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UK industry nears deal on grassroots contribution

Following a meeting with the government, IQ understands the UK live music industry is edging towards a deal which would see more stadium and arena tours agree to include a contribution towards grassroots support.

Yesterday’s ministerial roundtable meeting with culture minister Chris Bryant MP followed the government’s plea to the live industry to introduce a voluntary ticket levy to support the grassroots music sector in its response to the Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) Select Committee’s report.

As well as key industry representative bodies, senior figures from some of the UK’s leading promoters were in attendance, including Live Nation, AEG, SJM and Kilimanjaro Live.

“The first roundtable with the minister was the culmination of a lot of hard work by the live music sector,” said LIVE CEO Jon Collins. “Our focus now is to continue to work together to put in place a robust plan for the newly launched LIVE trust and to accelerate the process of directing much needed funding to the grassroots music sector. It was heartening to hear the minister once again endorse the government’s desire to support grassroots venues, festivals, artists and promoters.”

Music Venue Trust (MVT) founder and CEO Mark Davyd also struck an upbeat tone in the wake of yesterday’s discussion.

“We want to thank the LIVE team for all the hard work to reach a consensus on pushing ahead with the much discussed grassroots contribution from every arena and stadium ticket sold,” he said. “The meeting with minister for culture Chris Bryant was a great example of the whole ecosystem pulling together to create an outcome that, ultimately, benefits all of us working in the live industry and everyone who loves live music.”

The current direction of travel stops short of the ‘levy’ called for in various industry campaigns and focuses instead on close collaboration ahead of tours, aimed at significantly increasing the number of projects that include grassroots support.

A grassroots music fund cannot be dependent on voluntary artist donations

However, the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) is maintaining its call for a blanket ticket levy, having previously set out its stance in its joint open letter with the Musicians’ Union in October.

“I’d like to thank minister for culture, Chris Bryant, for engaging with the sector on the grassroots music levy,” FAC CEO David Martin tells IQ. “Whilst it’s clear that there are different perspectives within the industry on how to tackle the crisis, the minister has tasked industry representatives with demonstrating they can collectively introduce a £1 levy from large arena and stadium shows, to support grassroots artists, promoters and venues, with the objective that this approach will become blanket across all shows.

“The critical word here is levy. A grassroots music fund cannot be dependent on voluntary artist donations.  Such an opt-in ad hoc system would create uncertainty and the potential for an uneven playing field for UK artists on British soil. Furthermore, it places the burden of decision-making on individual artists rather than sharing it across the industry.

“However, we welcome the attempts to try to progress the situation. We are also pleased that the whole sector has agreed that funds distributed to artists should be equivalent to those distributed to venues, in order to stimulate vital performances and industry growth.”

Bryant said earlier this month that the government wants to see ‘tangible progress’ by the first quarter of next year to meet the timeline of increased grassroots support coming in as soon as possible for concerts in 2025. While IQ understands that the minster expressed his understanding that with many 2025 tours now announced it may take some time for new schemes to come onstream, he reiterated the threat of potential statutory action if insufficient progress is made.

MVT announced in November that it is teaming with live music advocate Save Our Scene to launch the Liveline Fund to handle donations to the grassroots ecosystem from companies, organisations and artists.

Frank Turner recently became the latest artist to donate £1 from every ticket sold for his upcoming UK tour to support local independent music venues, following similar pledges from acts such as Sam Fender, Katy Perry and Coldplay, who will donate 10% of proceeds from their 2025 stadium concerts in England to the MVT.

 


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UK Government backs voluntary grassroots levy

The UK government has urged the live industry to introduce a voluntary ticket levy to support the grassroots music sector in its response to the Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) Committee’s report.

Published in May, the CMS report recommended an arena-level levy, administered by a trust led by a sector umbrella body, to be put in place “before September 2024” to safeguard grassroots venues. But it is yet to come to pass despite acts including Coldplay, Sam Fender and Enter Shikari having each pledged donations.

Nevertheless, ministers say they now expect the sector to take forward proposals for a voluntary levy, which they want to come into effect as soon as possible.

The response stopped short of committing the Government to a statutory backstop, instead pledging to use its “convening power” to generate an industry-led solution.

The Government refused to accept the Select Committee’s recommendation that it should institute a fan-led review of music and also knocked back the long-requested VAT reduction, called for both by industry and the Select Committee.

Trumpeting it as “one of the UK’s most valuable and yet undervalued cultural assets”, creative industries minister Sir Chris Bryant said the rest of the touring business will “wither” without a “flourishing” grassroots scene.

“These venues support thousands of jobs and are a vital part of our local communities,” he said. “It is crucial that we work together to support the grassroots including venues, festivals, artists and promoters. That is why I am urging the industry voluntarily to introduce a ticket levy on the biggest commercial players, to help ensure the health and future success of our entire live music industry for decades to come.”

“The lack of a firm deadline for movement risks allowing matters to drift”

The CMS Committee has welcomed the stance, but has called for ministers to set a clear deadline for the industry to act before the government intervenes. It adds that if no significant progress is made, it will hold a hearing with the sector in six months’ time.

“The sheer number of venues in our local communities being forced to shut up shop each week has hammered home the stark reality of the struggles facing artists, promoters and others working in grassroots music,” says CMS Committee chair Dame Caroline Dinenage MP. “There are warnings of an even gloomier future.

“While the government has dialled up the volume on the message that swift action on a levy is needed from the bigger players who pack out arenas and stadiums, the lack of a firm deadline for movement risks allowing matters to drift.

“Without healthy roots, the entire live music ecosystem suffers, so it is vital that the wider industry recognises the urgency of coming up with a scheme to direct a proportion of profits back to where many careers began. The committee will keep banging the drum to make sure both the industry and government plays it part in protecting our live performance ecosystem.”

“The message is clear – get around the table and get this done or expect a statutory levy”

The current activity follows years of lobbying from the Music Venue Trust (MVT) for a compulsory £1 levy on tickets sold for UK live music events above 5,000 capacity, amid the “cost of touring crisis” facing the circuit.

“The government’s response is so robust and unequivocal in its support for our grassroots music venues, artists and promoters, that it is now a question of how and when the grassroots ticketing contribution from stadium and arenas is enacted, and not if,” says the MVT. “The ball is firmly in the court of the music industry to quickly and voluntarily establish the mechanisms for delivering the grassroots ticketing contribution.”

The LIVE Trust, an industry-created charitable body which would collect and distribute funds, is currently in the process of being set up with the UK charity regulator.

“We are glad government has entrusted our sector to play our part in addressing the crisis in grassroots music,” adds LIVE CEO Jon Collins. “Driving forward an industry-led solution to the challenges currently being experienced by venues, artists, festivals and promoters remains our number one priority.

“Alongside government’s work to deliver an improved trading environment, we are accelerating our work on the development of the LIVE Trust and associated funding to help distribute money to the places it’s needed most.”

“Everyone knows grassroots live music is in crisis. The current situation is untenable”

Michael Kill, CEO of the Night Time Industries Association, emphasised that any fund created needed to support the whole range of live music professionals.

“It is crucial that this approach remains ecosystem-led, considering the broader spectrum of creatives, technicians, and professionals who make up the live music sector,” he says.

“We must ensure these measures benefit not just the venues but also the full range of associated creatives and support roles that underpin the industry. By working together—industry leaders, government, and fans alike—we can create a sustainable future for live music, preserving local venues and fostering a vibrant, diverse music culture across the UK.”

Last month, the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) and Musicians’ Union (MU) penned a joint open letter calling for a blanket ticket levy.

“Everyone knows grassroots live music is in crisis,” says MMF CEO Annabella Coldrick in response to the government’s statement. “The current situation is untenable. Every week I hear from music managers trying to do the impossible and bridge catastrophic shortfalls in their artists touring budgets. A ticket levy on all large-scale live music events to support touring artists at this level to get out on the road remains the most practical solution. It is now imperative that we in the industry stand up and deliver it.”

Elsewhere, Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) CEO John Rostron backed the government’s response, but expressed his disappointment that it was not exploring different models of VAT including lower levels of VAT on grassroots music activity, such as a reduction of VAT on festival ticket sales to 5%.

“We reject the idea that any reduction would need to be funded,” says Rostron. “Venues and festivals are closing and will continue to do so. With lower VAT, many would remain open and make a positive contribution to HM Treasury and revenue collection.

“It must be emphasised that the relationship between festivals and grassroots music venues is highly interlinked. Audiences, artists, promoters and crew flow in and out of these spaces as one, creating opportunities, driving creativity and developing talent.”

 


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FAC and MU call for blanket ticket levy in UK

The Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) and Musicians’ Union (MU) have spoken to IQ after jointly penning an open letter calling for a blanket ticket levy to share the cost of investing in the future of the UK live scene.

In the midst of a “cost of touring crisis”, the government is expected to respond imminently to the Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) committee’s report on grassroots live music, published in May, which called for a process for an arena-level levy to safeguard grassroots venues to be put in place “before September 2024”.

But despite Coldplay pledging to donate 10% of proceeds from their 2025 UK stadium dates to the Music Venue Trust, and Sam Fender vowing that £1 from every ticket sold for his upcoming UK shows will go to the organisation, a levy is yet to come to pass.

The LIVE Trust, an industry-created charitable body which would collect and distribute funds, is currently in the process of being set up with the UK charity regulator.

As a result of the delay, FAC CEO David Martin, who gave evidence to the CMS committee alongside Lily Fontaine from Mercury Prize winners English Teacher, says he is “increasingly concerned about the direction of travel”.

“Today, we call on the government to help get this conversation back on track to deliver the £1 ticket levy that grassroots live music so desperately needs,” he says.

Moreover, the organisations insist that “just supporting venues in itself will not save grassroots music”.

“The entire ecosystem needs support, and especially the artists and musicians who perform on the stages in those venues,” says the letter. “This is how we will develop new artists and audiences, ensuring that it’s viable for artists to progress through the live sector – from grassroots venues to arenas.”

“We urgently need to see the introduction of a robust and sustainable funding mechanism, allowing artists to carry out tours without significant risk”

The FAC and MU argue the levy must be implemented on a blanket basis “so that the responsibility is shared across all of those that contribute to the live industry”.

“While it is remarkable that some artists have voluntarily come forward to offer individual support, this burden should not be placed at the door of individual, British artists on an ‘opt in’ basis,” they say. “This blanket approach will ensure a level playing field for UK artists and that the whole of the live sector shares the cost of investing in the future of live music in the UK.

“Unless we return to the consensus position of May 2024, where the entire grassroots sector can benefit from a ticket levy, we risk causing irreparable harm to British music. We are encouraging artists, fans and the wider industry to show their support for this open letter by signing our petition.”

Kelly Wood, head of live at the MU, adds: “If artists can’t rely upon a healthy and financially viable grassroots live sector, the industry as a whole suffers. We urgently need to see the introduction of a robust and sustainable funding mechanism, allowing artists to carry out tours without significant risk. Without this kind of support, we will lose artists from the music community, and the talent pipeline will be severely disrupted.”

Speaking to IQ, the pair explained what would happen if an artist declined to participate in the scheme, or preferred to support a cause of their choosing with a ticket add-on.

“We support a blanket, industry-wide levy to be implemented by the live sector in order to ensure that the whole ecosystem contributes”

“We support a blanket, industry-wide levy to be implemented by the live sector in order to ensure that the whole ecosystem contributes, and to avoid individual artists being burdened with the decision about opting in,” they say. “Where that can’t be agreed, we will campaign for a government intervention.

“Artists are of course free to support any cause that they wish, and already do. Additionally, there are already a number of fees and levies placed on tickets which are not voluntary and which artists have no say over the distribution of.”

Martin and Wood say a £1 levy, implemented on a blanket basis, would provide clarity on the collection mechanism, the amount and the purposes it is used to support, as well as ensuring it can be used to support the grassroots in its entirety.

“Furthermore, any Trust or body that is set up to distribute the level should have significant representation and expertise from the artist community, to ensure that the distribution of any levy is done in a manner that adequately supports grassroots artists,” they tell IQ.

The duo say they remain supportive of the creation of the LIVE Trust “as a vehicle for collecting and distributing a levy”, though the open letter expresses concern over the industry’s “ability to enact the mechanism voluntarily”.

“In its absence, donations made by arena-level artists won’t necessarily lead to direct funding opportunities for artists performing at grassroots level,” it concludes. “Therefore, we believe that the government should retain the option to intervene and implement a statutory levy. Our organisations will campaign to bring forward such steps if necessary.”

 


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Futures Forum and MMF host artist development workshop

ILMC’s Futures Forum (FF) and the Music Managers Forum (MMF) joined forces this week for an event that saw emerging live music executives and artist managers discuss the future of artist development.

The workshop and networking drinks took place on Tuesday night (28 May) at The Garage in London, hosted by FF’s Lisa Henderson and MMF’s Svi Dethekar, with support from AEG Europe, AXS, The O2 and ILMC.

Attendees from companies including Runway Artists, ATC Live, X-Ray Touring, Royal Albert Hall, Live Nation, Red Light Management, Wildlife Mgmt, East City Management, AEG Presents and CAA attended the free admission event.

The 75-minute hosted debate saw the executives discuss barriers to developing and growing a fanbase in live music, strategies and innovative approaches to ensure a successful tour, and solutions to ensure the next-generation headliners rise to the top.

Discussing key considerations for developing an emerging act’s live career, one exec said: “Artists need to put in their 10,000 hours to be at a professional level. Patience is important – from both artists and managers – especially when you’re looking to build.”

Another exec added: “We need to help emerging artists understand that initially, they need to take ownership of their live career. It’s important that they have mentors and guidance on how the live music business works and how you can get paid – whether that’s via ticket sales or PRS. They also need an understanding of how the industry is changing.”

According to attendees, the biggest barriers to artist development include a lack of government funding, high audience expectations, venue availability, converting online fans to ticket buyers and the cost of touring.

“There was an awful lot of knowledge and passion in the room, especially around areas like grassroots and mid-level touring”

The latter was a major talking point for attendees when sharing their strategies and innovative approaches for a successful tour.

“You’ve got to be creative,” one attendee said. “Think about brands subsidising the costs of a tour, or using influencer marketing to reach new audiences.”

Other execs warned that artists should choose wisely when to go on tour and ensure that every show counts.

“Think about collaborations and providing something special for a fanbase,” said one attendee.  “Think about your marketing campaigns, creating interesting assets, and think about data capture to help plan future events.”

Exploring solutions to the aforementioned issues, attendees said they would like to see a UK ticket levy introduced to support grassroots touring. Execs also called for more transparency about where fees go and revenues flow.

“As Futures Forum continues to build out a year-round programme for its community of young live music professionals, the evening truly showed how creative the various sectors of the live business can be when they get together to collaborate,” says Greg Parmley, head of ILMC.

“We would especially like to thank Futures Forum’s annual partners AEG Europe, The O2 and AXS, for making unique moments like this possible.”

Manasvi Dethekar, membership secretary, MMF, added: “Working with Futures Forum was a really exciting collaboration for the MMF. Importantly, it was also an opportunity to capture views from a wide diversity of upcoming managers, booking agents, venues and others who are dedicated to building the live careers of artists. There was an awful lot of knowledge and passion in the room, especially around areas like grassroots and mid-level touring. We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who participated, and we’ll be using all the feedback we gained to inform some of the MMF’s upcoming projects.”

Futures Forum is a year-round platform for the next generation of live music industry leaders to forge relationships and exchange ideas.

The organisation hosts a one-day conference discussion and networking event in London each spring, on the final day of its renowned parent event, the International Live Music Conference (ILMC).

 


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CMS calls for ticket levy for grassroots venues

The Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) Committee has backed calls for a new arena and stadium ticket levy, plus tax relief, to safeguard UK grassroots music venues (GMVs).

The recommendations feature in a new report from the cross-party committee, which launched the inquiry at the Music Venue Trust’s (MVT) Venues Day in October 2023 and heard about the “cost of touring crisis” facing the sector, against a backdrop of small venues closing at a rate of two per week.

It says that a voluntary levy on arena and stadium concert tickets – as lobbied for by the MVT – would be the most feasible way to have an immediate impact on the business, creating a support fund for venues, artists and promoters, administered by a trust led by a sector umbrella body, and is appealing for the industry to ensure the levy cost is not passed on to music fans. In addition, it is calling for a temporary VAT cut based on venue capacity.

The conclusions have been warmly welcomed by bodies including the MVT, along with trade bodies LIVE (Live music Industry Venues & Entertainment), UK Music, the Music Managers Forum (MMF) and Featured Artists Coalition (FAC).

“These recommendations provide a clear pathway forward to a positive future for the UK’s grassroots music venues, a set of actions that are deliverable, affordable, and will genuinely have a positive impact on live music in communities right across the country,” says MVT CEO Mark Davyd. “We look forward to working with the music industry and with the government to deliver on these recommendations as swiftly as possible.”

Davyd owns Tunbridge Wells Forum in Kent, which recently pledged to become the first venue in the UK to introduce a grassroots ticket levy. Throughout this month, £1 from every ticket sold will be donated to the Music Venue Trust’s (MVT) Pipeline Fund at no additional expense to customers.

The MVT has described 2023 as the most challenging year for the sector since the trust was founded in 2014, as the number of GMVs falling from 960 to 835.

“It’s clear that the committee has recognised the many challenges faced by venues, promoters, events and artists at the grassroots level, and the steps required to address them”

“We would like to thank all the thousands of music fans that have supported our work across the last 10 years,” adds Davyd. “It has taken much longer than any of us would have liked to get the positive change we all wanted to see, but we could not have achieved this fantastic outcome without your continued support for your local live music venue.”

If there is no agreement by September, or if it fails to collect enough income to support the sector, the report says the government should step in an introduce a statutory levy.

“It’s clear that the committee has recognised the many challenges faced by venues, promoters, events and artists at the grassroots level, and the steps required to address them,” says LIVE CEO Jon Collins. “LIVE set out to the committee the actions we believe that the government needs to take to help unleash the economic potential of the sector, such as a reduction in the damaging and uncompetitive rate of VAT on tickets, as well as the actions that sit with us as an industry, notably the creation of a charitable arm, the LIVE Trust.

“We are pleased that the committee’s report addresses both of these matters positively and has entrusted our sector to implement the industry-led solution of a voluntary levy on arena and stadium tickets, gathering and distributing funding that will benefit the whole grassroots music ecosystem. We look forward to working with government on the review of VAT and regularly updating on our progress on the LIVE Trust.”

“Grassroots music venues are a crucial part of the music industry’s ecosystem and have been faced with a series of unprecedented threats for a number of years,” adds UK Music interim chief executive Tom Kiehl. “We welcome the House of Commons CMS Committee taking the opportunity to consider the challenges these venues and the artists that tour in them face.”

Artists and managers previously spoke out in favour of the MVT’s calls for a compulsory £1 levy on tickets sold for UK live music events above 5,000-cap during evidence sessions held in March.

“As the organisations representing artists and managers, we wholeheartedly endorse all the committee’s recommendations,” says a joint statement by FAC CEO David Martin and MMF chief executive Annabella Coldrick. “Most important is their recognition of the ‘cost of touring crisis’, and that the benefits of a ticket levy must flow down to artists, managers, and independent promoters – as well as to grassroots music venues. The entire ecosystem needs support. While we still believe this mechanism should be mandatory, the clock is now ticking to get a process in place before September 2024.”

“The ongoing wave of closures is not just a disaster for music, performers and supporters in local communities up and down the country, but also puts at risk the entire live music ecosystem”

Among the report’s other recommendations are for the government and Arts Council to make it easier for the live music sector to apply for public funding and for stakeholders across the industry to continue to support the FAC’s campaign to end punitive fees on artists’ merchandise.

“We are also delighted to see the committee endorse the 100% Venues campaign, and hope this will trigger action from the UK’s largest live music venues to overhaul outdated practices on merchandise commissions,” continue Martin and Coldrick. “The sale of T-shirts, vinyl and other physical products represent a crucial income stream for artists. It is only fair that they should retain the bulk of that revenue.”

In closing, the report also calls for a comprehensive fan-led review to be set be set up this summer to examine the long-term challenges to the wider live music ecosystem.

“We are grateful to the many dedicated local venues who gave up their time to take part in our inquiry,” says Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, chair of the CMS Committee. “They delivered the message loud and clear that grassroots music venues are in crisis. The ongoing wave of closures is not just a disaster for music, performers and supporters in local communities up and down the country, but also puts at risk the entire live music ecosystem.

“If the grassroots, where musicians, technicians, tour managers and promoters hone their craft, are allowed to wither and die, the UK’s position as a music powerhouse faces a bleak future. To stem the overwhelming ongoing tide of closures, we urgently need a levy on arena and stadium concert tickets to fund financial support for the sector, alongside a VAT cut to help get more shows into venues.

“While the current focus is on the many grassroots music venues falling silent, those working in the live music sector across the board are also under extraordinary strain. It is time that the government brought together everyone with a stake in the industry’s success, including music fans, to address the long-term challenges and ensure live music can thrive into the future.”

 


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Artists and managers back calls for UK ticket levy

Artists and managers have backed the Music Venue Trust’s (MVT) calls for a compulsory £1 levy on tickets sold for UK live music events above 5,000-cap.

Music Managers Forum vice-chair Kwame Kwaten and Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) CEO David Martin both expressed their support for the proposal during evidence sessions held in parliament today by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee to explore the ongoing crisis in the grassroots music sector.

Back in January, the MVT revealed in its annual report that 2023 was the worst year for UK venue closures since its launch a decade ago, with 125 venues closing their doors – a rate of two per week – and 38% of members reporting a loss.

“The first impact we need to recognise is that is 125 communities that have lost access to live music on their doorstep, and the impact on those communities… is very traumatic,” said Davyd. “In terms of the short term economic impact, those 125 venues will have provided 16% of all the performance opportunities in the UK. About 4,000 jobs have come under threat or have been lost.

“Our proposal in the UK is £1 per ticket for arena and stadium shows that would create a sustainable fund that could be administered by ourselves, by other people concerned for promoters, for artists, and create a fund where everybody can go so they can take risks with their programming and really give artists the first step on the ladder they need.”

A proposed levy could take three forms. A statutory levy imposed by government, an industry-mandated levy on all qualifying shows (which LIVE CEO Jon Collins pointed out might fall afoul of competition law) or a voluntary levy adopted by different artists, venues or promoters.

Industry umbrella trade body LIVE is in the process of establishing a LIVE Trust as a mechanism to distribute funds to the grassroots sector, and while the concept has been lobbied for – and brought to the attention of government – by Music Venue Trust, today’s hearing saw promoters, artists and managers also stake a claim to any potential funds filtering back to the grassroots sector.

“All of my members will tell you one of their biggest concerns, frankly, is the artists cannot afford to tour,” Davyd said. “It’s not just the venues aren’t there to play in, it’s also the venues are standing empty when they could be putting on bands, because bands cannot afford to put on the show.”

“You don’t get to Ed Sheeran playing two shows last year at The O2, unless he played The Bedford in Balham”

Ferocious Management MD Kwame hailed the ticket levy proposal as a “great initiative”.

“We do support that,” he said. “This whole thing about supporting the level of one person in a show up to 1,000 is absolutely crucial, because you don’t get to Ed Sheeran playing two shows last year at The O2, unless he played The Bedford in Balham, unless he played the Queen of Hoxton with iluvlive promoting. Unless artists and managers are supported from zero to 1,000-people venues, you won’t reach that level.”

Martin said he was open-minded about the idea, which he described as a “relatively complex topic”.

“It would need to be on top of the ticket fee,” he argued. “It can’t be a downward pressure on artists or a voluntary thing, where you have some artists – potentially British artists – saying, ‘Yes, we’re very happy with the levy.’ And then you’ve got foreign artists coming to the UK saying, ‘We’re not prepared to do this.’ It creates an uneven playing field.

“With the right will, government could really help the industry coalesce about how a levy would be collected and distributed.”

But while the FAC was in favour of government intervention in a levy, John Drury, National Arenas Association chair and VP and general manager of OVO Arena Wembley, was less enthusiastic.

“The reality of £1 a ticket for us – given many of our venues are managed on behalf of private landlords, city councils charitable trusts – would be something like a 20% cut in our EBITDA, so it’s not a few grains of sand, it is quite significant,” he pointed out. “Or angle is more that this is a problem for the industry as a whole and it goes right through the live level to artists, managers, agents, promoters, venues and anybody else associated with that system. We’re all very interdependent.”

“The reality of £1 a ticket for us… would be something like a 20% cut in our EBITDA, so it’s not a few grains of sand, it’s quite significant”

Kilimanjaro Live boss and Concert Promoters Association vice chair Stuart Galbraith also spoke in favour of a voluntary levy and cited Enter Shikari’s efforts to donate £1 from their 2024 UK tour to grassroots music venues via the MVT’s Pipeline Investment Fund.

“I think it’s realistic to expect that within the larger music industry, any sort of charge is not going to be absorbed by the industry it will get passed on to the customer,” he said. “If you place it outside the ticket, and if the charitable trust had charitable status, there would be no VAT deduction, there would be no PRS deduction, there would be no venue share and 100% of that money would reach the actual targets.”

The hearings were marked by clear divisions across the various sectors of the business, although all participants agreed that UK government should reduce VAT on concert tickets to something in line with many other European markets, such as the 5.5% rate paid in France. An idea which committee MPs said HM Treasury was highly unlikely to adopt.

On a proposed VAT cut, the position of industry umbrella trade body LIVE was at odds with its members: A blanket 5% VAT rate on tickets has been a principle manifesto point of LIVE for several years, while Drury told MPs that arenas “didn’t need” the rate cut, and Galbraith said a reduction should only be in venues up to 1,000-capacity. Davyd, meanwhile, said that a VAT cut for small venues “still wouldn’t make grassroots venues sustainable”.

“The single biggest change the committee could recommend to make grassroots venues and the ecosystem viable would be that of VAT”

“The VAT cut during a pandemic literally made the difference between us being able to promote shows or not promote shows,” said Galbraith. “The 20% tax burden versus 5% literally meant that we could do 100 more shows that year as we came out of pandemic and we now look at those shows, and they are just not viable. They never reach past the spreadsheet.”

Anna Moulson of the Association of Independent Promoters (AIP) agreed: “Five percent [VAT rate] over lockdown was so welcome with our members because it meant that we could break even which meant we could cover costs and actually make money, which is very surprising on the grassroots level. Some of our members are now turning down grassroots shows in order that they can be below the threshold of having to be VAT registered, so that means less artists will be taken on by promoters and developed by them.”

“We are overrun with people who’ve had a hit on TikTok, desperately now trying to build the grassroots audience that gives them a sustainable career”

In response to a comment that some artists were breaking online and performing at arenas without having toured through grassroots venues, Davyd said there had been a “remarkable turnaround” over the past two to three years.

“We are overrun with people who’ve had a hit on TikTok, desperately now trying to build the grassroots audience that gives them a sustainable career,” he said. “It’s a big thing in our sector for people to now be going out on tour, having jumped forward and then realised, ‘Wait a minute, I don’t have the deep connection with my fans that I get from being in a room with 250 other people.'”

Other topics discussed during the hearing included PRS fees in small venues, with both Moulson and Davyd arguing that much of the fees collected go into a “black box” of unattributed income which is then passed to artists with the most airplay annually. “It’s a reverse Robin Hood effect where income from small venues is going back to the biggest artists”, said Davyd.

PRS for Music’s Gavin Larkins also outlined that a Tariff LP review was due to begin after the summer with a target date of being concluded by Q2 2025.

While there was consensus that the UK grassroots scene was in dire need of intervention, the precise mechanism for that support remains a divisive topic. With artists and managers also now backing the call for a levy, the findings of today’s hearings – due to be published in April – will likely see a strong recommendation for more support for the grassroots sector from the larger venues and operators in the UK. The recommendation is even more likely given that it would reduce or remove the need for the UK Government to act itself in supporting the grassroots sector.

 


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