Co-founder of Wolf Alice & FAC Director, Joff Oddie & FAC CEO make the case for grassroots artists in Parliament

On Tuesday, Joff Oddie and David Martin gave evidence to Parliament's CMS Select Committee.

In a follow up to the 2024 inquiry on grassroots music venues, MPs quizzed witnesses on the state of grassroots touring in the UK.  Since the last appearance, it is clear that there is now a widespread acceptance of the crisis facing the UK's artists and the critical importance of solving the matter for the future success of our music industry.

Joff provided an impassioned account of Wolf Alice's experience on the grassroots circuit, and about how more needs to be done to support new artists to avoid music become the reserve of those from privileged backgrounds.  He also spoke of the importance of artists wellbeing and safety in light of the tragic death of the members of Viola Beach.

The FAC has been making the case for artists in the domestic, live touring circuit for a number of years now. Explaining that many artists are facing a cost of touring crisis and lobbying for change. That has resulted in an understanding that, with calls for a levy from large, arena and stadium shows to support the grassroots, artists must be directly supported. Those calls were backed by the Culture, Media & Sport Committee in its report in 2024, who recognised that artists are the industry’s biggest employers, and that if the criss being faced in the grassroots was to be solved, that artists must be enabled to tour.

As a response, the FAC has also announced the UK Artist Touring Fund, as a vehicle to receive funding from a levy and distribute it to grassroots artists.

Tuesday’s session followed the 2024 appearance, which you can read about on the FAC website.

There was a great deal packed to the most session which we would encourage you to watch back via the button below. You can also read the coverage which was published by the NME.