UK Government To Probe Competition Concerns Within Live Industry

The UK government’s business and trade committee launched an inquiry “exploring issues impacting competition and market functioning within the UK’s live music industry,” according to the official wording.

The committee “is seeking written submissions on the characteristics, features and trends within the UK live music industry that may adversely impact market competition or market functioning.”

Interested parties can submit evidence until Tuesday, Dec. 23 of this year.

See: UK Festival Landscape Mapped

The UK’s Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) has made a public statement, welcoming the inquiry as it considers the increasing ownership and influence across outdoor events and festivals by Live Nation and AEG a “grave concern for the festival sector. AIF will support this inquiry with a substantial body of data, evidence and information that has been gathered over recent years, and would encourage others across the live music industry to submit evidence before the December deadline to help ensure the future health, diversity and creativity of UK’s live music.”

AIF had previously submitted written evidence to The Committee on these issues, including figures demonstrating Live Nation’s control of major arena and stadium shows.

This latest inquiry by the Business and Trade Committee was also sparked by insights gained during evidence sessions earlier this year, Feb. 4 and June 24, which were predominantly about ticketing, pricing and consumer protection.

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