Christopher BarrettCreative Industries Minister Sir Chris Bryant has called on the live music industry to introduce a voluntary levy on all stadium and arena tickets to help support grassroots venues, festivals, artists and promoters.
In response to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee’s report on grassroots music venues, which can be found here, Bryant said the the government is urging the industry voluntarily to introduce a ticket levy on the biggest commercial players, to help ensure the health and future success of the entire live music industry for decades to come.
He said, “While valuable steps have already been taken by artists such as Coldplay and Sam Fender, who are donating a portion of their upcoming tour revenues to support the grassroots sector, and by industry body LIVE which is establishing a charitable trust to distribute proceeds of a voluntary levy, there is still more to do.
“It is the government’s view that an industry-led levy within the price of a ticket would be the quickest and most effective way for a small portion of revenues from the biggest shows to be invested in a sustainable grassroots sector. This would help fans to access local music venues, provide even more performance opportunities for emerging talent and benefit the live music industry as a whole.
“Ministers have made clear that they want to see a voluntary levy come into effect as soon as possible for concerts in 2025, with clear communication to fans on the purpose of the levy and the benefits it will bring to the grassroots sector.
“The government will consider the implementation and effectiveness of a voluntary levy before determining whether further action is needed.”
The government’s response follows funding announced for the Creative Industries at the Autumn Budget, which DCMS has confirmed will include help to continue the Supporting Grassroots Music Fund.
Mark Davyd, CEO and founder of the Music Venue Trust warmly welcomed the announcement and said the government’s response to the Committee’s report sets out a clear and achievable path for the live music industry to swiftly adopt such a contribution.
“We look forward to working with both industry and government to make this financial contribution a reality as soon as possible,” he said. “Industry-led investment will enable fans across the country to keep accessing the live music that they love whilst also ensuring the talent pipeline to the arena and stadium level is secure and growing. It is the perfect example of a win-win solution for all parties.”
LIVE CEO Jon Collins was among the many others to welcome the government’s support for grassroots live music. He said, “We are glad government has entrusted our sector to play our part in addressing the crisis in grassroots music. 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.”
Featured Artists Coalition CEO David Martin said FAC welcomed the Government’s response and will push to get the levy introduced as soon as possible: “The message coming from the Government and from the Culture Committee is loud and clear: the live music industry needs to deliver a blanket ticket levy at large-scale arena and stadium shows. We need to do it quickly or it will be mandated upon us, and the fund must support the entirety of the grassroots live music sector, from artists and promoters to venues.
Music Managers Forum chief executive Annabella Coldrick said it is now imperative that the industry swftly deliver the levy: “Everyone knows grassroots live music is in crisis. 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.”
AIF CEO John Rostron welcomed the announcement but called for a lower rate of VAT: “We are disappointed that the government is 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%, which would have saved the more than 60 UK festivals that have fallen in 2024 alone. We reject the idea that any reduction would need to be funded. 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. More directly, there are over 100 multi-venue music festivals in the UK that utilise grassroots music venues as part of their offer. In this space, the work, challenges and ambitions of AIF and Music Venue Trust are shared, as we seek to mitigate the closure of festivals and events, as well as venues.”