A LIVE and kicking
A federation of key live events industry associations , LIVE has made significant progress tackling major industry-wide issues since its launch last year . Access speaks to the key figures involved in shaping the future of the organisation
Since its launch at the start of 2020 , the Live music Industry Venues & Entertainment ( LIVE ) umbrella group has united the live music sector , broken down barriers and got its collective voice heard by the Government .
From successfully campaigning for sector support during the pandemic , addressing the fallout of Brexit for touring acts , winning industry-wide backing for significant sustainability commitments to pushing for increased equality and diversity , LIVE has forged ahead with impressive results .
Among the many landmark moments for LIVE since its launch were the # LetTheMusicPlay and # KeepVATat5 campaigns , which not only won widespread support across the live events industry , but among artists and fans throughout the UK and beyond .
Kilimanjaro Live CEO Stuart Galbraith , Live Nation executive president of international touring Phil Bowdery and ILMC MD Greg Parmley were the key players behind the launch of LIVE , which now consists of four sub-committees and includes senior event professionals from across the industry .
LIVE is now a federation of 13
Promoting # LetTheMusicPlay at the Royal Albert Hall
live music industry associations , including the Association of Independent Festivals , Association of Festival Organisers , Concert Promoters Association , National Arenas Association and Production Services Association . Collectively , they represent 3,150 businesses , more than 4,000 artists and 2,000 backstage workers .
The united approach means that LIVE represents the interests of artists , managers , venues , festivals , promoters , agents , production companies and ticketing operators . Parmley , LIVE ’ s CEO , says that early on in the pandemic it became clear the live sector did not have a significant voice at a Government level , and that the scale of the situation urgently called for it .
“ We had never had to go to Government for anything purely because the commercial sectors were so successful up until the pandemic ,” he says .
An early success for the fledgling federation was the launch of # LetTheMusicPlay on 2 July 2020 . It called for financial aid and a defined opening timeline for the live industry . It involved a letter being sent to then culture secretary Oliver Dowden with signatories from across the industry , as well as a high-impact social media campaign highlighting the need for support .
Says Parmley , “ It was a really successful campaigns involving multiple artists . We were trending worldwide on Twitter all day . It highlighted the plight of the
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