Written By: Adriana Zahirovic
In 2010 Giggs’ tour was cancelled following police advice. P Money also encountered similar experiences being removed from line-ups as a direct result of information obtained through the form. Although submitting the form was described as “voluntary” when applying for a license, venues who didn’t comply often faced licence refusals or venue shutdowns without adequate reasons.
This had a significant impact on the music scene at the time as venues feared that booking artists from the targeted genres would negatively affect their operations. As a result, ethnic minority artists and those who fell into the targeted genres had a smaller pool of venues to perform at, limiting their ability to generate income.
Fortunately, in 2017 London Mayor Sadiq Khan scrapped Form 696 citing that its removal would help provide more nightlife in London following the surge in the number of venues that were being closed.
Seven years later, music venues are currently in a different crisis, in particular Grassroots Music Venues (GMVs). With 125 GMVs closing across the UK last year, an inquiry has now been led by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee of MP’s.
GMV’s are as crucial as larger capacity music venues, as they provide support for smaller artists, social programmes, rehearsals, education and other arts and cultural productions, highlighting their social and cultural significance. The closing of these venues directly undermines the existence and growth of live music, and the artistic expressions of musicians.
This Covid-19 pandemic amplified how this affected the wider music industry, when live performances ceased, impacting both venue owners’ and artists’ incomes.
After recovering from the lack of revenue as a result of the pandemic, GMV’s are now battling with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
Closure of GMV’s has also made it more difficult for some artists to “break” in the early stages of their career as they have fewer opportunities to showcase their musical talent to live audiences whilst striving to develop a more sustainable career. This has caused a shift to more online activity with a heavy dependence on exposure through social media platforms and limited income from streaming platforms.
So What Can Be Done?
Parliamentary discussions have suggested changes to how VAT is charged on tickets. The Music Venue Trust has also campaigned for the introduction of a voluntary levy of £1 on the gross value of tickets sold at arenas and stadiums to support the grassroots sector (favouring this over a mandatory government-led approach).
Whilst efforts are being made to help improve the live sector at grassroots and broader levels, there is still a lot of work to be done to ensure the survival of cultural music venues in the UK.
Financial pressures such as soaring utility bills and increasing lease costs have contributed to the rapid closure of GMV’s. One potential solution could be the reassessment of business strategies, which can be reconstructed with the help of some of the big players in the industry who can make a positive impact, through financial support, guidance and expertise.
At the heart of the music industry, whether you are an artist or a music lover, we share responsibility for keeping GMV’s alive as their loss could have a major impact on the industry. Hopefully with recent discussions in place, we can move closer to protecting the venues that place music at their core.