The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee has published its 9th report of session 2017–19 focussing on live music in the UK.

The report concluded that whilst live music makes a significant contribution to the UK’s economy and cultural life, there are concerns about the sustainability of the industry and the uneven distribution of its benefits both around the country and among those who work in it.

Through the work of the committee, it found that the biggest issue for consumer was ticket touting and that “…there is still a need for urgent measures to address this part of the market.”

With regards to the current state of the industry, the report found that “While the image of music being a glamorous industry might be true for a minority of artists, the experiences of those working at the grassroots level tell a different story entirely. In the past decade the UK has seen nationwide closures of music venues, and the sites that remain face a struggle to stay open given rising costs and declining revenues. That poses an immediate threat to the development of the next generation of talent and fans.”

The report made a number of recommendations to Government including:

1. the establishment of regional ‘Music Boards’, comprising representatives from the music industry, policymakers and other relevant stakeholders, to advocate for the live music sector and promote its interests in planning and policy decisions.
2. the Competition and Markets Authority to consider conducting a market study of the music industry to assess whether competition in the market is working effectively
3. the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Home Office should work together to develop guidance for licensing authorities, police forces and music venues on how to collaborate on managing risks to ensure that urban music acts are not unfairly targeted.
4. the Government to set out the responsibilities of companies such as Google to ensure that adverts targeted at their users comply with UK consumer protection law.

Read the full report.