UK government announces update in grassroots ticket levy plans
Last month, the UK government announced plans to support grassroots venues through a ticket levy, as well as a temporary cut in VAT. In essence, the policy means that every ticket sold for a stadium or arena concert should include a financial contribution that aids grassroots music venues, artists, and promoters.
Now, the government has announced a deadline for the music industry to respond to their plans. At the time of the initial plan, many organisations involved in grassroots music called on the government to formally announce a timeline for these plans. The Music Venue Trust, for instance, shared, “It’s now a question of how and when, not if, the grassroots ticketing contribution is enacted. The ball is in the music industry’s court: act voluntarily or face a statutory levy.”
On December 9th, Minister of State for Media, Tourism and Creative Industries, Sir Chris Bryant, published a letter responding to questions raised by the Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) Committee, as well as grassroots organisations in music. Within the letter, Bryant wrote, “We want to see a voluntary levy on arena and stadium tickets come into effect as soon as possible for concerts in 2025.”
The letter continues, “To meet this timeline, we want to see tangible progress across the music industry by the first quarter of 2025.” If the government sticks to this aim, the music industry will have to take some form of action by the end of March 2025.
In addition to this deadline, Bryant also affirmed that the government will hold a ministerial roundtable alongside representatives of the live music industry to discuss policy and aims. This meeting will reportedly take place prior to Christmas. What’s more, the government has promised that – should no progress be made before then – there will be a hearing on the matter in May 2025 to further discuss the policy with music industry representatives.
In response to the letter published by Bryant, Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, Chair of the CMS Committee, said, “This welcome push from the Government in response to the Committee’s concerns should help focus the minds of the big players in the music industry on the urgency of taking action to support our grassroots music sector. The ball is now very firmly in their court and we will continue to keep a very close eye on progress.”
As well as setting a deadline for this voluntary ticket levy to be enacted, Bryant also praised the work of artists who have made steps to donate a portion of their earnings from upcoming tours to support grassroots venues. “We welcome the leadership shown by artists such as Coldplay, Sam Fender and Katy Perry in donating a proportion of their upcoming tour revenues to support the grassroots sector,” the letter reads.
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