The UK music industry has been warned that it risks the imposition of a mandatory government levy after major tours that do not include the voluntary charge were announced.
TheTicketingBusiness understands that stadium and arena dates featuring Beyoncé, AC/DC and Kendrick Lamar are among those that have been announced without reference to the £1 voluntary charge that is earmarked for grassroots music venues. Other tours that do not reference the levy include Black Sabbath, Morrissey, Tom Grennan and Smashing Pumpkins.
Failure to collect the levy could put the music business on a collision course with the UK government, which said in December that a working levy must be in place by the end of March 2025. Culture Minister Chris Bryant instructed the live music industry to initiate a voluntary levy on all stadium and arena tickets or risk the imposition of a mandatory levy.
Mark Davyd, chief executive of the Music Venue Trust, said that the industry could ultimately regret its failure to establish the levy independently.
“There is no need for me to comment [on the dates that don’t include the levy],” he wrote in a LinkedIn post.
“The first assessment of whether the voluntary levy can work is being made at the end of March by DCMS. If a significant number of shows are being announced on which it isn’t included, the assessment will likely be that it cannot be delivered and therefore a statutory mechanism is required.
“Everything that needs to be said about it has already been said, we are simply waiting to see whether the big companies can deliver what they have committed to or cannot.”
LIVE Trust established
Last month, the UK’s live music sector officially launched the new LIVE Trust initiative that will oversee how funds from the levy are assigned. Trade group LIVE said that LIVE Trust is designed to deliver funding where it is most needed with an initial focus on the grassroots music sector.
LIVE was one of several groups that welcomed the government’s announcement in November 2024 that it was instructing the music industry to play its part in aiding grassroots venues.
Chief executive Jon Collins said: “Driving forward an industry-led solution to the challenges currently being experienced by venues, artists, festivals and promoters remains our No.1 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.”
The trust’s launch came after a series of positive announcements concerning voluntary support from industry giants. In December, Ticketmaster made a £60,000 donation to Music Venue Trust. The contribution comes from Ticketmaster’s optional fan donation, which allows concert attendees to support grassroots venues with each ticket purchase. Ticketmaster matches each pound that is donated, and has helped to raise more than £150,000 to support grassroots music.
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