Image: Chris Bryant MP
The UK music industry has been told to make tangible progress on the introduction of a grassroots venue levy by the end of March 2025.
Creative Industries Minister Chris Bryant revealed the deadline in response to questions from the Culture, Media and Sport Committee. The committee had expressed concerns about a timeline for progress when the Government, in November 2024, announced it was instructing the live music industry to initiate a voluntary levy on all stadium and arena tickets to help support grassroots venues after a spate of closures over the last 12 months.
Now Bryant has sought to give some assurance that the Government will not allow the industry’s big players to drag their feet.
“We want to see a voluntary levy on arena and stadium tickets come into effect as soon as possible for concerts in 2025. To meet this timeline, we want to see tangible progress across the music industry by the first quarter of 2025,” Bryant wrote.
Ministerial roundtable
Bryant also announced that he will hold a ministerial roundtable before the end of the year with live music representatives to drive progress. The CMS Committee itself will be holding a hearing with the sector in the middle of next year should no significant progress on a voluntary levy be made.
Caroline Dinenage MP, chair of the CMS Committee, said: “This welcome push from the Government in response to the Committee’s concerns should help focus the minds of the big players in the music industry on the urgency of taking action to support our grassroots music sector. The ball is now very firmly in their court, and we will continue to keep a very close eye on progress.”
In announcing the Government’s support for a grassroots levy last month, Bryant said that the addition of an industry-led surcharge 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. Promoters, venues and ticket vendors should give clear communication to fans on the purpose of the levy and the benefits it will bring to the grassroots sector, Bryant added.
Allocate levy funds
The sector has already taken steps towards this with the LIVE trade group establishing the LIVE Trust to allocate funds.
The CMS Committee’s report from earlier this year found that the number of grassroots music venues declined from 960 to 835 last year, a net decrease of 13%. This also represented a loss of up to 30,000 shows and 4,000 jobs, according to the report.
Katy Perry has already announced that she is bringing her Lifetimes Tour to the UK in October next year, and will be donating £1 from each ticket sold to the Music Venue Trust (MVT) in support of grassroots venues. ASM Global’s UK venues, including OVO Arena Wembley and AO Arena, will also offer concert-goers further opportunities to support the MVT.
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