Asked by: Baroness Keeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the total number of hospitality businesses in England which held The Music Licence and closed in (a) 2018, (b) 2019, (c) 2020, (d) 2021 and (e) 2022.
Answered by John Whittingdale
We have made no estimate in relation to businesses holding ‘TheMusicLicence’.
The Collective Management Organisations ‘PRS for Music’ and ‘Phonographic Performance Limited’ (PPL), which represent copyright owners in the music sector, are responsible for ‘TheMusicLicence’.
Asked by: Baroness Keeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many people have died as a result of taking illegal drugs at a music festival in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by John Whittingdale
We do not hold this information.
Asked by: Baroness Keeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the Musician's Union publication entitled 'Musicians' Census', published on 11 September 2023.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government is committed to maximising the potential of the UK music industry and its musicians.
We continue to regularly engage with industry and organisations, including the Musicians Union, to understand the challenges facing musicians, including those identified in the ‘Musicians’ Census’.
The Government has taken action to address these challenges, by supporting growth in the sector and creating more opportunities for young people from all backgrounds to pursue a career in music.
This includes working with the Department for Business and Trade to support UK musicians to successfully export to international markets through initiatives such as the International Showcase Fund and the Music Export Growth Scheme. Additionally, we are committed to protecting creatives through our world-leading copyright and intellectual property laws, and the Government is also establishing an industry working group to discuss issues around creator remuneration.
We are also taking action to support young talent to pursue a career in music. In June 2021 we published the National Plan for Music Education, setting out ambitions to increase music opportunities for all children and young people, regardless of circumstance and needs. Grassroots venues are also vital to supporting the talent pipeline, which is why we committed to providing an additional £5 million of funding to support grassroots music venues over two years.
Asked by: Baroness Keeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the levels of Orchestra Tax Relief.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Secretary of State has regular conversations with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on a number of issues, including creative tax reliefs.
As announced at the Spring Budget earlier this year, His Majesty’s Government has extended the current headline rates of Orchestra Tax Relief. The rates for Orchestra Tax Relief will remain at 50% for expenditure taking place from 1 April 2023, reducing to 35% from 1 April 2025 and returning to 25% from 1 April 2026. As of August 2023, £75 million has been paid out relating to 740 claims. This represents 2,940 productions.
Asked by: Baroness Keeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has held discussions with (a) artist representatives and (b) live music businesses on the report by the Competition and Markets Authority entitled Secondary Ticketing, published on 16 August 2021.
Answered by John Whittingdale
His Majesty’s Government is committed to supporting fair and transparent ticket pricing and tackling unacceptable behaviour in this market.
Officials at the Department for Culture, Media & Sport and at the Department for Business & Trade engage with a number of key organisations and people operating in the ticketing and live music sectors on the opportunities and challenges facing the sectors, including in relation to ticketing and the Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA's) report on enforcement of the secondary ticketing market. This engagement has included STAR (the Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers, the self-regulatory body for the entertainment ticketing industry in the UK), the CMA, Fanfair Alliance (the campaigning body against industrial scale online ticket touting), and the live music sector.
Asked by: Baroness Keeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of rules on spending 90 days in any 180 day period in the Schengen area on the income of UK musicians touring in Europe.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Ministers and officials regularly engage with industry and ministerial colleagues from other departments on issues facing creative and cultural sectors.
The government is committed to supporting touring artists and the wider music industry to adapt to new arrangements following our departure from the EU. We have worked with the sector and directly with Member States to clarify what creative workers need to do, noting that the vast majority of EU Member States, including the biggest touring markets such as Spain, France, Germany and the Netherlands, have confirmed they offer visa and work permit free routes for some short-term touring activities. The Government also launched an Export Support Service where UK businesses, including touring professionals, can access advice and guidance.
We will continue to engage with industry to understand challenges facing the live music sector and options to address these issues.
Asked by: Baroness Keeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement on the UK music industry.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Ministers and officials regularly engage with industry and ministerial colleagues from other departments on issues facing creative and cultural sectors.
The government is committed to supporting touring artists and the wider music industry to adapt to new arrangements following our departure from the EU. We have worked with the sector and directly with Member States to clarify what creative workers need to do, noting that the vast majority of EU Member States, including the biggest touring markets such as Spain, France, Germany and the Netherlands, have confirmed they offer visa and work permit free routes for some short-term touring activities. The Government also launched an Export Support Service where UK businesses, including touring professionals, can access advice and guidance.
We will continue to engage with industry to understand challenges facing the live music sector and options to address these issues.
Asked by: Baroness Keeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on reducing the cost of the ATA Carnet for cultural goods.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Ministers and officials regularly engage with industry and ministerial colleagues from other departments on issues facing creative and cultural sectors.
The government is committed to supporting touring artists and the wider music industry to adapt to new arrangements following our departure from the EU. We have worked with the sector and directly with Member States to clarify what creative workers need to do, noting that the vast majority of EU Member States, including the biggest touring markets such as Spain, France, Germany and the Netherlands, have confirmed they offer visa and work permit free routes for some short-term touring activities. The Government also launched an Export Support Service where UK businesses, including touring professionals, can access advice and guidance.
We will continue to engage with industry to understand challenges facing the live music sector and options to address these issues.
Asked by: Baroness Keeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of increases in the use of automated technology by secondary ticketing websites on consumer choice.
Answered by John Whittingdale
His Majesty’s Government is committed to supporting fair and transparent ticket pricing and tackling unacceptable behaviour in this market.
We have strengthened the law in relation to ticketing information requirements and have introduced a specific criminal offence of using automated software to buy more tickets online than is allowed. We also support the work of enforcement agencies in this area, such as the Competition and Markets Authority, National Trading Standards, and the advertising industry's own regulator, the Advertising Standards Authority.
The Department for Business and Trade has responsibility for policy on consumer protection and its enforcement, in partnership with National Trading Standards and the Competition and Markets Authority, whilst the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) leads on the specific area of secondary ticketing for DCMS-related events (sport, live music, theatre, etc.).
Asked by: Baroness Keeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many times (a) Ministers and (b) officials from her Department have met representatives from (i) secondary ticketing websites and (ii) the music industry to discuss the price of ticket resales on online platforms in the last 12 months.
Answered by John Whittingdale
His Majesty’s Government is committed to supporting fair and transparent ticket pricing and tackling unacceptable behaviour in this market.
We engage with a range of key organisations and individuals operating in the ticketing sector to ensure a fair and transparent system. This includes STAR (the Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers, the self-regulatory body for the entertainment ticketing industry in the UK), the Competition and Markets Authority, Fanfair Alliance (the campaigning body against industrial scale online ticket touting), and, where appropriate, primary and secondary ticketing businesses.
We are in regular discussions with all parts of the music industry to understand the opportunities for growth and challenges facing the sector, including ticketing.
Ministers and officials have had no meetings with either Viagogo or Stubhub in the last twelve months. It should be noted that officials have met with Stubhub International, a separate company to Stubhub, in the last twelve months to discuss general ticketing issues.