LIVE (Live music Industry Venues & Entertainment), which represents 15 live music industry organisations, has announced six key focus areas, designed to deliver economic and cultural growth across the UK. The renewed policy platform will sit at the centre of LIVE’s strategic vision for 2025 to empower the UK’s world-leading live music industry.
LIVE’s ambitious 2025 vision outlines clear asks of Government to unleash the economic potential of the UK’s £6bn live music industry. Building on its achievements in 2024 and collaborative partnership established with the UK Government, LIVE is committed to further positioning the live music sector as a critical economic and cultural driver, while galvanising the industry around its key priorities that align with the Government’s growth missions.
LIVE seeks to present a range of solutions to the challenges facing the sector, founded on a policy platform that simultaneously supports the Government’s key missions. The creative industries have been recognised as a crucial growth sector in the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy, with an extra £60m of funding committed to boost the creative industries announced last week.
The six areas of policy focus for LIVE in 2025 are:
Kickstarting growth – Strengthening the live music sector and wider economy
LIVE will leverage its strong relationship with Government and its plans for a new Industrial Strategy (launching this Spring), to put live music at the heart of economic policy for the first time. This is an opportunity to push forward on reforms to VAT, tax and business rates, while also seeking export support, planning reform, improved skills provision and investment to accelerate the green transition.
Breaking Down Barriers to Opportunity – addressing the damage to EU touring post-Brexit
The Government is committed to delivering improved touring arrangements and access to more, economically viable live performance opportunities. Negotiations with the EU will commence in the near future and LIVE will play a pivotal role in ensuring Government understands the required outcomes and has the most compelling data and evidence available with which to argue its case.
Ensuring a safer Britain – making Martyn’s Law work for everyone
Live music has always prioritised its audiences and the public with venues and events placing great emphasis on staffing, training and procedures to deliver engaging and safe experiences. Martyn’s Law is an important new piece of legislation that needs to be implemented in a way that works for everyone. LIVE is committed to working closely with Government to continue to improve and strengthen Martyn’s Law prior to it going live in 2027.
Making the UK a clean energy superpower – a sustainable live music sector
Live is committed to helping build a sustainable live music sector by accelerating the sector’s transition to net zero through increased funding and technical support, and to continuing to shape a unified vision for climate action in the UK’s live music sector.
Delivering robust regulation of the secondary ticketing market
LIVE has worked closely with Government on their plans for ticketing with a view to countering touts and secondary platforms, while also ensuring that any steps to increase visibility around pricing are appropriate.
Implementing and establishing the LIVE Trust
Developed in response to the crisis in grassroots music, the LIVE Trust has been created to deliver vital funding in support of grassroots venues and festivals, the artists that play them and the promoters that work with them. LIVE, alongside its members, has been at the forefront of developing the LIVE Trust and will play a key role in overseeing these efforts to safeguard the grassroots, boost the wider economy and strengthen relationships with Government.
Jon Collins, CEO of LIVE said: “We remain a trusted partner of Government and are pleased that there is a clear understanding of the challenges facing the live music industry, alongside the economic potential we have to drive the Industrial Strategy and generate growth. Our sector generated over £6bn for the UK economy in 2023 and we are encouraged to be working with a government that is taking the creative industries seriously.
However, there remains a lot more that can be done to relieve the pressure on our sector and as such we will continue to act as a critical friend that will hold those in power to account while seeking to galvanise policies that align with the Government’s desire to kickstart economic growth, break down barriers to opportunity, ensure a safer Britain, and make the UK a clean energy superpower.”
