LONDON — The British government is calling on the live music industry to introduce a voluntary levy on stadium and arena tickets sold in the UK “as soon as possible” to “secure the future of the grassroots music sector”.
“We believe this would be the fastest and most effective mechanism for a small portion of the revenue from the biggest shows to be invested in a sustainable grassroots sector,” the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said in a report published on Thursday ( 14 November).
Earlier this year, a cross-party committee of MPs said a new charge on arena and stadium tickets was urgently needed to stem the tide of closures of small grassroots music venues in the UK.
According to the Music Venue Trust (MVT), the number of grassroots music venues (defined as limited capacity venues that regularly stage live music) in the UK will fall from 960 to 835 in 2023, a 13% drop, representing a loss of as many as 30,000 exhibitions and 4,000 jobs.
Responding to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee's report into the live music grassroots sector, published in May, the government said on Thursday it was “deeply concerned” at the rate of venue closures and that “a small burden from the industry within the price of a ticket' would benefit the UK live music system 'as a whole'.
The government said it wanted the voluntary levy to come into effect “as soon as possible” so it could be applied to arena and stadium music shows taking place in 2025. How the funds raised would be used to support small and low-capacity music Venues should be clearly explained to ticket buyers, the government said.
“We urge the live music industry, and particularly the larger commercial players who will have the biggest impact on the success of an industry-led levy, to act and to do so quickly,” DCMS said.
The exact form such a levy for arena and stadium shows will take has yet to be determined. While there is widespread support across the UK live music industry for a voluntary levy, some promoters would prefer it to be applied on a case-by-case basis and stakeholders are split on whether the levy should be included in the ticket price or as an additional charge over the face value of the ticket.
The size of the venue to which the levy will be applied and its cost/rate has also not been decided, although the Music Venue Trust had previously called for a £1 ($1.26) levy to be applied to arena and stadium shows of capacity over 5,500 people. excluding festivals. Discussions are currently taking place between living executives as to which charity should collect, manage and distribute the proceeds from the fund.
In his statement, John CollinsCEO of live music industry body LIVE, said that promoting an industry-led solution to the challenges currently facing venues, artists, festivals and promoters remains our number one priority.
The idea of a voluntary arena ticket levy to support the grassroots music sector is one that has already received support from a number of high-profile UK artists and organisations.
In September, Coldplay announced they would donate 10% of the band's proceeds from their 2025 dates at London's Wembley Stadium and Hull's Craven Park Stadium to the Music Venue Trust.
Other acts supporting the initiative include rock band Enter Shikari, who donated £1 from every ticket sold on their UK tour in February to the trust, and Sam Fender, who has pledged to do the same for upcoming dates of in the United Kingdom. This year, Halifax-based The Piece Hall became the first venue in the UK to give ticket buyers the option to donate to the charity.
A similar program to support grassroots music creation exists in France, where a statutory levy of 3.5% on the gross value of all concert ticket sales goes into a central fund managed by the Center National de la Musique (CNM), France's public service for the music industry.
“This is the beginning of a path forward” Kwame Kwatendirector of artist management company Ferocious Talent, whose roster includes Blue Lab Beats, Hak Baker and Caitlyn Scarlett, says Bulletin board.
“If [the levy] happens, it will at least begin the process of addressing something that has been left out to dry with huge consequences, especially at the levels we have to operate at before an artist gets to the arena, stage level, which is where 80-90% of [touring] artists they are,” says Kwaten, who provided input to the CMS committee during the inquiry.
“We're at a huge crossroads,” he says, “and now we have an opportunity to do something about it.”
In a statement, the chairman of the CMS committee, Dame Caroline Dinenagehe said he welcomed the government's recognition that “swift action is needed on the levy from the biggest players who fill arenas and stadiums”, but warned that “the lack of a firm deadline for the moves risks allowing things to drag on”.
“Without healthy roots, the whole live music ecosystem suffers,” said Dinenage, who is calling on government ministers to set a clear deadline for industry action. If significant progress is not made within six months, he said the CMS panel would hold a further hearing with representatives of the UK live music industry.
“Every week I hear from music managers trying to do the impossible and bridge the catastrophic shortfalls in their artists' tour budgets,” he said. Annabella Coldrickchief executive of UK trade body the Music Managers Forum (MMF), in a statement. Coldrick says it is “imperative” that the music industry comes together to introduce a ticket for “all large-scale live music shows” to support smaller-scale touring artists. “The current situation is unacceptable,” he says.
The UK government's support for an arena ticket is the latest in a long line of parliamentary interventions into the music industry in recent years, including a nine-month inquiry into the music streaming business and a subsequent review of the industry by the UK competition watchdog.
More recently, the authorities have turned their attention to the live industry. In September, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an investigation into Ticketmaster over its use of dynamic ticketing for the Oasis reunion tour, which prompted hundreds of complaints from fans and fierce condemnation from British politicians.
The British government also said it would look into the practice of dynamic pricing for music concerts as part of a consultation on the secondary ticket market, which is due to start in the coming weeks.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/pro/arena-ticketing-fee-levy-support-smaller-music-venues-uk-support/
