Labour Creatives event unveils party’s action plan for our sector 

• Labour leader, Keir Starmer, supported by his Shadow Chancellor, Culture Secretary, Education Secretary and their teams, has set out his party’s action plan for the creative industries.  LIVE was pleased to receive advanced sight of the plan and provide feedback on proposals covering many of our main asks.
• That includes two of LIVE’s five priorities as mapped out in our manifesto – EU touring and secondary ticketing.  On touring, the party is committed to seeking arrangements with the EU to facilitate easier touring and cultural exchange.  Meanwhile on ticketing, Labour is committed to tackling touting by capping resale prices and giving the CMA the powers it needs to regulate resale platforms.  In addition, the party’s proposals on skills, freelancers, growth and universality all align with LIVE’s views.  
• Commenting on the plan, Jon Collins said, “LIVE is delighted to see a package of positive actions set out in Labour’s plans for the creative industries.  Proposals relating to our teams and audiences will allow more people to enjoy more shows.  While plans around touring will help us to develop the next generation of world class talent”.

Budget ’24: great news for orchestras and theatres, but what about the wider sector?

• The efforts of LIVE board member the Association of British Orchestras, supported by LIVE, came to fruition on 6 March when the Chancellor announced a permanent extension of tax relief for Orchestras at 45%.  LIVE welcomes this important support to an orchestral sector currently under significant pressure due to the costs of touring post-Brexit and reduced funding from local authorities. Along with the announcement of parallel tax relief rates for theatres, museums, and galleries (at 40%), the Budget therefore represents a much-needed acknowledgement of the significant contribution that the music industry and the wider creative ecosystem offers to our economy and culture. 
• But there is more work to be done here. Orchestras’ stalwart attempts at international touring, a vital contribution to our music exports valued at 2.5 billion, continue to be consistently thwarted by bureaucratic red tape and administrative costs. In order for orchestras to continue to promote British musicianship abroad, and support our reputation as an artistic powerhouse, the Government needs to facilitate EU touring via a cultural accord. 
• What’s more, it is not just orchestras that deserve relief in order to continue to deliver the economic returns and identity-building tools from which we all benefit.  The £1bn pledged to support UK creative industries, while welcome, excludes the remainder of the live music ecosystem.  With grassroots music venues and festivals under particular pressure, LIVE will continue to push for beneficial reforms such as a VAT reduction on ticket sales or revised and extended tax relief. 

A1 Forms: Keeley and Clancarty meet with Government

• Leading LIVE supporters, Barbara Keeley MP, Labour’s Shadow Culture Minister, and the Earl of Clancarty met with Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Nigel Huddleston MP, this week to discuss progress in improving the provision of A1 forms, in particular for self-employed workers in the music industry touring in the European Economic Area.  With artists sometimes seeing nearly half their fee withheld in the absence of a form, it is critical that HMRC gets back to delivering A1s to the expected timescale. 
• While sympathetic, HMRC were keen to set out what they have been doing to speed up the process including clearing the backlog.  They are confident that they are on course to get to their 15 and 40 day targets for online and postal applications respectively.  The original pledge was to achieve this by April this year which now seems unlikely given the feedback we are receiving on ongoing delays.  LIVE will keep forwarding examples of delays and monitoring timings to ensure HMRC does, ultimately, get back on track. 

Ticketing State of Play 2024: the emergent consumer patterns shaping the festival landscape

• There’s much to discover in Big Ticket Items: ‘Ticketing State of Play’ 2024 produced by ticketing platforms Tixel and Bolster. With festival cancellations passing twenty already this year, this research provides welcome insights into consumer habits amidst the shifting winds shaping the festival landscape post-Covid, post-Brexit and mid-recession. Consumers’ responses conveyed reassurance: the appetite for festivals is still strong, with three quarters of respondents attending more festivals last year than they did the year before, and fears about public health risks are lower than ever. But a few new and consequential patterns came to light, driven by the larger forces at work in the economy. More concerned about spending (over nine in ten reported experiencing an increase in everyday costs), audiences are plumping for well-known, sure-fire options with name-recognition and famous headliners – rather than taking a chance on a newly-established event or one they haven’t been to before. Not only are many (one in four) waiting significantly longer to buy, respondents are also more uncertain after they’ve actually bought the ticket, often seeking refunds and resale options later on. Resale was a real sticking point for respondents: eight out of ten reported that they’d value a resale option, which in turn would give them more confidence to buy early. Salient observations like these are vital to shaping the future of those grassroots and independent festivals bearing the brunt of the current economic challenges. 

Addressing structural inequality in the industry: LIVE Talks x Power Up ‘Equality and Equity in the LIVE Sector’ now available online

• Earlier this month we brought together four pioneering Power Up alumni with broadcaster Ras Kwame and stakeholders from across the industry to discuss the structural disadvantages facing Black music practitioners in the industry, the progress that’s already been made, and the work that remains to be done. In a majority white industry where the work of Black professionals continues to be overlooked and career progression inhibited, we must look to amplify these voices and the platforms like Power Up which support them. LIVE will continue to take steps wherever we can to address problems such as racial profiling at events and the institutional distrust of Black promoters. Hear from our speakers Hannah Shogbola, Neicee Oakley, Tumi Williams, and Adem Holness, in the LIVE Talks recording, available online here. Thanks to our speakers and Power Up for joining us. 
• LIVE Talks would not be possible without the ongoing support of our committed partners: AEG, Kilimanjaro Live; Live Nation; Serious; SJM and Utilita Arena Birmingham. We thank them for their commitment to promoting and sharing insight and good practice across our sector.