LIVE meets with new Culture Minister, Sir Chris Bryant
In a very positive start to life under the new Government, LIVE joined a small number of music industry groups for a roundtable with Culture Minister, Chris Bryant. Having briefed Chris on multiple occasions while he was in opposition, we were able to hit the ground running on hugely important issues for our sector. And first among those was the issue of touring in Europe. LIVE has made plan the pain caused by the current arrangements with UK artists and crew losing out to EU counterparts and specialist UK service providers either relocating to the EU or missing out on work. Touring has become more complex and costly for our largest artists and increasingly unviable for our emerging acts.
Labour recognises these challenges and the loss of economic activity they cause. As a result, it looks like EU touring reform will be an early focus with our support required to sharpen our ask and set out the benefits to EU artists and crew (via reciprocal reforms) and EU venues and festivals (able to more easily access UK talent). As ever, if you have any evidence to offer either on the extent of the issues faced or benefits of reform then pleased send them through to LIVE.
LIVE welcomes the launch of Skills England
Another Labour commitment in opposition that is coming good is their work to reform creative education and skills provision to help address shortages in our sector, inefficiencies and limitations in the current system and unnecessary limits on opportunity for young people.
Skills England will be established in phases over the next year and work in collaboration with central and local government, as well as businesses, training providers and unions, to overhaul the UK’s post-16 skills system, in line with the Government’s forthcoming Industrial Strategy (of which the creative industries will be an element).
Of most direct benefit to live music, Skills England will work at a local level to bring together businesses, trade unions, mayors, universities, colleges and training providers to identify skills gaps and then develop provision to fill those gaps. This will directly support our work to reduce the post-lockdown skills shortage in our sector. In addition, Skills England will identify what training can qualify for the new growth and skills levy. This replaces the former apprenticeship levy which has not worked for live music or the wider creative industries. Separately and in combination, the work of Skills England with help our drive for growth and representation as we unlock new opportunities for people across the UK to get on.
Join lively minds at the Green Events Innovations 2025
Join LIVE, and hosts A Greener Future and the ILMC, at the Royal Lancaster Hotel on 25 February, for a meeting of the brightest minds in sustainability.
It’ll be a day of engaging talks, panels, discussions, and case studies; showcases of the most disruptive current projects; second-to-none networking opportunities in the live event sustainability space; a stellar lineup of guest speakers; and a chance to celebrate with the finalists and winners at the International AGF Awards Ceremony. GEI also includes a scrumptious five-star, planet-friendly lunch; refreshments and a drinks reception; and the opportunity to catch up with friends and colleagues and meet and make some new ones. It all takes place at the stunning Royal Lancaster Hotel in central London.
Secure a super early bird ticket to save £80 off the walk-up price: available now at www.agreenerfuture.com/gei.
LIVE’s Jon Collins to speak at the Sustainable Events Summit
Vision: 2025’s Sustainable Events Summit (SES) will return to the Showman’s Show for the 9th edition, on Wednesday 23rd October 2024. Supported by The Showman’s Show and with Festival Republic confirmed as title sponsor, the free-to-attend action-focused summit will present the latest research tools and knowledge to bring outdoor event organisers, suppliers, local authorities and experts together, driving collaborative resource development, industry standards, best practice and innovation, inspiring action and shaping the industry response to the climate emergency for UK events.
2024 is a pivotal year for the Sustainable Events Summit, as work begins on establishing benchmarks, shaping the sector strategy 2030. That’s why we’re delighted that our CEO Jon Collins will be speaking on LIVE’s role in the push for sustainability.
Register here and follow @eventvision2025 on twitter for programme updates.
LIVE Awards: cast your vote and get your ticket
Nominations for this year's LIVE Awards open on Monday 8th July, with entries accepted right up to 11th October. The third annual awards will take place on 11 December at Troxy in London.
The LIVE Awards are hosted by LIVE, the voice of the UK’s live music business, and recognise and reward those individuals and companies taking our sector to the next level. The LIVE Awards will be judged by a closed and anonymous panel of industry professionals. Each entry will be considered on its own merits to ensure that the awards are a true reflection of business excellence in live music. Click here for more information on each category and how to submit your nominations.
The full awards list for The LIVE Awards 2024 are as follows:
Tables and individual tickets are available now from just £195+VAT. Each seat at the awards includes welcome cocktails; dinner with wine pairing, two hours of complimentary beer, wine and softs; the awards, and an afterparty until the early hours. For ticket and event information, simply click here. Meanwhile, for a reminder of last year's winners, click here.
LIVE Talks: Menstruation and Menstrual Health – 14th August, 12pm.
This free online session will help equip companies and individuals in the sector to be more supportive and understanding in the sector to be more supportive and understanding of the impact of menstruation and menstrual health on individuals, whilst encouraging those who need help to be able to speak out without feeling it might be detrimental to them personally.
Delivered in collaboration with the Musicians’ Union and Henpicked, this session was born from LIVE’s new strategy for tackling misogyny in the music industry. Stay tuned for more – and until then, sign up for the workshop here: www.livemusic.biz/live-talks
LIVE Insights: fifth wave of audience research suggests we have reached a new normal
Having started in May 2022 as we emerged from lockdown, the LIVE Insights audience research has now run on five occasions. Drawing on a nationally representative panel of 2,000 people, we have used the research to track attitudes to going out, purchasing ticket and attending shows. This round of research yielded the highest recorded figure over the last two years as, 31%, said they had not changed their approach to ticket buying in the last twelve months … suggesting we are at a new normal.
While it is clear that people love live music, with just 11% say they do not think about going to gigs, cost of living remains a significant factor with 27% stating that ‘everything feels expensive’ (the highest level since we began this research). The 20% who stated they have less disposable income is up from 16% in the last wave. Encouragingly, ticket usage is at its highest to date (65%) with the oldest respondents (55+) most likely to always use their tickets (73%). The generational divide is clear when it comes to ticket usage with our youngest (18-24) least likely to use their ticket (53%) and most likely to find reasons not to attend. A concerning 19% of 18-24s said they do not have as much energy to go out as they did 12 months ago. For each wave of research, in addition to the regular items, LIVE uses two or three questions to take a deeper dive into topical issues. This time around, we looked at:
All in all, useful further information to build into our lobbying work as we engage with a new Government to drive growth, ensure safety and take forward the CMS recommendations.