REPORT: U.K. LIVE SECTOR "AT RISK"

A voluntary tax on arena and stadium tickets and a cut in VAT are urgently needed to support grassroots venues across the U.K., according to a group of Members of Parliament. The recommendations come in a report from the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, which details the crisis facing small venues and proposes solutions.

Data from the Music Venue Trust says that venues are closing at a rate of two per week or are stopping performances due to soaring expenses. At the same time, the committee acknowledged that musicians are facing a “cost of touring crisis,” while promoters are struggling to get shows off their spreadsheets and into venues.

Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, said, “The ongoing wave of closures is not just a disaster for music, performers and supporters in local communities up and down the country but also puts at risk the entire live music ecosystem. If the grassroots, where musicians, technicians, tour managers and promoters hone their craft, are allowed to wither and die, the U.K.’s position as a music powerhouse faces a bleak future."

The report says that a voluntary tax on arena and stadium concert tickets would be the most feasible way to make an immediate impact. The money would be used to create a support fund for venues, artists and promoters, and would be administered by a trust led by a sector umbrella body.

However, the committee asks that the cost of the tax not be passed on to ticket buyers. If there is no agreement within the live industry about how to create a tax by September—or if it fails to collect enough income to support struggling venues, artists and promoters—the government should step in and introduce a statutory tariff, the report adds. On VAT relief, the committee calls for a temporary cut based on venue capacity, with the government undertaking analysis to assess the impact to inform future decisions.

The findings of the report have been endorsed by various music-industry trade orgs, including UK Music, LIVE, the Featured Artists Coalition and the Music Managers Forum.

"These recommendations provide a clear pathway forward to a positive future for the U.K.’s grassroots music venues—a set of actions that are deliverable, affordable and will genuinely have a positive impact on live music in communities right across the country," said Music Venue Trust CEO/founder Mark Davyd, a fierce campaigner for grassroots venues.