Concert arenas urged to add £1 ticket levy to help small UK venues

Industry leaders say crisis-hit grassroots spaces are struggling to stay open as costs rise

Concert arenas should impose a 1 levy on gig tickets to create a fund that helps prop up grassroots live music, with industry figures telling MPs that rising costs are creating a crisis" for smaller venues.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) committee heard from promoters, artists and representatives from industry bodies, nearly all of whom backed the call for a levy to be placed on tickets which would then be distributed to smaller venues, 125 of which were forced to shut during 2023.