'Hundreds will close': North West venues call on the government for urgent help
Live music venues in the North West and the rest of the UK are urgentally calling on the government to help save their industry.
17 organisations representing those working in the live music and events sector have sent an open letter to PM Keir Startmer urging him to “review the devastating, unintended consequences for live venues of changes announced to the Business Rates system at the Budget.”
The letter has been signed by LIVE (Live Music Industry Venues and Entertainment) which presents the full breadth of the UK’s live music business, totalling over 4000 businesses, 40,000 artists and 5000 backstage workers.
Other major trade associations, which full under LIVE, have also separetely signed the letter, these are the MVT (Music Venue Trust), ABO (Association of British orchestras), AFEM (Association for Electronic Music), AIF (Association of Independent Festivals), AIP (Association of Independent Promoters), BACH (British Association of Concert Halls), CPA (The Concert Promoters Association) FAC (Featured Artists Coalition), MMF (Music Managers Forum), MU (Musicians’ Union), AEV (Association of Event Venues), naa (National Arenas Association), PSA (Production Services Association), plasa (Professional Lighting and Sound Association), STAR (Secture Tickets from Authorised Retails) and The Entertainment Agents Association
So what’s changing?
Business rates are calculated based on the value of the property, combined with a national ‘multiplier’ set by the Treasury.
In her budget speech, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that rates multipliers would be lowered for retail, hospitality and leisure firms, funded by higher rates on larger commercial properties, including large event venues.
Yesterday it was also revealed that rateable values (RVs) for venues, including the North West’s Co-op Live, AO Arena and M&S Bank Arena, would be facing some of the sharpest rises in business rates in the country next year, with some bills expected to more than double.
The increase is due to previous valuations being based on the COVID-19 period, when there was a significant decline in demand for live events, whereas the new figures are based on the operating conditions seen in 2024.
Providing their view of the situation, the signatories of the letter wrote: “The combined impact of disproportionate, inappropriate, and unjustified rises in the Valuations Office Agency ’s valuation of properties, and an increased Business Rates multiplier for large event venues, will undermine many of this Government’s own priorities. The resulting tax increase for operators completely outweighs any benefits of the transitional relief and lower tax multipliers for lower value properties announced, and will significantly worsen in the years ahead.”
Why does the live music and events sector say this is such a catastrophe for them?
In the letter, the trade bodies say: “Hundreds of grassroots music venues will close in the coming years as revaluations drive costs up. This will deprive communities of valuable cultural spaces and limit the UK creative sector’s potential. These venues are where artists like Ed Sheeran began their career.
“Ticket prices for consumers attending arena shows will increase as the dramatic rise in arena’s tax costs will likely trickle through to ticket prices, undermining the Government’s own efforts to combat the cost-of- living crisis. Many of these arenas are seeing 100%+ increases in their Business Rates liability.
“Smaller arenas in towns and cities across the UK will teeter on the edge of closure, potentially resulting in thousands of jobs losses and hollowing out the cultural spaces that keep places thriving.
“The Government will undermine its own Industrial Strategy and Creative Sector Plan which committed to reducing barriers to growth for live events.”
Looking at how a decline in the live events sector will impact the economy more broadly, they added: “Events in our venues sustain high streets across the UK by bringing visitors willing to spend money in hotels, bars,restaurants, shops, and taxis and other businesses. These changes will reduce the high-street spending that supports local businesses and sustains jobs.”
What are they asking for?
The trade bodies outline two main ways in which the government can halt the “catastrophic consequences” of their budget changes:
- “Immediate 40% Business Rates Relief for our venues: film studios have been granted a guaranteed 40% relief until 2034, recognising them as critical creative infrastructure. Live venues should receive the same 40% relief.
- “Fundamental reform of the valuation system: establish a rapid inquiry into the Valuation Office Agency’s valuation methods for event spaces.”
They also request an urgent industry roundtable with Ministers and officials from HM Treasury, the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport, and the Department for Business and Trade to discuss how Government can act quickly to save their venues.