OCTOBER | TRENDING
sized venues, where the next Adeles
and Stormzys will hone their craft.
The report advised that the effects
of these small venue closures might
not be felt immediately, but the next
artists generation of artists could be
severely crippled if we don’t maintain
these important cultural spaces.
In response, Government said:
“Small venues may need to adapt
existing business models to focus
more strongly on social value - for
example, reaching out to new and
diverse audiences. That is why
Government welcomes initiatives
such as the Music Venues Trust’s new
pipeline investment fund.”
Its response also pointed to a
number of policy changes it has
made in the last few years, aimed
at helping small businesses: “Since
Budget 2016 the Government has
introduced a range of business
rates measures in England worth
more than £13bn over the next five
years. This includes switching from
RPI to CPI indexation, increasing
the frequency of revaluations, and
doubling the threshold for 100% Small
Business Rate Relief to £12,000 from
April 2017.”
It concluded: “The departments
leading on policies impacting venues,
including DCMS, MHCLG and the
Home Office, [must continue to work]
with the sector through regular
meetings, sharing of evidence and
exchanging ideas and good practice.”
Festival monopoly
One key issue raised in the report
is that of festival monopolisation –
an issue Access covered last issue
(September). The Association of
Independent Festivals (AIF) published
a report last year which showed US
company Live Nation now owns more
than 25% of all major UK festivals –
those over 5,000 attendance.
The AIF presented this evidence
to the DCMS, which recommended
to “ask the Competition and Markets
Authority to consider conducting a
market study of the music industry”,
in order to assess whether it is fair for
consumers, artists and promoters.
The Government said it had no
authority over the CMA, which is
an independent regulator. It then
went on to point to a previous
ticketing market review which took
place in 2016, saying: “Government
worked with the CMA and the
National Trading Standards Board
to take enforcement action against
ticketing platforms and sellers where
necessary. This has had some impact
on the information provided to
consumers, but work is ongoing.”
Paul Reed, CEO of the AIF,
expressed disappointment at the lack
of action from Government on the
issue of festival monopolisation. He
said: “Following a robust and wide-
ranging inquiry into live music from
the DCMS Select Committee, this is a
derisory response from Government.
Referring to the Waterson Report
avoids the breadth and depth of the
issues AIF has outlined in terms of
the widespread dominance of a single
company, Live Nation, across the live
music sector.
“It is well established that
competition issues in the live music
sector go way beyond ticketing,
and we will continue to ring the
alarm bells around the systemic
problems arising from the increasing
grip of vertically integrated major
corporations along the live music
supply chain, and the effect this has
on competition.
“The problem is only going to get
worse if it is not addressed properly
and swiftly. We will be writing to
the relevant Government Ministers
accordingly.”
So – what is the government doing?
The Department for Culture, Media
and Sport’s ‘ninth session’ report is
huge - full of carefully researched
information that fairly and clearly
details all of the most pressing issues
facing the live music industry. The
House of Commons’ official response,
by comparison, feels insufficient.
Although the House of Commons
has acknowledged many of the issues
facing one of its most important
creative industries – worth £4.5bn
to the economy in 2018 – it has
not committed to any action. Its
response amounts to little more than
lip service, raising questions about
whether it really recognizes the value
of the live music sector in the UK.
What do you think, eventprofs? We
highly recommend reading the DCMS
report to gain an overview of the state
of live music in the UK.
You can find the full report in the online
version of this story at accessaa.co.uk.
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