It will require venues to take steps to improve public safety, with measures dependent on the size of the venue and the activity taking place. Penalties for non-compliance would range from fines to permanent closure and criminal sanctions.
However, following pre-legislative scrutiny of the bill earlier this year, the Home Affairs Committee warned that it would “place a significant and disproportionate burden on smaller venues” in its current form, while “failing to ensure adequate safety measures at all public events at risk of terror attacks”.
LIVE, the voice of the UK’s live music and entertainment business, argues the draft legislation has been “rushed through the pre-legislative scrutiny stage and lacks any thorough impact assessment, which risks leaving the bill in a sub-optimal state. Not least in the treatment of grey space in public areas outside of venues and events”.
“The live music sector fully supports cooperative efforts to make venues as safe as possible for fans,” says LIVE CEO Jon Collins. “Venues and festivals throughout the country are already working extensively with relevant authorities and continuously review security arrangements.
“Government must urgently redesign the bill to ensure it is workable, places no disproportionate burdens on venues”
“We share the assessment of the Home Affairs Committee which identified serious concerns about the proportionality of the bill and a range of unfinished provisions. The committee’s report vindicated our members’ view that the draft bill is impractical, misses its core aim, and, through the excessive penalties it proposes, would create existential risk for live music venues.
“Government must urgently redesign the bill to ensure it is workable, places no disproportionate burdens on venues and crucially delivers greater reassurance and safety for concertgoers.
“We will continue to engage with government and parliamentarians to ensure the bill is appropriately revised and strengthened as it goes through parliament.”
Under the current plans, a standard tier will apply to locations with a maximum capacity of over 100. This will include training, information sharing and completion of a preparedness plan to embed practices, such as locking doors to delay attackers’ progress or knowledge on lifesaving treatments that can be administered by staff while awaiting emergency services.
Locations with a capacity of over 800 people will additionally be required to undertake a risk assessment to inform the development and implementation of a thorough security plan. Subsequent measures could include developing a vigilance and security culture, implementation of physical measures like CCTV or new systems and processes to enable better consideration of security.
The Manchester Arena Inquiry, led by chairman Sir John Saunders, published the final of three reports about the bombing earlier this year, concluding that security services missed a “significant” opportunity to take action that could have prevented the attack.
The second inquiry into the attack, published in November 2022, made a series of recommendations for events after identifying numerous failings by the emergency services, while the first report, published in June 2021, which found there were multiple “missed opportunities” to prevent or minimise the impact of the bombing.
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Coronation Concert advert ‘misleading’, says ASA
The UK’s advertising watchdog has ruled that communication on a ballot for tickets to May’s Coronation Concert was “misleading” following complaints from the public.
The 20,000-cap concert was held outside Windsor Castle on 7 May this year in celebration of the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla, and featured artists such as Lionel Richie, Take That, Katy Perry, Andrea Bocelli, Nicole Scherzinger and Olly Murs.
BBC Studios was responsible for organising the event and had contracted Ticketmaster UK to administer the public ballot for one of 5,000 pairs of tickets between 10-28 February 2023. Successful entries were drawn at random, with the winning entrants contacted and asked to accept the pair of tickets within 14 days.
Posts on the BBC and Ticketmaster websites stated that tickets were “not being allocated on a first-come first-served basis”.
However, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) launched an investigation after receiving 98 complaints from people who were unable to claim tickets, despite receiving an email saying: “Congratulations, you have been successful in the ballot for a pair of standing tickets to The Coronation Concert.”
It transpired that entrants who received the email had not in fact been successful in securing tickets, but had instead been selected to enter a supplementary round with an additional chance to get tickets.
Additionally, 56 complainants challenged whether claims the tickets would not be allocated on a “first-come first-served basis” were misleading.
“Although there was never any intention to mislead, we accept the ASA’s ruling”
The BBC said that since some tickets remained unallocated following two ballots, it decided to offer the remaining tickets to a third group on a first-come first-served basis due to “time constraints”.
Ticketmaster emailed further entrants on 25 April to claim the remaining tickets, with wording provided by BBC Studios. BBC Studios accepted the email was “not well-worded”, but said that the first two stages of the balloting process were followed, since it congratulated the recipient twice, before explaining that tickets in this supplementary round were being offered on a first-come first-served basis.
The ASA upheld both complaints and told BBC Studios and Ticketmaster UK to ensure future marketing communications “did not misleadingly imply that consumers had been allocated tickets if that was not the case”.
“We also told them to ensure that future marketing communications did not omit relevant material information that tickets would be allocated on a first-come first-served basis,” it added.
A BBC Studios spokesperson says: “Although there was never any intention to mislead, we accept the ASA’s ruling. Following two fully compliant ballots, a small number of unclaimed tickets were offered on a first come first served basis to unsuccessful ballot entrants.
“We also reiterate our apology for a poorly worded email, which implied applicants had already won tickets for The Coronation Concert. We have taken steps to ensure neither situation is repeated and can confirm that no successful ballot entrant from the first two rounds was denied the opportunity to attend the event.”
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