“The industry needs to do more to give back”: Andy Burnham, Lisa Nandy and more address grassroots venue crisis at Beyond The Music 2024

nme.com:

his appearance at BTM last year, along with Lisa Nandy (Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport) giving her first address to the UK music industry.NME caught Burnham to ask for his reaction to the news of Coldplay’s own ticket levy, after the band announced they would donate 10 per cent of their profits from their 2025 UK stadium shows to save the grassroots.

They follow in the footsteps of Enter Shikari, and in the wake of recommendations from MPs last May to add a £1 levy on arena and stadium gigs.Speaking to NME exclusively, Burnham praised Coldplay’s ticket levy as “a fantastic move”.“I wholeheartedly support it,” said Burnham. “I made a call here last year that the industry needs to do more to give back to support its own grassroots venues, rehearsal spaces and talent development systems.

I think it’s brilliant, and I applaud Coldplay for doing that.”However, Burnham also urged for more “systemic” change in the industry.

When asked what changes he would like to see used with the money from Coldplay’s ticket levy, he responded: “It’s about a music career being sustainable for people.“People can’t live on unpaid roles or things that are short-term,” he continued. “We need funding to support people to find a sustainable future within the music industry, as well as obviously protecting the spaces where they want to rehearse and perform.