Calls for arena ticket levy and tax relief to stop music venue closure ‘crisis’
A cut in VAT and a new levy on arena and stadium tickets are urgently needed to stop grassroots music venues from closing, MPs have said.
A report by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee said artists are facing a “cost-of-touring crisis”, with venues stopping live music or closing entirely at a rate of two per week.
The cross-party inquiry heard from the Music Venues Trust (MVT), which said 2023 has been the most challenging year for the sector since the organisation was founded in 2014, while Creative UK said the grassroots music sector took a “battering”.
In total the number of grassroots music venues (GMVs) declined from 960 to 835 last year, a net decrease of 13%, representing a loss of as many as 30,000 shows and 4,000 jobs.
The closures come against a backdrop of spiralling costs due to rising rents and energy bills, while audiences are cutting back on expenditure due to the economic climate.
There has also been a behaviour shift among younger people, who are spending less on food and alcohol.
The report calls for a temporary VAT cut based on venue capacity to “stimulate grassroots music activity and help the sector through the current closure crisis”.
The committee has also recommended a widespread voluntary levy on arena and stadium tickets to be in place no later than September, which should be used to create a support fund for venues, artists and promoters and not be passed on to music fans.
MPs said that if there is no agreement by September or if it fails to collect enough income to support the sector, the government should step in to introduce a statutory levy.
‘Music faces a bleak future’
Dame Caroline Dinenage, chairwoman of the committee, said: “We are grateful to the many dedicated local venues who gave up their time to take part in our inquiry.
“They delivered the message loud and clear that grassroots music venues are in crisis.
“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 UK’s position as a music powerhouse faces a bleak future.”
Read more:
At least one grassroots music venue closing per week
Warning of closures as venues face price hikes
Is this the death of the big night out?
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
On top of immediate financial help through a levy-funded support fund and a targeted temporary VAT cut, the report says a comprehensive fan-led review of live and electronic music should be set up this summer to examine the long-term challenges to the wider live music ecosystem.
The UK music industry brings billions of pounds into the economy, attracting both domestic and international tourists to live events.
British popstar Adele started out in grassroots venues. Pic: AP
But festivals, electronic music venues, academies and arenas “are not insulated from the impacts” of the crisis and “promoters are less able to put on shows or make them financially viable”, MPs warned.
The report was welcomed by industry figures, though Mark Davyd, chief executive and founder of the MVT, said it has “taken much longer than any of us would have liked to get the positive change we all wanted to see”.
The trust – which represents more than 900 grassroots music venues across the UK – has previously voiced concerns that emerging artists with the potential to be the next Ed Sheeran or Adele – both of whom started out playing in grassroots venues – could find their careers cut off at ground level, never realising their full potential.
Entertainment
Dancing On Ice dedicated to The Vivienne as vigil held in Liverpool to remember drag queen
RuPaul’s Drag Race star The Vivienne was remembered at a vigil in their home city of Liverpool on Sunday night.
James Lee Williams, originally from Colwyn Bay in North Wales, died on 5 January aged 32.
Hundreds of fans and friends of The Vivienne gathered at Liverpool‘s St George’s Hall.
Buildings across the city were lit up in green to commemorate the drag queen and their role as the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard Of Oz musical.
Fellow drag queen Danny Beard said the vigil was “a celebration of someone who touched the lives of so many”.
“The Vivienne was one of the world’s most recognisable drag queens, a proper world class entertainer,” they added.
“And above all a shining beacon in all of our lives and especially for the LGBT community.”
James Lee Williams – better known as The Vivienne. Pic: PA
Since The Vivienne first rose to prominence in 2019, they appeared on a number of TV programmes, including Blankety Blank over the Christmas period.
The first episode in the series of Dancing On Ice on Sunday night also featured a tribute to The Vivienne, who competed on the 2023 series.
Presenter Holly Willoughby said many would have been “saddened by the tragic news”.
“They were a huge part of our show, making it all the way to the final in 2023,” she added.
“They will be very sorely missed and our thoughts are with The Vivienne’s loved ones at this time. So sad.”
Read more from Sky News:
‘Nothing left’ of Mel Gibson’s house after LA fires
Boris Johnson brands Vladimir Putin a ‘f****** idiot’
In a tribute released after Mr Williams’s death, a Dancing On Ice spokesperson said they were “deeply saddened” by the news.
They said Mr Williams had made “TV history through their groundbreaking and spellbinding skating partnership”, becoming the first drag act to reach the Dancing On Ice final.
Entertainment
The Wanted star Max George recalls moment he wrote will from hospital bed before heart surgery
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports9 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway