FAC reacts to Government's Grassroots music venues inquiry response
This morning, the Government has backed recommendations made earlier this year by the Culture Media & Sport Select Committee for a levy on tickets sold for stadium and arena concerts, which would go into a fund to support the grassroots live sector.
The FAC played an important role in the development of these recommendations, with CEO, David Martin, appearing alongside English Teacher’s Lily Fontaine, at an evidence session in Parliament. Both David and Lily highlighted the “cost of touring crisis” facing artists when they perform live, as well as their lynchpin roles as audience builders and employers.
Without artists, there is no music business.
As a result, the Committee recommended that everyone involved in grassroots music - artists, independent promoters and managers, as well as venues - should benefit from a levy and that it should be introduced by September 2024.
The Committee also backed the FAC’s 100% Venues campaign to end the outdated practice whereby (some) venues take onerous commissions on artist’s merchandise sales.
Unfortunately, the September deadline passed. Consequently, in late October, the FAC joined with the Musicians’ Union to publish an open letter, urging the live music industry to get back on track and to voluntarily deliver a blanket ticket levy as soon as possible - and in a way that will benefit everyone involved in grassroots live music.
If the industry cannot do this, we said, then the Government should retain the option to intervene and implement a statutory levy.
That is still our position today.
David Martin, CEO, Featured Artists Coalition
The message coming from the Government and from the Culture Committee is loud and clear: the live music industry needs to deliver a blanket ticket levy at large-scale arena and stadium shows. We need to do it quickly or it will be mandated upon us, and the fund must support the entirety of the grassroots live music sector, from artists and promoters to venues. The FAC welcomes today's response, and we are ready to double down our efforts to get this over the line. If UK artists can't afford to tour, the industry will not fulfil its potential.