Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with (a) music concert event organisers, (b) large venue event organisers, (c) ticketing platforms and (d) others on the amount expected to be raised by the grassroots ticket levy in the second quarter of 2025.

The Government wants to see the music industry supporting the ticket levy to back the artists, venues, festivals and promoters who make up our grassroots sector. We are working closely with the sector to monitor progress, particularly with LIVE and the Music Venue Trust, who are tracking data on the uptake of the levy. Sector reporting shows 8% of 2025 tickets on sale in the UK now include the grassroots ticket levy, with an encouraging uptake in recent months. Summer ticket sales and the establishment of the LIVE Trust should mean greater uptake by autumn. I am delighted that the Royal Albert Hall has announced that it will now include the levy for all ticketed events and am enthusiastically encouraging all venues, promoters and artists to follow suit. If not, the Government will reconvene the live music sector to consider legislative options.

Since November I have held two roundtables with members of the live music sector to drive progress on the levy uptake. We are urging major promoters to act without delay, and I recently met Live Nation to encourage them to back the scheme in earnest. I would also urge every major artist to encourage their team to sign up as a matter of urgency so that at least a majority of qualifying tickets carry the levy by the end of the year.