The UK’s Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) has called on the statutory competition authorities to investigate Live Nation.

The group has released figures which it claims shows that Live Nation could have engaged in “anti-competitive behaviour”.

Last week Live Nation and Ticketmaster representatives were quizzed about their role in the live music markets by UK parliamentarians and were regularly challenged using ticket sales data, which AIF says it provided to the business and trade committee.

In the data, which IQ understands was pulled together through analysis of publicly available sources but it has not been possible to independently verify, AIF claims that out of a total 23 million tickets sold for arena, stadium and outdoor concerts and festivals, Live Nation directly controls 58% of them.

Live Nation and affiliate companies controlled 66% of the same market, according to AIF.

John Rostron, AIF CEO, says: “Based on our analysis, we believe that there is evidence to suggest that Live Nation could be held responsible for engaging in anti-competitive behaviour and we therefore recommend that the Competition and Markets Authority [CMA] investigate matters.

“We wish for the market to be fair where all participants – whether major companies or independents – have opportunities at all levels”

“While we encourage and support organisations and individuals putting on the biggest shows, we wish for the market to be fair where all participants – whether major companies or independents – have opportunities at all levels. That’s why we took this action.”

AIF represents almost 150 UK music festivals, ranging from 500 to 80,000 capacity, including Belladrum Tartan Heart, Boardmasters, End of the Road, Shambala and Victorious.

Live Nation has been approached for comment on the claims. When challenged on some of these figures last week in parliament Phil Bowdery, Live Nation executive president, touring international music, said he “did not recognise” them.

“We are very good at what we do,” he added. “Therefore, there is interest from the major artists to be with Live Nation.”

Last week the CMA threatened Ticketmaster with potential legal action following the Oasis ticket controversy. The watchdog said there was a “fundamental disagreement” between itself and the ticketing company over whether the latter’s practices breached consumer law and said it was prepared to litigate if a resolution could not be reached voluntarily.

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The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) has released the 2025 edition of its Festival Forecast, which includes the first full count of the UK’s festival sector.

AIF has identified 592 music festivals in the UK in 2025, comprising 360 greenfield festivals and 232 single-venue or multi-venue festivals.

Of that total, AIF says that four are major festivals with a capacity of 80,000+, seven are ‘large’ (cap. 50,000 – 79,999), 33 are ‘medium’ (20,000 – 49,999), 334 are ‘small’ (1,000 – 19,999) and 214 are ‘micro’ (less than 1,000).

The total number of festivals in the UK has fallen since 2019, when AIF believes there were 800 to 900. The association attributes this steep drop to the onset of the pandemic and the subsequent impact of Brexit.

At least 96 festivals fell between 2019–2022, 36 in 2023, 78 in 2024 and so far, 40 have fallen in 2025, it says. AIF CEO John Rostron recently unpicked the key issues facing the beleaguered UK sector this summer.

“This will be an important document when it comes to describing our situation to policymakers, regulators and the media”

The Forecast also points to initiatives designed to help ease the burden, including AIF’s Fallow Festival Fund, launched in February, and the LIVE Trust in January.

It concludes with AIF repeating its call for the UK Government to introduce a Music Festival Tax Relief, which it says would mitigate closures and help support the recovery and growth of the festival sector.

Discussing the newly released Festival Forecast 2025, Rostron says: “This is the first time we have been able to map the UK festival market by the numbers in such a detailed way right down to the micro festivals that make up such an important part of our sector.

“It illustrates the dominance of two major corporations at the top, with Live Nation in particular having an enormous grip on the festival market. But it also highlights the collective importance of AIF and other independent festivals who make up so much of the festival landscape. This will be an important document when it comes to describing our situation to policymakers, regulators and the media as we move through this summer festival season.”

Read the full Festival Forecast 2025 here.

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Hopes that the UK festival sector has turned the corner on a tumultuous 2024 are rising, with the rate of cancellations having dropped significantly.

A record 78 festivals announced a postponement, cancellation or complete closure last year – more than double the amount that fell in 2023. The total had surpassed 40 by mid-May 2024, but currently stands at around 15 as of April 2025.

“It’s a lot lower than where we were at this time last year,” Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) boss John Rostron tells IQ. “And of those, nine are actually on fallow years and have said they intend to come back next year so that’s a high percentage. Although that’s still bad, it gives us some comfort because these people are suggesting that – with some changes – they’ll come back. They feel like they’re still saveable.”

While the figures offer reason for encouragement, Rostron points out that in the region of 250 festivals have disappeared since 2019.

“They’ve gone and haven’t been replaced, and that’s a big loss,” he says. “I won’t be happy until I see more growth. I’m excited there are new festivals and startups this year, which we haven’t had since the pandemic. That’s really nice. I want to see more of those new events coming in to continue to bring vibrancy, creativity and the differences that we want to see in the sector.”

“Independent festivals double down on community and the creative offer”

He continues: “If I look more generally at independent festivals, they double down on community and the creative offer. Most of the tickets are sold before they announce who’s playing. People just want to go to Shambala, or Deer Shed, or End of the Road, or Truck, or whatever it is. They’re not really looking at the lineup – that comes after. So if you were going to advise anyone on what to do, that would be the thing to focus on.”

Casualties so far this year include Cambridge Folk Festival, Africa Oyé, Roadhouse Festival, Wilkswood Reggae Festival, Let’s Rock Exeter, Medicine Festival, Yaxley Festival, Monmouth Rising, Global Rhythm Festival, Holt Festival, St Neots Festival and Adderbury Party In The Park.

Last year’s losses included El Dorado, Pennfest, Connect Music Festival, 110 Above Festival, NASS Festival, Leopollooza, Long Division, Bluedot and Barn On The Farm.

“In theory, a lot of the festivals that were going to go have gone,” contends Rostron. “If they couldn’t operate in 20/21/22, then lost money in 23/24, that was the end of the line.

“If you imagine a festival was like a car, before Covid it was driving along down the road full of petrol, with loads of fuel in the backseat so that if they ran out, they didn’t need to stop. Then Covid came and they couldn’t fill up. And then they came out of Covid and there were no petrol stations. There were high costs and there wasn’t the opportunity to get the fuel – in this case, money – back into the businesses. So some of those cars have just stopped on the road and are lost.

“If you set up your festival in 2019, how were you going to get through Covid? If you’d been running for eight or nine years prior to the pandemic you probably had some money and access to a history that enabled you to get loans and Covid recovery grants, because you had something they all knew felt like a solid entity. So those festivals were lucky in some ways that they had a bit more leverage to be able to get through. Some others were just unlucky – they opened their festival at a time when they were running on fumes.”

“You should have a payment plan. If you’re not doing that then you’re stuck in the past”

Meanwhile, the AIF has partnered with UK ticketing platform Skiddle to produce the Skiddle Festival Report, which was released this week and analyses key trends, insights and behaviours from the 2024 season.

The report highlights the growing demand for flexible payment options, with over 1.8 million festival tickets sold via Skiddle in 2024 and a 48% increase in split payment usage. Separately, Billboard reported that around 60% of general admission tickets for this year’s Coachella were bought using the festival’s payment plan.

Rostron says offering flexibility of payment options is a necessity for festivals in this day and age.

“Payment plans used to be in three or four instalments and now they’re probably 10, 11 or even 12,” he says. “It’s absolutely been a huge shift driven initially by the cost-of-living crisis, and it just makes sense. With most things in life: your council tax, your direct debit, your Netflix account, you don’t pay them in one go, you pay them every month. So why would you buy your ticket to a festival all in one go?

“Pay a little bit every month and it just goes out of your account and you don’t notice it – and you get to go to a festival at the end of it. You should have a payment plan. If you’re not doing that then you’re stuck in the past.”

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The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) has announced a new support package for UK indie festivals forced to take a fallow year.

The Fallow Festival Fund was launched today (5 February) at AIF’s flagship Festival Congress in Bristol, in partnership with the event’s headline sponsor Citizen Ticket.

It follows a brutal year for the UK sector, with a record 78 festivals announcing a postponement, cancellation or complete closure over the course of 2024 – more than double the amount of the preceding 12 months. Four festivals have been cancelled in 2025 so far, with three of those opting to take a fallow year in efforts to return in 2026.

“There will be more festivals out there who are close to making this call,” says AIF CEO John Rostron. “Being there alone trying to make your event work is tough. I know how much festivals value being a part of the AIF community, particularly when times are hard. It’s good to have people around you who can listen, understand and offer support.”

AIF is offering free one-year memberships to independent events currently outside its network, enabling them to access the trade body’s services and resources.

Financial donations to the Fallow Festival Fund will enable AIF to buy support from third parties to offer fallow festivals key services such as time on a legal helpline to review contracts, a financial health check to potentially bring about savings or improve cashflow, a production consultancy and a revenue review consultancy to improve or add income streams to their event. More services will be added to meet festivals’ particular needs in response to demand.

“Every contribution – small or big – will make a difference and I hope that as the year goes on some of those events in a fallow year will be supported by this fund and have the tools, techniques, innovations and confidence to give them the lift they need to return in 2026,” says Rostron.

“We believe a State of Play inquiry into festivals will demonstrate the desperate need for more support for independents”

An industry-wide call has also been made for further financial or service donations from festival suppliers and other organisations across the music business who are able to help.

Meanwhile, Citizen Ticket has pledged free use of its ticketing and bookings platform for festivals and events selling up to 2,000 tickets. Promoters running a larger event can sell their first 2,000 tickets free of charge.

“Every time a crisis hits we’ve done our best to support small and independent festivals in any way we can,” adds Citizen Ticket CPO Phil Hayes. “We’ve partnered with the AIF on Festival Congress five times and we wanted to take our partnership to the next level with this fundraiser. We are urging other suppliers who are able to offer something to please do so before more festivals are forced to cancel.”

Festivals interested in taking advantage of the fund and package of support are urged to register their interest here. Those who can offer services or discounted services to festivals on fallow years should contact AIF at [email protected]

Separately, AIF has issued a rallying cry after calling for the UK’s Culture, Media & Sport select committee to begin a ‘State of Play’ inquiry into the future of UK festivals.

“We need the whole festival sector to get behind us,” adds Rostron. “The MPs on this committee have the power to lobby the government for the support we need. We believe a State of Play inquiry into festivals will demonstrate the desperate need for more support for independents. Through this submission to the CMS Committee, we can champion the changes needed for the survival of UK grassroots, independent festival culture.”

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Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) chief John Rostron has shared his forecast for the 2025 season in the wake of one of the most turbulent years in the sector’s history.

The list of UK festivals to have announced a postponement, cancellation or complete closure in 2024 has reached 78 – more than double the amount that fell in 2023.

Cambridge’s Strawberry Fair and Cambridge Club Festival have become the latest to confirm they will not take place next year, while Chepstow’s Balter Festival has also announced its 2025 edition will be its last.

And although Rostron sees small signs of improvement for the circuit overall, he does not anticipate a swift reversal in its fortunes.

“I think there will be more closures next year,” he tells IQ. “It’s tough [to say] at this time of year and I want to say that the closures will stabilise. I really hope that we do not get to the level we got to this year and I’d love for those that are operating to be able to get through. But I’m squeezing my hands here and there is a lot of that going on.

“We’re in a situation now where this is maybe the end of the wildness. It’s calming down, but it’s still stretched – and that’s the challenge.”

Crucially, with rising supply chain costs having blighted the business coming out of Covid, there does finally appear to be grounds for encouragement.

“There is positive news, which is that some of those supply chain companies are getting back to full capacity and are therefore beginning to do longer-term deals, which they were reluctant to do,” explains Rostron. “That makes it much easier going into the next year’s events, because everybody knows what they’re doing and where they need to go, so that’s helping to stabilise that [issue]. But there are still lots of problems around staffing, with the exodus of talent and not enough time for new people to come in and get established.”

“We have one fire that the government could put out with one hose and that would be it”

In addition, the organisation continues to be frustrated in its calls for a temporary VAT reduction from 20% to 5% on festival tickets that it says would save many event promoters from closure. Rostron admits to being disappointed with the government’s inaction on the issue.

“It’s so frustrating, because I look around at the challenges of some other trade associations, and they’ve got 100 fires going on, so if you put one out, there’d still be 99 to go,” he reasons. “We have one fire that the government could put out with one hose and that would be it.

“The evidence is there: when you look through all the cancellations, some of those events would have still gone because their time was up, but the others were all saveable with that one change. It’s heartbreaking.”

Despite the sector’s ongoing struggles, the AIF – whose annual Festival Congress returns to Bristol Beacon on Wednesday 5 February – recently reported the total ticketed capacity of its members in the UK now stands at more than one million, with the collective having grown to 146 UK independent festival promoters.

“I’m proud the AIF membership has grown so enormously over the last year,” adds Rostron. “The challenges that independents face in this environment are so severe now that it’s really important that they are together to try and take those on, and I’m quite confident that we will.”

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The first wave of top UK festivals have made their first lineup announcements for next summer.

Set for Seaclose Park, Newport from 19-22 June, Isle of Wight Festival 2025 will be headlined by Sting, Stereophonics and Justin Timberlake.

The festival will also welcome Faithless, The Script, Paul Heaton featuring Rianne Downey, Teddy Swims, Texas, Olly Murs, Clean Bandit, Example, James, Alison Moyet, Dean Lewis, The Lathums and Lottery Winners, among others.

An exhibition celebrating the history of the iconic festival, Experience 25 is running at London’s The O2 between 19 September and 13 November to mark this year’s 25th edition – including the three original events held in 1968-70.

Elsewhere, Sting is also the first headliner confirmed for Latitude Festival, which is slated for Henham Park, Suffolk, from 24-27 July. The STING 3.0 Tour launched at Radio 2 in the Park in Preston earlier this month.

“We’re thrilled to announce Sting as our first headliner for Latitude 2025,” says Latitude director Melvin Benn, MD of Festival Republic. “His unparalleled artistry and the exciting new direction of the STING 3.0 shows perfectly align with Latitude’s mission to deliver a rich and diverse cultural experience. Sting’s extraordinary ability to transcend musical boundaries and deliver unforgettable live performances makes him an exceptional addition to next year’s lineup.

“Latitude is known for captivating audiences with a mix of global headliners and emerging talent, and Sting is just the first of many incredible acts to be revealed – there’s much more to come.”

Sting will also visit Tetbury Forest Live, Westonbirt Arboretum (18 June), Liverpool Pier Head On the Waterfront (22 June), Glasgow Summer Sessions @ Bellahouston Park (25 June), Cannock Forest Live, Cannock Chase (27 June) and Cardiff Depot Live, Cardiff Castle (28 June).

“Everyone we are announcing today is an absolute music icon and we can’t wait to welcome them to Lytham”

In the North West, Alanis Morissette, Justin Timberlake and a double bill of Simple Minds and Texas will headline TK Maxx presents Lytham Festival 2025, which takes place from 2-6 July. Details of the two remaining headliners and special guests will be revealed soon.

“Everyone we are announcing today is an absolute music icon and we can’t wait to welcome them to Lytham,” says Lytham Festival co-founder Peter Taylor of promoter Cuffe & Taylor. “And we’ve not finished there. Watch this space as we still have our Wednesday and Thursday headliners plus a lot of special guests to announce in the coming weeks.”

Cornwall’s Eden Sessions has confirmed The Script as its first 2025 headliner. The group will appear on 25 June, with support to include Tom Walker.

Meanwhile, the UK’s Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) is launching a bespoke free business support programme for multi-venue festivals thanks to funding by Arts Council England.

Launching in October, the project will offer free custom online training and support over the next six months alongside access to a dedicated in-person programme at AIF’s Festival Congress in Bristol in February 2025, as well as creating a new network with new resources.

It also promises to provide custom business support and industry skills development for this cohort through online, expert-led webinars, as well as peer-to-peer roundtables and training in key areas of pressure or opportunity based on research carried during the programme’s design stage.

Topics covered will include: preparing for The Protection of Premises Bill (aka Martyn’s Law); managing multi-venue PRS licensing; identifying accommodation and travel partnership revenue opportunities; environmental and accessibility event challenges; and an introduction to funding opportunities for promoters, artists and industry professionals.

“It’s thrilling that festivals of all sizes will be able to come together to meet, share and learn”

“I’m delighted that, with the support of Arts Council England, we can offer free direct support to festivals outside of our membership though this bespoke six-month programme,” says AIF CEO John Rostron. “We have never been able to do this before, and it’s thrilling that festivals of all sizes will be able to come together to meet, share and learn, connecting with festival professionals across legal, licensing, revenue generation, funding, sponsorship, and so much more.”

In addition, there will be responsive, bespoke training to meet the particular requirements of multi-venue festival promoters, with each festival to be allocated a small fund for one-on-one legal, financial or licensing health checks or advice as required for their own challenges or needs.

“Multi-venue music festivals are particularly important to me, as they are where I cut my teeth as a music promoter,” adds Rostron, who co-founded Cardiff’s Sŵn Festival. “Working with the built environment, they so often bring a town or city to life – acting as a catalyst for a music scene, or celebrating a particular place, genre or music ecology. Working in existing venues, or creating new spaces in and around the area, they regularly change shape as the area develops or as their audience grows or moves, which can be as exciting as it is challenging.”

Shared resources will be collated and developed following online expert sessions and Festival Congress, and will be openly available via the AIF website as a legacy resource for any multi-venue festival to access.

Festivals wishing to find out more information should email [email protected]

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The number of UK festivals to have announced a postponement, cancellation or complete closure in 2024 has reached 60.

Basingstoke’s Cosmic Roots Festival and Gloucester’s Witcombe Festival have become the latest casualties, while Cambridgeshire’s Secret Garden Party recently announced this year’s edition was its last “in its current form” – burning its main stage at the end of its July weekend as a symbol of the challenges facing independent festivals.

Organisers of Cosmic Roots, which was scheduled for 5-8 September, put the decision to cancel down to “unpredictable ticket sales and a rise in production costs”.

“The pressure on our independently funded festival is simply too great,” says a statement. “2024 has been a tough year for the festival industry, with challenges that none of us saw coming. The shifting landscape has been incredibly difficult to navigate, and despite our best efforts, it’s left us unable to move forward with the festival this year… The reality of the situation made it impossible to continue as planned.”

Elsewhere, Witcombe Festival, which was due to run over the August Bank Holiday weekend, blamed the cost of living crisis for “significantly” impacting ticket sales and planning.

“Despite our best efforts and creativity, including plans to reduce capacity and the size of the festival site, these have not been possible due to strict licensing conditions,” says a statement. “We have always prided ourselves on delivering an unforgettable experience for our festivalgoers, and we believe that cancelling the event is the most responsible course of action to ensure we can return stronger in the future.

“We hope that the new Labour government will take swift action to save many successful festival businesses that are facing this existential threat”

“We are committed to returning with an even more spectacular event, and we look forward to celebrating with you all once the situation stabilises.”

The festivals join dozens of losses from this year’s calendar including NASS Festival, Bradford’s Challenge Festival, El Dorado, Pennfest, Connect Music Festival, 110 Above Festival, Leopollooza, Long Division, Bluedot and Barn On The Farm, with the majority of organisers blaming significant increases in operational costs.

According to the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), it is expected that the UK will see over 100 festivals disappear without intervention. In February, AIF launched a campaign asking for a temporary VAT reduction from 20% to 5% on festival tickets that it says would save many event promoters from closure.

The trade body is now resuming its push following the election of the new government.

“The number of festivals forced to cancel, postpone or shut down entirely in 2024, largely because of unpredictable costs and a credit crunch within the sector, shows no signs of slowing,” says AIF CEO John Rostron. “The urgent need for government intervention through a temporary reduction in VAT on ticket sales to 5% remains.

“We hope that the new Labour government will take swift action to save many successful festival businesses that are facing this existential threat.”

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The number of UK festivals to have announced a postponement, cancellation or complete closure in 2024 has now reached 50.

Northwich’s Geronimo children’s festival, scheduled for 23-26 August at Arley Hall, Cheshire, has become the latest casualty over the past few days, as the crisis affecting the sector deepens.

“The great British weather is not always kind and with a huge percentage of festival-goers holding off booking until the last week, the event has become an unsustainable financial risk,” say organisers.

Other fresh cancellations include Chelmsford’s ZENfest and Hertfordshire’s Starry Village, while Wrexham’s Another World Music Festival and South Yorkshire’s Askern Music Festival have been postponed to 2025 due to licensing issues. London’s 51st festival has also called off its 2024 gathering, citing “the cost of living crisis, a significant increase in operational costs and operational issues”.

In addition, Oxfordshire’s family-oriented Beacon Festival held its final event from 21-22 June and Underneath the Stars’ 10-year celebration in Barnsley between 2-4 August will be its last edition “for now”.

“This is the most challenging time for independent festivals who desperately need an intervention from the incoming government”

“This is a regrettable landmark for the UK’s festival sector,” says Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) CEO John Rostron. “This is the most challenging time for independent festivals who desperately need an intervention from the incoming government before more events inevitably fall.”

Without intervention, AIF predicts the UK will see over 100 festivals disappear in 2024 due to the pressures of unpredictable and rising costs.

Earlier this year, the trade association launched the Five Percent For Festivals campaign to encourage festivalgoers to contact their MPs to lobby for a VAT reduction on tickets. AIF states that a reduced VAT from 20% to 5% on ticket sales for the next three years will give festival promoters the space they need to rebuild.

“Our research suggests around 100 festivals will throw in the towel before the year is out, and more will go into 2025 at risk if there is not the temporary fiscal support they need,” adds Rostron.

The full list of 50 festivals also comprises:

• Towersey Festival
• Twisted Festival
• Bingley Challenge Festival
• El Dorado
• Welliestock
• Visions Festival
• Riverside Festival
• We Are Fstvl
• Heartwood Festival
• ND Festival
• Meadowfest
• Penn Fest
• Illusive Festival
• Clun Green Man
• Askambury Festival
• Shindig
• Tunes On The Bay Festival
• Lowedefest
• Neighbourhood Weekender
• Camp Quirky
• Doonhame
• Splendour
• Love Fit
• Hayloft Live
• Ampthill
• Connect
• 110 Above
• Standon Calling
• Spring Classic
• Smoked and Uncut
• Takedown Festival
• Detonate Festival
• Togfest
• Nibley
• Bingley Festival
• Escape Into The Park
• NASS Festival
• Field Maneuvers
• Nozstock: The Hidden Valley
• Bluedot Festival
• Leopallooza
• Barn On The Farm

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As the United Kingdom gears up for next month’s general election, a range of music organisations have told IQ how the new government can best help the live business.

The main political parties have now put out their manifestos ahead of the 4 July vote, with varying degrees of support for the arts. Labour, the party currently leading all opinion polls to form the UK’s next government, has reiterated its pledge to cap ticket resale if it wins the election.

“Access to music, drama and sport has become difficult and expensive because of ticket touting,” it states. “Labour will put fans back at the heart of events by introducing new consumer protections on ticket resales.”

While stressing that Britain will remain outside the European Union, the party vows to improve EU touring for UK artists.

“Labour will work to improve the UK’s trade and investment relationship with the EU, by tearing down unnecessary barriers to trade,” it says. “We will seek to negotiate a veterinary agreement to prevent unnecessary border checks and help tackle the cost of food; will help our touring artists; and secure a mutual recognition agreement for professional qualifications to help open up markets for UK service exporters.”

Touring regulations also feature in the Liberal Democrats and Green Party manifestos, with the former saying it would push to “negotiate free and simple short-term travel arrangements for UK artists to perform in the EU, and European artists to perform in the UK”, and the latter promising to “ensure that musicians have access to visa-free travel to the EU through negotiating a reciprocal arrangement at the earliest possible opportunity”.

“This will be a government seeking to kickstart economic growth, and implementing the right policies to support the live music sector”

The Lib Dems also set out their desire to “protect fans from being exploited by ticket touts by implementing the Competition and Markets Authority’s recommendations to crack down on illegal ticket resale”.

The Conservatives, meanwhile, pledge to “extend our Community Ownership Fund to help more communities across the UK take control of vital community assets like pubs, music venues, libraries, green spaces, leisure centres and more”.

Stressing its support for apprenticeships as “a key pipeline of talent into our world-leading creative industries”, the party adds: “We will work with industry to deliver a dedicated flexible coordination service so that everyone who wants to work in the film, TV, gaming and music sectors can work on live productions whilst benefiting from at least 12 months of secure training.”

Jon Collins, CEO of LIVE (Live music Industry Venues and Entertainment), which serves as the collective voice of the UK live music business, says the trade body is looking forward to working with the next government on “a range of issues that require a fresh focus, considered investment and informed action”.

“With Labour likely to form that government, it is very encouraging to see many of our key asks set out in their manifesto and their action plan for the arts, culture and creative industries,” he says. “This will be a government seeking to kickstart economic growth, and implementing the right policies to support the live music sector with a value of £5.2 billion will deliver that growth – both domestically and internationally.

“Labour is committed to facilitating easier touring arrangements with the EU which will critically drive up activity; the current provisions have seen a 74% drop in activity and left orchestras either unable to tour or facing prohibitive costs. We welcome Labour’s support for our grassroots sector and look forward to working with ministers to ensure grassroots music venues are able to thrive, update them on the progress of the LIVE Trust, and ease the trading environment through business rates reform.”

“The rest of the world recognises this country as a beacon of music innovation, and it’s vital that an incoming government maximises that potential”

Collins adds: “Whilst not a manifesto commitment, we will be looking to the next government to act on the recommendations made by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee in their recent report (May 2024) on grassroots music venues to reduce VAT on tickets and undertake a comprehensive economic analysis of the impact of a reduced rate applied across the sector.

“We are pleased that Labour has committed to take forward our proposals published in our Live Music Manifesto on secondary ticketing and reforming the apprenticeship levy. LIVE will work with the next government on plans to deliver Martyn’s Law in a way that protects fans without putting unnecessary burdens on venues and festivals.”

Last week, the Music Venue Trust (MVT) published a report entitled, A Manifesto for Grassroots Music, which outlined the steps the charity says are required in order to stem the closures of grassroots music venues and bring stability to the sector.

“In 2023, of the 366 small music venues Ed Sheeran played while learning his trade, at least 150 are now closed,” said MVT CEO Mark Davyd. “Another 72 grassroots music venues significantly reduced or ended their live music offer. 38% of GMVs in the UK made a loss in the last 12 months. The sector operated on a 0.5% profit margin overall while running live music events at a £115 million loss.

“All of this can be changed if the next government delivers the five simple steps we have set out.”

Music Managers Forum (MMF) CEO Annabella Coldrick highlighted touring, the grassroots scene and streaming as key areas of concern.

“When the general election was called, the industry was in deep discussion with policy makers about reforms to music streaming and to grassroots live music,” she says. “In the next parliament, those discussions must be transformed into tangible actions – and fast! Our artists and music makers deserve nothing less.

“Underpinned by those reforms, it’s really important that music, culture and the creative industries are at the heart of the UK’s business and growth strategy. The rest of the world recognises this country as a beacon of music innovation, and it’s vital that an incoming government maximises that potential – for instance, by negotiating new improved touring arrangements for UK artists wanting to perform in Europe, and by addressing our concerns about exorbitant visa fees for the US. Both have been a real focus for the MMF, and for the FAC, with our joint #LetTheMusicMove campaign.”

“To reset the market, we want the UK to follow the example of Ireland and outlaw ticket resale for profit”

David Martin, CEO of the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC), says: “The FAC’s priority is to ensure that the momentum to drive forward artist-friendly reforms of streaming and the sustainability of the live music ecosystem continue into the next Parliament. The next government must take forward the work that was started by the Culture Media & Sport Select Committee in these areas. We can’t let progress slip.

“There are plenty of challenges facing our industry, but with a UK music strategy for growth the next government can maximise its untapped potential. Through practical changes to the way we do business – such as implementing fair royalty rates or a live ticket levy that directly supports artists – British music will thrive. The new government should legislate on these issues if industry consensus cannot be found.”

Unsurprisingly, the focus for Adam Webb, campaign manager of of anti-touting pressure group FanFair Alliance, is on cleaning up secondary ticketing.

“To reset the market, we want the UK to follow the example of Ireland and outlaw ticket resale for profit,” he tells IQ. “Thankfully, because of FanFair’s campaigning, this is firmly on the radar of politicians. The Labour Party has already committed to introducing a 10% cap on resale prices, and action against ticket touting is one of the key music-related pledges in their manifesto. The Liberal Democrats also have a manifesto commitment to clamp down on speculative ticketing and other anti-consumer practices.

“Alongside that, I’d like to see the Competition & Markets Authority provided with new enforcement powers. The UK’s ticket resale market is not highly regulated. We need that to change, and for capped consumer-friendly ticket resale to be made more visible and viable.”

Meanwhile, the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) plans to resume its Five Percent For Festivals campaign – calling for a reduced VAT from 20% to 5% on ticket sales for the next three years – post-election.

“We are delighted to see so many references to music and meaningful commitments that will change our members’ lives for the better”

“I think there will be intervention. My concern is that by the time something does happen, how many [festivals] will have gone?” AIF CEO John Rostron told IQ earlier this month. “What’s good for us is there is an election about to happen, so we’ll have a new group of politicians with a five-year mandate, and that is stronger to work with than where we were, which was with a group of MPs that didn’t know how long their futures would be.”

Elsewhere, the Musicians’ Union (MU) has welcomed the Labour Party Manifesto, saying it tackles many of the issues the organisation has raised with the party on behalf of members.

“The MU is Labour-affiliated and, along with fellow unions, we have been involved in shaping policy for a Labour government for many years now,” says MU general secretary Naomi Pohl. “Having not had significant access to Conservative ministers, with a few notable exceptions, we have a chance of a government that prioritises the arts and wants to engage with us on issues facing musicians.

“This is the first time that the MU has been so directly involved in the Labour Party manifesto process and had a chance to influence the final document. We are delighted to see so many references to music and meaningful commitments that will change our members’ lives for the better.

“While we know our membership is a broad church politically, we would be missing a once in a generation opportunity if we didn’t encourage musicians to vote Labour. This is an opportunity to shift the dial for the creative workforce of today and tomorrow.”

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Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) CEO John Rostron has unpicked the key issues facing the beleaguered UK sector this summer, with more than 40 festivals already postponed, cancelled or shut down in 2024.

The family-run Towersey Festival – the UK’s longest-running independent, having launched in 1965 – became the latest casualty earlier this month, announcing that its upcoming August edition would be its last, citing “increasing financial and economic challenges since the pandemic”.

It joined a list of losses from this year’s calendar that already includes NASS Festival, Bradford’s Challenge Festival, El Dorado, Pennfest, Connect Music Festival, 110 Above Festival, Leopollooza, Long Division, Bluedot and Barn On The Farm, with the majority of organisers blaming significant increases in operational costs.

Rostron tells IQ that promoters have described the current climate as “the most challenging time it’s ever been”.

“It’s an incredibly challenging environment, because they’ve got multiple things that have all come together at the same time – some of which is long wind from Covid and Brexit impacting,” he explains. “There are a couple of wise people who saw this coming out of the pandemic, but obviously it is very different seeing it to now feeling it.”

While the supporting data is limited up to this point, Rostron says the indications are that the cost of living crisis “has definitely come to bear” ahead of this summer’s season.

“What we feared would happen, is happening – and it will get worse before it gets better”

“One thing we have picked up on is that the overall sales pattern is changing,” he points out. “A lot of people might want, or intend, to go to a festival, but cost of living means they won’t buy their tickets as early as they used to. They’re waiting a lot later – and that ‘later’ adds to the problem.

“Somebody saying, ‘I’m going to go, but I haven’t bought a ticket yet’ is no good to a festival organiser who’s got to pay a bill for a stage upfront. But it’s understandable, because we know what cost of living feels like. We’re all in it, so we’re probably all making similar kinds of decisions.”

Former Welsh Music Foundation chief Rostron, who co-founded Cardiff’s Sŵn Festival, says he was first alerted to the unfolding situation within a month of taking the AIF helm in November 2022.

“I had an individual say to me, ‘There is a cultural crisis coming; I can see a real problem coming down the tracks,'” recalls Rostron. “At the time, it was the only voice saying that, because a lot of the festivals were feeling incredibly energised because they’d finally put Covid to bed. But what I hadn’t realised is how many of them had made a loss on the events they’d delivered in 2022. They’d sold out, but they’d still made a loss.

“This one voice said, ‘I think there’s a cultural crisis’ and then as some festivals began to fall in the spring of 2023, that voice became loud in my head. What we feared would happen, is happening – and it will get worse before it gets better.”

Rostron suggests that headlines about record-setting A-list global tours and more than one million people attending live music events in London in a single week had distracted from the growing concerns lower down the food chain. But there has since been a reality check.

“We talk to the supply chain a lot, and they need two or three years of relative calm in order to be able to build back and relax their terms”

“There were a lot of people in the ecosystem doing well and feeling very optimistic, so the voices of errors and problems felt like they were on the fringes,” he says. “But that is coming home and you can see it in two big areas: grassroots music venues and festivals. And it’s not just our voices anymore – you hear it from other people in the talent development pipeline: artists, managers and agents, because they’re not getting as many bookings this year.

“The number of stages and events has gone down and they’re like, ‘Oh, this is a problem, because we’re not getting the opportunities we used to get; what does that mean for the future?’ Those voices are beginning to join with us now.”

Regarding escalating supply chain costs, from fencing to toilets, Rostron says there is no simple solution for either side.

“Within their world, there’s been a lot of upheaval,” he says. “A lot of it is Brexit and the pandemic, but they have other issues – their ability to buy new gear is challenging when there’s high interest rates, and it’s challenging to store them. Those things add pressure to their ability to settle prices, alongside that foundation of Brexit, which has caused huge problems for the supply chain in terms of locations and costs.

“We talk to the supply chain a lot, and they need two or three years of relative calm in order to be able to build back and relax their terms. Everybody’s under pressure, so the prices have not just gone up, but they want their money upfront and that is incredibly difficult. That’s not the environment that existed in 2019 where if you had a loss one year, you could cover it the next year. That’s all gone.

“There are lots of great people in the sector working very hard to try and come to deals and help people through – from generator and audio companies to agents and artists – but they can’t always make it, and that’s why you’re seeing so many fall.”

“It’s clearly already too late for 43 festivals, and it’s going to be too late for four more that I know are going to go”

In response to the developing crisis, the trade association has launched a campaign called Five Percent For Festivals to encourage festivalgoers to contact their MPs to lobby for a VAT reduction on tickets. AIF states that a reduced VAT from 20% to 5% on ticket sales for the next three years will give festival promoters the space they need to rebuild, and will resume its campaigning in the wake of next month’s UK general election.

“I’m very optimistic that we will get something,” says Rostron. “I’m very confident. Naively confident? I don’t know. We’ve had regular conversations and we haven’t had a ‘No’. The sad bit is, the more festivals cancel – and what we said might happen begins to happen – the stronger those conversations are.

“The CMS inquiry into grassroots music venues made a recommendation to look at modelling of VAT in the grassroots, and the conversation has widened to say that should include festivals. All of that will take time. It takes time to model, it takes time to implement, and there’s still obviously a chance that it won’t happen – they can make the recommendation and then say, ‘No’.

“I think there will be intervention. My concern is that by the time something does happen, how many [festivals] will have gone? We’re going to see more independent festivals go because they’re not going to be able to make it to that point of intervention, whatever that intervention looks like. It’s clearly already too late for 43 festivals, and it’s going to be too late for four more that I know are going to go.”

He continues: “What’s good for us is there is an election about to happen, so we’ll have a new group of politicians with a five-year mandate, and that is stronger to work with than where we were, which was with a group of MPs that didn’t know how long their futures would be.”

“We’ve had a lack of new energy and blood and ideas because of Covid, and we’ll begin to see that trickle back”

Indeed, sounding an optimistic note, Rostron can already picture a brighter tomorrow for the industry – with Generation Z leading the charge.

“What will the festival sector do creatively? Well, they’re already planning it,” he observes. “You’ve got people going, ‘There’s a headliner issue? We’re going to change the way that we book.’ A lot of festivals sell the majority of their tickets without announcing any artists – people go because they love Shambala, or Mighty Hoopla, or Green Man, or End Of The Road. And as long as those artists are of good quality and fit with the audience’s expectations, they’re not really looking at who’s playing, so I think festivals will double down on that.

“For some of them, you’re going to see degrowth. You’re going to say, ‘As we expanded, we got to the point where we needed those [big] headliners. If we shrink down a bit, we don’t need that anymore.'”

He concludes: “You had this big gap with young people that couldn’t go to festivals because of Covid, and that’s impacted us in ways that we can’t understand. But some of them went to festivals in 2022 and 2023, and they’ll go again this year. And guess what? They’ll now start to leave their footprint creatively in the festival sector.

“You will see some of those individuals be inspired to create their own events, or pockets within existing events. You’ll see that magic start to sprout up because that’s where innovation always comes from. We’ve had a lack of new energy and blood and ideas because of Covid, and we’ll begin to see that trickle back.

“Next year, I think you’ll see the seeds of some future great festivals and some others change quite dramatically. That will be quite Gen Z-driven, and I’m really excited to see what they do.”

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