UK music tourism increased by 33% in 2023 thanks to concerts from the likes of Beyoncé, The Weeknd, Harry Styles and Blur and festivals including Glastonbury, Boomtown and TRNSMT.

Around 19.2 million music tourists (national and international) attended live music events across the UK last year, up from 14.4 million in 2022, according to new research from UK Music.

This figure includes 1.014 million foreign music tourists (roughly in line with 1.053m in 2022) and 18.2m domestic music tourists (an increase of 36% from 2022 when the total was 13.3m).

London saw a 40% rise in music tourists from 4.9 million in 2022 to 6.9 million in 2023, while the South West saw an 86% increase from one million in 2022 to two million in 2023, and the North East enjoyed a 29% increase from 352,000 in 2022 to 489,000 in 2023.

“The UK’s thriving music industry continues to be one of our most powerful global exports”

Music tourism spending in 2023 also surged to £8 billion, a 21% increase from 2022 when the figure was £6.6bn.

That figure includes £4.2bn spent directly by music tourists attending concerts and festivals in the UK, including the cost of a ticket, on-site spend, travel, accommodation, and meals while travelling to events. A further £3.8bn was spent indirectly through the value chain, including costs such as fencing and security or a restaurant paying for ingredients.

Total employment sustained by music tourism increased too, surging 17% from 53,000 in 2022 to 62,000 in 2023.

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is likely to give a further significant boost to figures for 2024, making the UK one of the global touring centres, says umbrella association UK Music.

“The UK’s thriving music industry continues to be one of our most powerful global exports and an important driver of economic growth,” says UK culture secretary Lisa Nandy.

“In towns and cities across the country, the music industry provides entertainment, employment and inspiration to millions. This government will work hard to ensure our creative industries get the support they need to flourish, driving opportunity and economic growth into every community and inspiring the next generation of performers.”

“We’re looking forward to working with the new Government to ensure that all our towns and cities have thriving music ecosystems”

Despite the growth in UK music tourism, independent festivals and grassroots music venues are still struggling with rising costs and changes in ticket-buying habits.

The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) reported that 50 UK festivals have completely closed or been postponed or cancelled for 2024, while the Music Venue Trust (MVT) reports that 125 venues in 2023 either shut or stopped live music.

“While music generates huge benefits for our local areas, beyond a handful of very successful musicians the opportunities for many artists are becoming increasingly squeezed,” says UK Music Chief Executive Tom Kiehl.

“Grassroots music venues and festivals, studios and rehearsal spaces are facing tough economic pressures and it’s vital that the music ecosystem that enables musicians and artists to perform is supported to ensure that everyone – no matter where they live – can have access to music.

“We’re looking forward to working with the new Government to ensure that all our towns and cities have thriving music ecosystems that support the growth of the industry – generating thousands more jobs, boosting economic growth and making their areas even more attractive to visitors.”

Last week, live music business organisations in the UK delivered their verdicts on the King’s Speech, which outlined the new Labour government’s legislative priorities.

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The appetite for live entertainment in the UK and Ireland remains strong despite the cost-of-living crisis and the threat of recession, according to a new report.

Ticketing marketplace Tixel and entertainment marketing agency Bolster joined forces to produce the newly published Big Ticket Items report into Ticketing State of Play 2024, which offers a deep dive into how ticket buyers are spending.

The study tackles ticketing trends, the impact of fandom and FOMO and the aftermath of the pandemic, as well as expectations around flexibility, last-minute purchasing and event genres.

It also offers insights and commentary from specialists such as Association of Independent Festivals CEO John Rostron, Black Deer Festival co-founder Gill Tee, El Dorado festival director Kate Osler, Ticketsellers & Eventree CEO Phil Hayes and Wild Paths director Benjamin Street.

“The challenge lies more internally with increasing production costs, not decreased consumer spending”

“Despite rising ticket prices, consumer spending on events remains buoyant,” says Hayes. “The challenge lies more internally with increasing production costs, not decreased consumer spending.”

Among the report’s findings are that three-quarters of event goers are attending more, or the same amount of events as last year, with live entertainment and events remaining a priority expense for almost half (48%) of attendees. Furthermore, a third of respondents suggest it is a similar priority to other expenses, with Gen Z scoring highest in this regard.

Fandom is the dominating driving force for ticket purchases for almost 80% of respondents, while over two-thirds say they are more likely to make a purchase if there is an option to re-sell later.

Festivalgoers were shown to be more likely to attend a festival that has a real sense of community, in addition to the lineup being a high motivator. The full report is available here.

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Millennials are driving live music’s post-pandemic resurgence, according to a new report by UTA and Variety VIP+.

The Peak Performance study combines Billboard and Pollstar data with a survey of more than 4,000 US consumers – including 1,500 active live music attendees – aged 15-69 about their concert and festival attendance from August 2022-23.

Ticket sales are forecast to hit a record $9.5 billion (€9bn) by the end of 2023 and as high as $10.5bn by 2027, as per PwC.

“Our desire to do this study was spurred by the anecdotal evidence we were seeing from our own music representation and music brand partnerships business,” Joe Kessler, UTA partner and global head of UTA IQ tells Billboard.

The report found that 49% of millennial (ages 26-41) respondents had been to a gig in the past 12 months  – more than any other generation – compared to 42% of Gen Z (15-25), 32% of Gen X (42-57) and 24% of Boomers (58-69). It was a similar story at festivals, which enticed 39% of millennials, 32% Gen Z, 20% Gen X and 12% Boomers.

“As the economy improves and [millennials] have more disposable spending, I think we’re going to see a continued rise in the desire to want to see live shows,” says Kessler.

Concerts were the most well-attended live entertainment events for all 15-69-year-old consumers, with 36% of respondents having attended at least one show during the 12-month period.

“No one can know how long it will last, but I don’t think this is a temporary blip on the map”

Repeat attendance was strong, with 79% saying they had seen the same artist more than once and 59% having seen the same act at least four times. One in two millennials and one in three people overall have seen an artist more than once on the same tour.

The list of the top 5 events was rounded off by food or beverage festival (32%), professional sporting event (29%) and music festival (26%), with a total of 30% of participants saying they had travelled to another country specifically for a live music event.

The most attended shows by genre were rock/metal/punk, pop, hip-hop/rap and country, while the cost of ticket prices was put forward as the number one barrier for why consumers who hadn’t recently attended. Nevertheless, one in five people said they would be willing to spend more than $500 on a ticket.

In addition, 34% of survey participants said attending live music had become more important to them since the pandemic, with 73% saying they have been to just as many, if not more, concerts post-Covid.

“No one can know how long it will last, but I don’t think this is a temporary blip on the map,” concludes Kessler. “The data that came through the study tells us that, this is here to stay for the foreseeable future.”

Finally, 51% of 15-69 consumers said they anticipated attending a gig over the next 12 months.

“With all the headlines around live music’s triumphant return post-pandemic, UTA IQ sought to elucidate fans’ habits, behaviours, and preferences around these experiences to inspire the industry’s continued success,” reads a UTA statement. “And as we look ahead, the future appears bright. With half of live music fans expressing a desire to increase their concert attendance in the year ahead, the vibrancy of live music remains a testament to its place in the hearts of fans.”

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The pandemic’s impact on young people’s concert-going habits has been made clear by the latest study by UK live music industry umbrella group LIVE.

LIVE’s Deep dive into consumer trends Q2 report is based on a nationally representative survey carried out by insight agency Opinium, which collected 2,000 responses in November 2022 and a further 2,000 responses in April this year.

While the previous report highlighted how a section of customers had got out of the habit of attending gigs and others were attending less frequently due to financial pressures, the 2023 findings are more positive.

Among the headline findings are that 16% of respondents are now attending fewer events overall, compared to 22% five months earlier. Ticket-buying attitudes also appear to be softening, with 27% (a 4% decrease) of participants saying tickets are too expensive, 19% (-3%) saying everything feels expensive post pandemic, 18% (-4%) saying they have less disposable income to spend on tickets and 15% (-4%) saying they were trying to reduce their spending to only essentials.

However, concerns remain around nurturing young fans, denied the opportunity to develop a gig-going habit by lockdown. LIVE chief economist Chris Carey tells IQ the findings highlight the “battle for the next generation of lifelong music fans”.

“The world has changed in terms of convenience – people expect things to be available last minute and don’t plan as far ahead”

“Because they never got the habit, they’re going to less events overall,” says Carey. “We can make sure we’re promoting the right stuff for them and putting on things that are cost-effective.”

The 18-24 and 25-34 age groups also retained the biggest concerns around Covid, indicating they were put off buying tickets because they were worried they would get ill and be unable to attend the show.

“It’s a bigger barrier for them than for the older groups,” says Carey. “Gigs were banned for health reasons. [To them], gigs were dangerous, other people were dangerous. And I think we’re still living with some of that.”

Elsewhere, the trend towards late sales looks set to continue as 18% of 18-24-year-olds and 16% of 25-34-year-olds said they buy tickets later because they were confident tickets would still be available.

“People feeling confident they’re going to be able to attend regardless is an odd dynamic for the live music industry,” says Carey. “The world has changed in terms of convenience; people expect things to be available last minute and don’t plan as far ahead. But I also think that dynamic of, ‘tickets will still be available’, had never been true before, and now it has become true sometimes.

“It’s quite a risky dynamic for us and is something we’ve got to manage quite carefully – particularly given that selling tickets out early helps with cashflow and getting the next shows on. If people are waiting, it has a dramatic impact on the business overall.”

“Younger fans are more likely to not show because of the expense of the whole night”

No-shows have also persisted post pandemic, according to the study, with only 62% of people definitely using tickets. A key point for Carey is that 6% say they did not attend because of the expense of the whole night.

“That is hugely problematic for us and partly drives people towards having one giant night out, rather than four or five nights out,” he says. “It also raises questions about the middle market and how much support they’re getting. Is there a risk that the middle market becomes prohibitively expensive, not because of the ticket price, but because of the cost of everything around it?

“And is there an opportunity there? Can we bundle food and drinks with tickets to get people in the room spending at our venues and help soften the blow of the cost of that whole night? Or getting the money upfront so they get two beers on arrival? Or 20% off a burger once you’re in the venue? That’s something we possibly could be doing.”

He adds: “Younger fans are more likely to not show because of the expense of the whole night. If we jump back five years, you would expect 18-24, 25-34 to be your core audience. But at the moment they’re the ones with the core challenges and that’s something we should be very aware of.”

Turning his attention the next edition of the report, Carey, whose FastForward conference returns to London with an expanded two-day programme from 19-20 September, has a number of objectives in mind.

“I would hope to see that the Covid concerns continue to soften and the attitude to ticket buying improving slightly, and that enough people have got back to their first event since Covid by that time,” he says. “You have to experience it to remember just how good it is and I hope, after this summer, we will have many more people who have experienced it again and have renewed excitement for it. And that will boost us and bolster us.”

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The double vaccination rate among UK concertgoers is substantially higher than in the country’s general population, according to a new report by Music Venue Trust (MVT).

More than three-quarters (76.3%) of people attending live music events in the UK were fully vaccinated, while just 61.3% of the general population received two jabs, it found at the time of data collection.

Furthermore, almost all UK concertgoers (91.6%) will have been fully vaccinated by the end of September if they complete their vaccination programme – again, substantially higher than predicted for the general population (77.9%).

According to the report, these statistics aren’t a coincidence; 91.3% of attendees had chosen to take an additional personal precaution such as double vaccination, testing or immunity to support their safety.

Despite a high vaccination rate among concertgoers, only 2.1% of live music fans wanted to see certified double vaccination as the sole mandatory condition of entry and 8.9% wanted to see mandatory certification of health status as a condition of entry to grassroots music venues.

Only 2.1% of live music fans wanted to see certified double vaccination as the sole mandatory condition of entry

A mix of mandatory certification options, displaying vaccination, testing or immunity, was more strongly supported by live music fans.

The findings are from a series of surveys and data collection exercises conducted by MVT during the first month of the full capacity reopening of grassroots music venues in the UK.

The audience survey recorded answers from 1,891 people who normally attended live music events prior to the Covid crisis.

While 221 grassroots music venues took part in a survey about the precautions they had taken around opening and the attendance at their events.

And 100 grassroots music venues were selected as representative of the sector, with case rates and transmission rates in their locality mapped to explore if the full capacity reopening of grassroots music venues had a discernible impact on local case rates.

In the local areas around a representative sample of 100 grassroots music venues, Covid-19 case rates declined by 39%

Notably, in the local areas around a representative sample of 100 grassroots music venues, Covid-19 case rates declined by 39%.

“The response from venues, artists and audiences to the Covid threat has been incredible,” says Mark Davyd, CEO of Music Venue Trust.

“These survey results clearly demonstrate a will by the live music community to create safe spaces, to take personal responsibility for ourselves and each other, and to act to Reopen Every Venue Safely. It is particularly striking that local case and transmission rates around grassroots music venues, far from exponentially increasing as was predicted, have, in reality, exceeded the decline in rates witnessed nationally.”

Other findings from MVT’s report include:

• 86% of grassroots music venues are currently open and trading with a live music offer, equating to 817 venues, delivering over 13,000 shows in the last four weeks, to a total capacity audience in excess of two million people.
• 67.5% of grassroots music venues report that their advance ticket sales are down compared to their pre-Covid-19 advance ticket sales.
• 61.7% of grassroots music venues report that their turn up on the night (advanced sales and walk-up) is down compared to their pre-Covid-19 turn up on the night.
• 52.1% of grassroots music venues report that their bar take is down compared to their pre-Covid-19 bar take.

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A new ‘audience snapshot’ by music and event industry charity Attitude is Everything indicates that a majority of Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people want to return to live events – as long as accessible safety precautions are in place.

The poll of 289 individuals with a history of attending live events found that respondents went to more than 5,000 indoor and more than 1,200 outdoor live events in 2019 – from gigs and festivals to football matches and book launches.

Following the UK’s relaxation of restrictions on 19 July, 50% of respondents say they would feel comfortable attending an indoor live event and 73% said they would feel comfortable attending an outdoor live event, as long as they are confident that as many accessible measures as possible have been put in place to increase safety.

Almost three-quarters (74%) have additional access requirements in order to attend live events, such as companion tickets, accessible seating, step-free access and accessible toilets.

The results underscore the need for event organisers to ensure that access and Covid-safety measures are at the forefront of reopening plans.

Just over two-thirds (67%) of respondents considered themselves to be at heightened risk if they were to contract Covid-19, with 46% having shielded in 2020, and 27% feeling it necessary to return to shielding now rules have been lifted.

“More than ever before, it’s time to recognise that the disabled community are part of the life-blood of culture in the UK”

Furthermore, 42% didn’t see how a live venue could be a safe environment for them at the time they completed the survey (19 July– 1 August), with 24% feeling that they won’t be able to get to an indoor live event until next year at the earliest.

Eighty-three per cent said they would attend a venue or event that requires the NHS Covid Pass to gain entry, with 67% stating they would actively choose a venue that requires an NHS Covid Pass to gain entry over one that doesn’t.

Almost all (96%) of all respondents said it is important that venues and events engage with disabled people who don’t feel safe to return just yet, with 78% thinking venues and events should maintain online streaming as an option.

“In 2019, disabled people were big consumers of live events. In fact, in the years before the pandemic, the economic spend from disabled people attending live music grew from £3.4 million in 2013 to £9.3 million in 2019, so there was always going to be a huge demand from the disabled community to return to live events,” says Suzanne Bull MBE, founder of Attitude is Everything.

“Understandably, disabled people have real and deep-seated fears about how safe live events will be after the pandemic. I urge the live events sector to address concerns and make demonstratable efforts to welcome those with access requirements back to their venues and events, and for artists to become actively involved in this welcome.

“Over the past 18 months, disabled people have been loyal in donating to venues and campaigns to support musicians, and bought music, art and books to help creatives to sustain themselves. So more than ever before, it’s time to recognise that the disabled community are part of the life-blood of culture in the UK.”

Following the survey, Attitude is Everything calls on event organisers to check their post-19 July Covid-safety information and practices against its list of reopening measures supported by respondents.

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Representation of Black, Asian and ethnic minorities and women has increased at almost every level in the industry since 2016, according to a new report by UK Music.

The trade body revealed the findings of its 2020 Workforce Diversity Survey in its UK Music Diversity Report, as well as a ten-point plan to tackle racism and boost diversity in Britain’s music industry.

The survey’s most notable findings include an increase in minority ethic employees between 16-24, up from 25.9% in 2018 to a record 30.6%.

The number of people from minority ethnic professionals at entry-level has also risen from 23.2% in 2018 to new high of 34.6% in 2020, though representation is worse in senior positions at just 19.9% – one in five posts.

Elsewhere, the proportion of women has increased from 45.3% in 2016 to new high of 49.6% in 2020. However, the number of women in the 45–64 age group has dropped from 38.7% in 2018 to 35% in 2020.

“Against a backdrop of global change the diversity taskforce has been carefully listening, challenging and working behind the scenes to help shape a transformational and game-changing ten-point plan,” says UK Music diversity taskforce chair Ammo Talwar MBE.

“If our music industry is to tell the story of modern-day Britain, then it needs to look like modern-day Britain too”

“This plan is data driven and evidence based with metrics and lived experience. It’s the accumulation of nine months’ work across the whole music industry to support yet hold the industry to account. No tokenistic statements, no short-term wins but a truly collaborative long term plan that reboots the sector and ensures diversity is front and centre of all major decisions.”

UK Music CEO Jamie Njoku-Goodwin says: “As an industry, we are united in our determination to lead the way on improving diversity and inclusion in our sector and across society. This report consists of a frank and candid analysis of the current situation our industry faces, and a bold and ambitious ten-point plan for how to achieve the positive change we all want to see. It’s relevant not just to the music industry, but to organisations everywhere.

“If our music industry is to tell the story of modern-day Britain, then it needs to look like modern-day Britain too. This ground-breaking report is an important step towards achieving that.”

The trade body’s ten-point plan to improve diversity makes a number of commitments including maintaining a database of people responsible for promoting diversity across UK Music; removing the word “urban” to describe music of black origin, using genre-specific terms like R&B or soul instead; and ending the use of the “offensive and outdated” term BAME in official communications.

UK Music has conducted a diversity study every two years since 2016, which collates data from across the music business including studios, management agencies, music publishers, major and independent record labels, music licensing companies and the live music sector.

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More than 26,000 permanent jobs will be lost in the live music industry before the end of the year if government support is withdrawn, new research published today (21 October) reveals.

In addition, 144,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) roles, including self-employed and freelance workers, will have effectively ceased to exist by the end of 2020, the new report, UK live music: At a cliff edge, shows.

Revenue into the industry has been almost zero since March, with a fall of 81% in 2020 compared to 2019 – four times the national UK average, where reductions across industries run at around 20%.

At a cliff edge – conducted by Chris Carey and Tim Chambers for Media Insight Consulting on behalf of LIVE (Live music Industry Venues and Entertainment), an umbrella group representing the UK live music industry – also reveals the positive contribution made by the Culture Recovery Fund, which has offered a lifeline to a range of businesses, but whose impact is tempered by 80% of employees still being reliant on the furlough scheme, which ends this month.

The report’s findings include:

• In 2019 live music supported 210,000 full-time equivalent roles, as well as tens of thousands of freelancers
• In 2019, live music contributed £4.5 billion to the UK economy
• In 2020, revenue in the live music business will fall by 81%, and revenue has been close to zero since March
• 76% of live music employees were utilising the furlough scheme, as of 31 August 2020
• 50% of permanent roles will be lost by the end of the year (26,100 jobs), while temporary and freelance roles have already been decimated
• The Culture Recovery Fund has had a significant impact, safeguarding around 10,000 at-risk employees (this is reflected in the headline statistics)

“This research shows clearly that the entire ecosystem is being decimated”

Following the lockdown in March, and the ongoing government restrictions on venues and events, many of those working within the live music sector have received no income at all. The new tier-two and three restrictions put further limitations on the sector reopening, while the sector is currently excluded from the government’s extended Job Support Scheme.

With recent indications from the prime minister that severe restrictions could be in place for a further six months, meaning a full year with next-to-no live music or revenues, the associations represented by Live – including the Entertainment Agents’ Association, Association for Electronic Music (AFEM), Association of Festival Organisers (AFO), Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), Concert Promoters Association (CPA), Music Managers Forum (MMF), National Arenas Association (NAA), Production Services Association (PSA) and Music Venue Trust (MVT) – are calling on the government to ensure the live business can benefit from new support measures.

Phil Bowdery, CPA chair, comments: “We were one of the first sectors to close and we will be one of the last to reopen. We are currently caught in a catch 22, where we are unable to operate due to government restrictions but are excluded from the extended Job Support Scheme as the furlough comes to an end. If businesses can’t access that support soon, then the majority of our specialist, highly trained workforce will be gone.”

“Those who have often found themselves overlooked and left behind throughout the last six months are the freelancers and self-employed – the people up and do the country that we rely on to bring us the live experiences we love,” adds PSA general manager Andy Lenthall. “Things are becoming increasingly desperate for a great many people in the industry and government needs to recognise that these crucial individuals need support.”

““Things are becoming increasingly desperate for a great many people in the industry”

Economist Chris Carey, who co-authored the report, says: “From the artists on stage, to the venues and the many specialist roles and occupations that make live music happen, this research shows clearly that the entire ecosystem is being decimated.”

The report includes sector-specific data on artists, managers, promoters, booking agents, venues, festivals, ticketing companies and technical suppliers, as well as case studies from some of those affected and comment from industry leaders.

“The Culture Recovery Fund is a help, especially to grassroots music venues,” continues Carey. “However, larger companies are going to be hit harder, and without ongoing government investment in protecting this industry, the UK will lose its place as a cultural leader in live entertainment.

“Moreover, the skills we lose in this time will significantly hinder the sector’s ability to recover and return to driving economic growth and supplying UK jobs.”

Download the report here.

This article forms part of IQ’s Covid-19 resource centre – a knowledge hub of essential guidance and updating resources for uncertain times.

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Live DMA, a European live music network comprising 16 member countries, has released a new report which estimates a €1.2 billion loss in audience income for the 2,600 music venues it represents.

The new report, which gives an overview on the impact of Covid-19 has had on its member venues, estimates that 664,000 artist performances will not take place in the venues, because 284,000 music events are cancelled or postponed this year.

This is only 30% (a 70% decline) of the number of music events and artist performances that took place last year.

Therefore, a 76% decline in audience visits is expected –53 million less compared to last year. This leads to the €1.2bn loss in audience income for the venues.

The loss in audience income consists of an estimated: €496m less income from ticket sales; €521m less income from food & beverages sales; €172m less other income.

Audience income makes up 84% of the €1.8 bn+ income the venues were expected to generate in 2020

According to Live DMA, audience income makes up 84% of the €1.8bn+ income the venues were expected to generate in 2020.

Among Live DMA’s worst affected venues are the 48% that have a private commercial structure. These venues and clubs lost almost 100% of their total income, which consists almost solely of income generated by their audiences (ticket sales, beverage, food, etc.).

According to the report, without this income source, the 1,250 venues and clubs cannot fulfil their financial obligations and are relying solely on their own reserves, cutbacks and financial support from governments to survive.

The full report can be viewed here.

Live DMA’s members include the Music Venue Trust (UK); Live Komm (Germany); Svensk Live (Sweden), and Dansk Live (Denmark).

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A new report put together by the Icelandic music industry has highlighted the measures needed to be taken by the government to help the business through the current crisis.

The ‘Impact of Covid-19 on the Icelandic music industry report’ has been compiled by the Icelandic Musicians Union (FIH), Icelandic National Group for IFPI (FHF), Collecting society for performers and phonogram producers (SFH), the Performing Rights Association of Iceland (STEF), Reykjavík Music City and Iceland Music (ÚTÓN).

The report states that, although a number of measures have been taken to address the loss of income of musicians, many schemes such as the partial compensation scheme for cancelled events and closure subsidies for companies forced to halt their operations for public health reasons, “have benefitted members of the music industry in a very limited way”.

“Clearly, despite the good will and the prompt response from the government, we need to find more effective ways to respond to the impact that Covid-19 has had on the music industry in Iceland,” reads the report.

“Clearly, despite the good will and the prompt response from the government, we need to find more effective ways to respond to the impact that Covid-19 has had on the music industry in Iceland”

Existing measures include a ISK 244 million (€1.5m) artists’ salary fund; a ISK 86m (€540,870) fund for new music-related activities; the ISK 30m (€188,680) City of Reykjavík Culture Fund (Menningarpottur Reykjavíkurborgar); and the Summer City 2020 project, which promotes culture and creates job opportunites for musicians and venues in Reykjavík.

The music industry representatives present various counter measures, drawing from action taken in the countries of Denmark, Germany and Finland, to support the industry.

Suggestions include establishing “extensive support packages” for venues, promoters, festivals and agents; a reduction of real estate tax for venues; compensation for the operating costs and other fixed costs of businesses that have not closed down over the period; the creation of a small businesses fund; and government-led promotional campaigns for the music industry.

The report also makes some recommendations for actions to be taken by those in the industry itself, including the establishment of a “formal alliance” of Icelandic concert promoters and increased cooperation between music organisations, with the aim of creating an association to represent the industry as a whole.

The document cites measures taken in Denmark to support self-employed individuals and in Finland, where €700m has been put aside to assist small- and medium-sized businesses. The report also recommends the Icelandic government consider Germany, where €150m has been dedicated to supporting the live music industry.

An executive summary of the report can be found here.

This article forms part of IQ’s Covid-19 resource centre – a knowledge hub of essential guidance and updating resources for uncertain times.

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