Seven million in new premises taxes places over 350 grassroots music venues at immediate risk of closure.
Despite extensive briefing to HM Treasury, Department of Culture, Media and Sport and Department for Business and Trade about the negative economic, social and cultural impacts of the removal of the 75% business rate relief for grassroots music venues, the Government has announced that business rate relief will reduce to 40% from April 1st, 2025. The immediate impact is to create a demand for £7 million in additional premises taxes from a sector that, in 2023, returned an entire gross profit across all 830 such venues in the UK of just £2.9 million. 43% of grassroots music venues in the UK made a loss in 2023.
Over 350 grassroots music venues are now placed at immediate risk of closure, representing the potential loss of more than 12,000 jobs, over £250 million in economic activity and the loss of over 75,000 live music events. Simultaneously with announcing this new tax demand, the Government acknowledged the faults and inequities inherent in the business rate system, promising to deliver a new lower rate of taxes on physical, hospitality and leisure premises in April 2026.
The challenges around business rates and grassroots music venues have been known and accepted for over a decade. Changes in April 2026 are to be welcomed, but will be of no use for the hundreds of music venues that are now likely to be lost before this challenge is finally met with a full, long overdue reform.
Music Venue Trust believes there are three possible solutions:
The Government could think again and act upon the extensive data it has received about the impact of unfair and unreasonable premises tax demands and restore the 75% rate relief for grassroots music venues.
The Government could create an emergency fund of a maximum of £7 million and allow venues facing the imminent threat of closure to draw down from this fund sufficient funding to meet the new tax demand.
Every grassroots music venue in the country could install a temporary business rate levy of 50 pence applied to every ticket sold and used directly to meet the £7 million demand. This levy would need to be applied until the new business rate system is installed, predicted by the Government to be on April 1st, 2026.
Music Venue Trust believes that ticket prices should be kept accessible and is reluctant to encourage venues to adopt option 3. Unless the government is willing to think again, it unfortunately may be the only possible option to stop a complete collapse of live music in our communities.
