The UK’s live music industry is vast – generating over £6 billion for the UK economy each year and employing around 250,000 people. We are home to some of the world’s most iconic festivals like Glastonbury and have stadiums and arenas capable of hosting the biggest global tours.
The success of the UK live music industry has meant it is largely self-sustaining and, therefore, had less need to engage Government directly to ensure its voice is heard.
All that changed overnight in 2020 at the outbreak of the pandemic and consequent lockdowns.
Blakeney partnered with key industry leaders to set up LIVE to coordinate an industry-wide response to the first lockdown, which was a moment of existential risk for a sector which was forced to close its doors.
We worked with LIVE to launch #LetTheMusicPlay, a campaign that eventually secured vital funding for a sector that was forced to close its doors, in the shape of the Government’s £1.6bn Cultural Recovery Fund and a reduction on the VAT rate for ticket sales to 5%.
The aim of the campaign, which was designed and executed in just five days, was ensuring that key decisionmakers in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, Number 10, the Treasury and the Cabinet Office, were aware that the live music sector was on the edge of collapse.
A joint letter to the Culture Secretary from 1,500 music artists including The Rolling Stones, Cher, Paul McCartney, Dua Lipa, Coldplay, Little Mix, Lionel Richie and P!nk, ensured that LIVE’s voice was heard.
The press release supporting the letters was covered in every UK and broadcast outlet, raised in Parliament, and reported in 83 countries. #LetTheMusicPlay achieved hundreds of millions of social media hits, trending at #1 globally and in the UK on Twitter.
As a result of this pressure, a £1.57bn rescue package for “Britain’s museums, galleries, theatres, independent cinemas, heritage sites and music venues” was announced by the Government just three days later. And the Government’s decision to reduce VAT from 20 per cent to five per cent was extended to include live music events.
Since LIVE was set up in 2020, it has quickly become the voice of the industry in Parliament, representing over 3,000 businesses, 34,000 artists, and 2,000 backstage workers.
Last year Blakeney worked with LIVE to launch the live music industry’s first ever comprehensive set of policy asks through the Live Music Manifesto. Recent successes include:
LIVE is now widely recognised by Government as the voice of the sector.
Blakeney has been exceptional. Their strategic advice, depth of knowledge, and expertise have been critical in ensuring our industry is on the agenda and helping deliver our highly successful #LetTheMusicPlay and the #KeepVATat5 campaigns. They have helped us secure unprecedented support for our industry at the most critical of times.
Greg Parmley, CEO, LIVE
