​UK government urgently calls on music industry to respond to ticket levy proposition

The UK government has set a deadline for the music industry to respond to its new ticket levy proposition in a bid to “save grassroots venues”.

In November, the UK's Creative Industries Minister Sir Chris Bryant urged the introduction of a voluntary £1 ticket levy for stadiums and arena shows across the UK, saying that a levy would help fund and support grassroots music venues, artists, festivals and promoters.

It followed earlier calls for a ticket levy in the spring, when a panel of representatives from Live Music Exchange (LIVE), Music Venue Trust and National Arenas Association gathered in front of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee to discuss grassroots music.

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In a letter to the Committee published on November 27, Sir Chris Bryant said that he “welcomed” their engagement, “in particular to drive progress on the implementation of a voluntary industry-led levy on arena and stadium tickets”.

Bryant set a deadline for the industry to take action, urging for “tangible progress” to be made by the first quarter of 2025. “We want to see a voluntary levy on arena and stadium tickets come into effect as soon as possible for concerts in 2025,” he wrote.

“We urge the live music industry, and in particular the biggest commercial players who will have the biggest impact on the success of an industry-led levy, to focus on driving swift progress.”

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Bryant also nodded to artists like Coldplay, who recently offered to donate 10% of earnings from their 2025 tour dates in London and Hull to grassroots music charity Music Venue Trust.

He also laid out plans to host a ministerial roundtable before Christmas along with live music representatives to “help drive progress”, and stated that if no “satisfactory progress” is made by May 2025, a further hearing will be scheduled.

“We encourage the music sector to invest in an independent evaluation to assess the impact of a voluntary industry-led levy,” he wrote. “Working with the sector, we will consider the extent of uptake of a voluntary levy, the level of funding raised, and the impact of funding distributed to support the grassroots sector.”

Read the full letter here.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Assistant Editor, follow her on Twitter