Industry reacts as MPs recommend ticket levy on arenas and stadiums to save grassroots venues and artists

nme.com:

NME as a government committe of UK MPs have joined the call for a levy on arena and stadium gigs – as well as a cut in VAT – to support struggling grassroots music venues and artists.Earlier this year, the Music Venue Trust delivered their full report into the state of the sector for 2023, showing the “disaster” facing live music with venues closing at a rate of around two per week.

Presented at Westminster, the MVT echoed their calls for a levy on tickets on gigs at arena size and above and for major labels and such to pay back into the grassroots scene, arguing that “the big companies are now going to have to answer for this”.The Featured Artists Coalition – a trade union body representing the needs of musicians and artists in the UK – then wrote to NME to argue that while the survival of venues is “essential”, any kind of ‘Premier League’ model to be adopted by the industry needs to take into account keeping creators in pocket and being able to exist, as well as ways to open up the world of music to different genres, backgrounds and audiences.“What good is it keeping venues open if artists can’t afford to perform in them?” asked FAC CEO David Martin.Figures from across the UK music industry then took the case for a £1 ticket levy on all gigs arena-sized and above to the government, explaining the perils of losing 125 music venues last year to the the Culture Media & Sport Committee in an evidence session to reveal the dangers to the UK talent pipeline as a result of the cost of touring crisis and a general lack of support and investment in the grassroots.Now, the cross-party Culture, Media and Sport Committee, have shared a report highlighting the importance of grassroots venues, calling for immediate financial help.