Christopher BarrettA House of Commons committee has called for a full market investigation after becoming alarmed by the “climate of fear” around dominant firms in the UK’s live music industry.
Live Nation’s market prominence in the UK could be set for further scrutiny, with the Business and Trade Committee now calling for the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to launch a full market investigation into the live music industry before the end of this year.
The cross-party select committee cited concerns against all three of the CMA factors for determining market dominance.
The Trade Committee’s report on Competition and Market Functioning in the UK Live Music Industry, involved a call for written evidence that elicited 45 submissions. A significant proportion of respondents requested to submit anonymously or confidentially for fear of reprisal. The committee said that triggered alarm about whether Live Nation has a dominant and controlling market position, and the climate of fear this may have created in the industry.
Among the committee’s many findings were that the scale and integrated nature of Live Nation’s business model make it difficult for artists and managers to operate independently of its ecosystem. It said that among the many implications of that strong market position are that smaller and independent festivals find access to talent increasingly challenging.
The committee also reported that independent promoters had alleged that venues owned or controlled by Live Nation favour in-house promotion businesses and integrated ticketing arrangements, impeding competition.
Committee chair Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP said, “Britain’s live music scene is one of our great national success stories, from grassroots venues nurturing new talent to world-class arena and stadium tours that attract global audiences.
“But the evidence we received during this inquiry points to deep concerns about whether competition in the industry is now working fairly for fans, artists, venues and independent promoters.
“What particularly alarmed the committee was not just the scale of Live Nation’s market position across promotion, venues and ticketing, but the climate of fear we encountered during this inquiry.
“A striking number of submissions requested anonymity because people were worried about the consequences of speaking openly. That alone raises profound questions about the health of competition in the market.
“The CMA should now launch a full market investigation, before the end of this year, so there can be proper scrutiny of whether consumers, artists and independent businesses are getting a fair deal.”
In response to the publication of the report, Association of Independent Festivals CEO Jon Rostron issued the following statement:
“AIF welcomes the committee’s report and fully supports the recommendations in particular the call for the Competition And Markets Authority (CMA) to move speedily to conduct a priority investigation into the live music industry to improve market functioning and deliver growth in the UK.
“The burden of this work will fall upon the CMA. We ask that the Department for Business and Trade step up to find the additional support in order to fully resource the CMA to do their job. The money spent now will be returned many times over by that which is currently being lost by audiences and independent festivals, promoters and artists as a result of Live Nation’s control, including contributions being witheld from the grassroots by Live Nation’s poor adoption of the £1 Live Trust donation.
“The Committee remarks upon the climate of fear they encountered during this inquiry, with people worried about the consequences of speaking openly. As CEO of AIF I want to pay thanks to the AIF Board and our member festivals who stood together as we brought evidence forward to the committee last June. This bold move, and our supporting public statement, opened the door to this inquiry. I want to thank all those who then also took steps to make submissions – by name, or anonymously – and those who continue to reach out to us or work with us. Today’s report shows what is possible.
“There is still a long way to go. Now is the time for others to come forward. We will enjoy a long summer of independent, creative, vibrant music festivals whilst we continue to gather evidence, data and everything else needed for the work coming this Autumn. Together we can bring about change for a fairer, more equitable, more nourishing and more independent live music ecosystem.”