Live Music
House of Lords · Lords Chamber · 2 Jul 2026 · 21 speeches · Official Report
Question for Short Debate
Asked by
To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the contribution of live music to the UK’s culture and economy.
My Lords, I start by drawing the House’s attention to my declaration in the register of interests, including my membership of the Musicians’ Union and the Ivors Academy. It will not surprise a number of colleagues here that I will take this opportunity of a debate about live music to talk and plug my fan-led review of live and electronic music, which came out earlier this year. I was commissioned by the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee of the House of Commons, and it was a pleasure to be able to speak to music fans in conferences, round tables, venues, clubs and festivals right across the UK. I know the House is very familiar with some of the facts about the contribution of music to our economy and with the fact that, as outlined in my review, the live sector in 2024 was worth £6.7 billion to the UK economy. One fine example of that from my own part of the world is the Green Man festival in Wales, which takes place in August. It is a proudly independent festival, run by the remarkable Fiona Stewart, who was recently profiled in the Times , and it sells out each year in half an hour, without anybody even knowing who is going to be playing at the festival the following year. It contributes £28 million to the Welsh economy, as well as doing great work in the community through the Green Man Trust, its charitable arm. I think that is proof positive that what music fans want to maintain is that independent spirit in an ever more corporate world, and that came through very...
My Lords, I will focus on the cultural importance of live music, which can enrich the lives of us all. The response to the noble Lord, Lord Brennan, shows that there is feeling around the House on just that. It supports artistic expression, preserves musical heritage and strengthens communities. Live events showcase artists from different backgrounds and cultures, promoting inclusion and cultural exchange. Does the Minister agree that charities are vital in protecting and promoting opportunities to take part in producing live music or simply to enjoy it? Charities such as the LIVE Trust raises funds via voluntary ticket contributions to fund grass-roots music events and venues. Music for All provides grants and instruments to disadvantaged communities to ensure that everyone has the chance to participate in and experience live music. Youth Music invests in hundreds of grass-roots music projects, helping marginalised young people to learn about music production, singing and live performance. Government can play a role in supporting the development of live music. In creating the Every Child Can fund for 2024-28, the Government pledged that they would work with the National Lottery Community Fund, young people and youth organisations to ensure that the monies would be spent in a way that reflected the priorities of young people to make, perform and produce music. What assessment have the Government made of the progress that has been achieved over the past two years by the Every...
My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Brennan, on an excellent speech. In policy terms, the guidance provided for culture as an area of competence for the mayoral strategic authorities-we discussed this at length during the passage of the devolution Bill-is that it needs to be a consultation from the bottom up. The DCMS and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government are, I hope, coming together on this. Every level of government should be involved, as well as stakeholders such as live music venues. I ask the Minister to confirm that. The danger with a larger governmental body will be rationalisation of assets. On community assets, I applaud the Government’s intention explicitly to include cultural assets within that grouping, although I would still prefer them to have their own designation-as the noble Lord, Lord Brennan, asked for on another occasion. I welcome the £61 million the Government have set aside for that scheme, but I am disappointed that there was no reference to cultural assets in the recent announcement. It is important that local authorities and the public are fully aware that cultural assets are covered by this scheme, and the guidance clearly states this, with pertinent examples such as live music clubs and recording studios. I am grateful to the Musicians’ Union for its briefing on the risk to live music in theatres. The disbanding of the RSC’s music department earlier this year is an unwelcome sign of the times; costs are cited and...
My Lords, I too congratulate my noble friend on an excellent opening speech. My focus today is on the pipeline of musicians and the music teachers needed to train them-a pipeline damaged by young people’s lack of access to music in state schools. Our Labour Government inherited an education system where music had been squeezed out of the curriculum by the EBacc, which, from 2010, incentivised schools to focus on subjects excluding music and arts. This damaged music teacher recruitment and the take-up of music at A-level and GCSE. A-level music remains in crisis. Only 4,635 students took it this year-a record low, down 41% since 2013. GCSE music entries are around 27% down since 2010. Music teacher training and recruitment have fallen by around 51% since 2010-11 and it remains a shortage subject. Even last year’s welcome rise in the number of trainees came with a warning: the number of music teachers with no relevant qualification beyond A-level rose by 10% in a single year. Teach First found that schools in the poorest areas are three times more likely to lack a trained music teacher, and 17% do not offer music A-level at all-more than triple the rate of schools in the most affluent areas. The Social Mobility Commission found that children from the poorest backgrounds are three times less likely than wealthier pupils to learn an instrument, sing in a choir or play in an orchestra. UK Music has warned that fewer trained teachers and a shrinking A-level cohort are damaging the...
My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Brennan, on his epically superb speech. I declare my interest as a trustee of the KOKO Foundation. As all noble Lords know, KOKO is a fantastically cool music venue in Camden. In fact, it was made live music venue of the year. Stemming from my involvement with KOKO, I want to make a point about businesses in general. KOKO has never received a penny of government money. Since its creation, it has created about 10,000 jobs, paid £80 million in taxes and helped the regeneration of the area. But the recent increase in NI means that KOKO now has to attract 4,000 additional customers a week in order to meet its NI bill. At the same time, KOKO has set aside £500,000 for the foundation to help local people; it works with the Department for Business and Trade in welcoming foreign Governments to look at hospitality; and it has helped in many other ways. My point is more general: every time the Government impose taxes on business, they are harming or impacting venues such as KOKO. Everybody knows the importance of live music. The recent Harry Styles tour, for example, generated about £1.1 billion in revenue beyond the actual events. However, we cannot be complacent about the success of the major live music industry in the UK. We did not go ahead with the Sphere-that was nothing to do with this Government-but the London fireworks are falling behind. Major countries in the world see live music and events as central to diversifying their...
My Lords, I congratulate my noble friend Lord Brennan on securing this debate and on his powerful introductory speech-at a time when live music is at the crossroads, to reference an iconic song by one of my heroes, the Delta blues singer Robert Johnson. I want to focus on the crisis facing grass-roots music venues, on whose behalf the Music Venue Trust campaigns vigorously. I regularly enjoy music at such venues as Mercato Metropolitano, at Elephant and Castle, and the Ain’t Nothin’ But blues bar, in Soho. Sadly, two live music venues close every week across the UK. That is not because people are losing interest in music: there were more than 100 million audience visits to a gig in the UK in 2024, but 75% of those were accounted for by concerts. Over 30,000 people work in grass-roots music venues, which are the R&D of the UK music industry and generated £8 billion in gross value added to the economy in 2024. Various new arenas are proposed to open in the UK over the next few years, but there is no record of such venues making a financial investment in the pipeline, and I think we are entitled to ask why that is. My noble friend Lord Brennan mentioned football fans, in comparing them with music fan. That sport demonstrates what can be done to help develop the next generation. The Premier League shares 16% of its central revenues with the wider game. I see no reason why the top end of the live music industry cannot do the same, and reinvest in the talent and venues that are...
My Lords, I declare my interest as chair of trustees of CDMT. I thank my noble friend Lord Brennan of Canton for his leadership of the fan-led review of live music. Its central message is simple: live music must work for audiences, artists and communities alike, and that starts with strong foundations. In my home city of Newport, live music is not an abstract concept; it is part of our identity. You can hear it, see it and feel it. We have a proud musical heritage. That spirit lives on in grass-roots venues such as Le Pub, a community-owned venue that has nurtured local talent for decades while attracting touring artists from across the UK. It reminds us of a vital truth: the music industry is not built from the top down. Every headline act and every arena tour begins on a small stage somewhere. The sector contributes billions to our economy and supports hundreds of thousands of jobs, but its value goes beyond economics. Every gig supports local businesses, strengthens town and city centres, and brings communities together, but these foundations are under real pressure. Grass-roots venues face rising costs, tight margins and increasing uncertainty. For Wales, this matters profoundly. We are a nation of song, culture and community; from the Eisteddfod to the streets of Newport, music helps define who we are. Will the Government recognise the full value of live music, not only as an economic asset but as a cornerstone of community life? Will there be meaningful support for...
My Lords, “Do You Want to Know a Secret”, “It’s Not Unusual”, “Hit the Road Jack”, “We Will Rock You” and “Song 2” are all songs that last just two minutes, the length of our speeches, but have had a long-lasting impact and show that music has the unique ability to bring people together across generations and communities. I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Brennan of Canton, on eloquently setting out in his speech the importance of the matter, and I congratulate him on getting the debate. We know that, whether they are in our great concert halls, theatres, churches, festivals, or grass-roots venues that nurture emerging talent, such performances enrich our national life and strengthen the social fabric of our country. The economic contribution is equally compelling, with the industry contributing several billions of pounds and supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs, yet none of this success is guaranteed. Our international reputation as a musical powerhouse rests upon the strength of our grass-roots sector, and pretty much every globally recognised British artist began by performing in small venues in front of audiences. Too many venues face mounting financial pressures, particularly from rising energy costs and business rates. When venues close, we lose local culture and the opportunity for local talent to prosper. Therefore, supporting live music is both a cultural choice and an economic necessity. Venues were well supported during the pandemic-the Cavern Club was saved...
My Lords, I welcome this debate and I thank my noble friend Lord Brennan of Canton for bringing it forward today. I imagine many of us in this Chamber can still remember our first live music concert. It is almost a rite of passage. I certainly remember taking my son to see his favourite band at the time, Linkin Park. It was more than a concert; it was a shared experience and a memory that has stayed with us ever since. The United Kingdom has long been one of the world’s great musical nations. Few countries have shaped modern music quite like Britain. From rock and pop to classical, lovers rock, grime, neo soul, and drum and bass, just to name a few, British artists have changed cultures around the globe for generations. For millions of people around the world, their introduction to Britain is not through our politics or our history but through our music. Last year, a record 23.5 million music tourists travelled to concerts and festivals across the United Kingdom, generating around £10 billion for our economy. Every world-famous artist started somewhere. Before the arenas, the festival appearances and those platinum albums came their first performance at a local pub or a grass-roots venue. Those smaller venues are the lifeblood of our music industry. They provide aspiring musicians with an opportunity to learn their craft, develop the confidence they need, connect with audiences and build careers. Every legendary performer once stepped on to a small stage for the first time....
My Lords, I, too, congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Brennan, on securing this debate and on his eloquent speech. Live music is a defining strength of UK culture. Live music matters because it reflects the diversity of the UK, from grime, bhangra and indie to classical orchestras and global festival sounds. Events such as the BBC Proms, Glastonbury, and the Leeds, Reading and Wireless festivals and others showcase the richness, while local schools and community performances keep music venues accessible at every level. It is where, as we have heard, new artists break through and where established acts stay connected to audiences across generations. It is also a massive contribution to our economy, as the noble Lord, Lord Brennan, has already outlined. In 2023, the UK live music industry contributed around £6 billion to the economy and attracted more than 23 million music tourists. The sector also sustains over 200,000 jobs, from performers to technicians to venue staff. According to a briefing from Live Nation, it welcomed 16 million fans to shows and festivals in more than 200 UK towns and cities across 750 venues just this year and generated an estimated £1.65 billion in additional consumer spending, including £1 billion for local economies. However, as we have already heard, the sector is also facing challenges with AI, secondary ticketing, Brexit and visas for artists. In recent years, we have heard that AI has begun to reshape the music industry. It can generate songs,...
My Lords, this is proving to be a passionate debate and no wonder-music has the power to stir emotions, lift the spirits and uplift the soul. More prosaically, as we have heard, it can create jobs and boost the economy, so I add my congratulations to MP4’s guitarist, the noble Lord, Lord Brennan, on securing this highly relevant debate. I will limit my remarks to two main issues. The first is the crucial importance of encouraging music in schools, which the noble Baroness, Lady Keeley, and others have already talked about. Being able to play a musical instrument is a great gift and while the player may never get to pursue a lucrative career in music, playing in amateur bands and orchestras is rewarding in many other ways and it has been shown that making music together can provide a much more constructive alternative for children to joining a different sort of gang. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s charitable efforts to gift instruments to children in some schools has been hugely successful. It is the ownership-being able to play when they want-that makes all the difference, but he can only reach so far. The London Music Fund is doing what it can, but I encourage the Government to plead with orchestras, musicians and manufacturers to get involved in trying to ensure that children have the chance to make music. In recent times, it has tended to be the prerogative of those receiving a private education or private tuition-hence many of the big names on today’s music scene: Ed Sheeran, for...
My Lords, I am delighted to take part in this debate in the midst of King Harry’s record-breaking run at Wembley, while the other King Harry is busy cementing his place in football history. I thought I might sing a few minutes of “Bohemian Rhapsody” to illustrate the breadth and power of live music, but I remembered I was not Freddie Mercury, nor was this Wembley Arena. Oh well, “Another One Bites the Dust”. I am sure noble Lords from all sides of your Lordships’ House have encountered “A Kind of Magic” when attending a live musical performance. It is good for the soul, good for local economies, and good to connect with others having a shared experience. Advances in technology mean researchers now understand more of how these communal live experiences shape us, whether that is a live music audience experiencing cardiorespiratory synchronising and interbrain coherence, or the shared embodied experiences of music between those playing and those listening-with thanks to Gabriel et al 2025. But “Don’t Stop Me Now”. On this small, wildly creative island, “We Are the Champions”, or close to, being one of only three net exporters of music globally-the second-largest after the United States. Music tourism revenue reached £10 billion in 2024, supporting around 72,000 full-time equivalent jobs. Visit the UK and “We Will Rock You”. While the UK sent this message to the EU, “I Want to Break Free”, live music in the UK has clearly been put “Under Pressure” by our exit from the EU, with...
Baroness MacLeod of Camusdarach
My noble friend Lord Brennan has consistently championed live music, and we are grateful for that. As we have heard, he is an accomplished musician himself, so he does his bit to enrich our lives within and outwith the Chamber. I have no doubt that many in this House understand and applaud the cultural contribution live music makes. I am not so sure we think enough about its economic importance. From the Shetland Islands to the most southerly tip of England, music contributes to the economy. Let me tell you about the splendid Skye Live festival, set up by Niall Munro in 2015. This three-day festival is independent and, against the backdrop of the Cuillins, it generates an estimated annual revenue of about £2 million and pours money directly into event production and local staffing. That is a great boost to Portree, a village of only 2,000 people. It serves as a prime driver for Scotland’s booming tourism industry, which now attracts a million and a half visitors each year and boosts the Scottish economy by nearly £600 million. Live music brings jobs; it employs talented musicians, maintains venues, fills hotel rooms and campsites, and benefits the transport system. As we have heard, not everything in the garden is rosy: fewer people are attending live music events and touring to European countries is more difficult since Brexit. Venues large and small struggle to stay open, so there is a major contraction on the touring circuit and margins are getting ever tighter. This...
Baroness McIntosh of Pickering
My Lords, I too congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Brennan, on securing this debate. I was fortunate to chair the committee looking into the Licensing Act 2003, where we heard powerful evidence that grass-roots venues were closing owing to the failure in this country, particularly in England, to properly implement the agent of change principle. The agent of change principle is basic and easy to understand, but it is not followed in practice. We need to have it comprehensively implemented in England and put on a similar statutory basis as exists in Scotland. It is neither acceptable nor satisfactory that Section 106 guidance is seen as a substitute. The starting point is that agent of change is a practical response to a long-recognised defect in the way that British planning, licensing and nuisance regimes interact. The structural problem sits within a wider change in how land is used. The trend now is towards dense urban living, brownfield regeneration and intensified mixed-use development, which has made these conflicts more common. That is why the central question before us now is not whether the Government accept the principle of agent of change in the abstract, which they clearly do, but whether they are willing to move from soft policy to hard law. I submit just one argument to the Minister today. In Scotland, the provision is limited in law to noise-sensitive development and noise sources, but they now at least have an established statutory basis. We need to move in...
Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury
My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Brennan. As the last debate was a little short, maybe at the end he could give us a little performance. From concerts and festivals in stadiums and fields to small local venues, such as churches, mosques, temples and pubs, as the noble Baroness, Lady Wilcox, mentioned, music brings us together as a nation, as my friend the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, said. It is about celebration, as mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Brennan. I want to mention the BBC: it champions live music, providing a wide range to suit everyone’s taste, including that which is not played anywhere else. It nurtures and launches British musicians’ careers. The BBC Proms, the five British BBC orchestras and the BBC Singers support an amazing education programme across the UK. We need to get the next charter review right and secure sustainable funding for the BBC; otherwise, there will be disruption not just to our media ecosystem but to that of the UK’s creative industries, including music. Then there is the disaster that is Brexit. I am so pleased that I can still debate with the noble Earl, Lord Clancarty-welcome. Europe-wide touring for British musicians has been severely crippled by bureaucratic post-Brexit barriers, and the Government have so far failed to achieve tangible progress for musicians as part of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. Can the Minister tell us whether there is any progress with short-term work permits and the 90-day rule? Al...
My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Brennan, for this very well-timed debate as we head into the peak summer season of live music across the nation, which brings investment, jobs and joy to so many people. We had a powerful reminder of that on the Tube this weekend: I was on my way back from the Bad Bunny concert in Tottenham and ran into fans who were coming from Take That at West Ham, Harry Styles at Wembley and Lily Allen at the O2. Like a series of rivers eddying, we all met. It could have been a hot and bothered day on the Underground, but everyone was in such good heart. As the noble Baroness, Lady Hyde, said, music is good for the soul. The lady who sat next to us at Bad Bunny had come all the way from Italy, especially to see him and Harry Styles earlier in the week, and my noble friend Lord Vaizey will be pleased to know that my parents travelled to KOKO just last night-they are much cooler than me. As the noble Lord said, Harry Styles’s record-breaking 12-night residency at Wembley is estimated to have brought more than £1 billion to our economy. By my calculation, with just another 40 nights we can close the funding gap in the defence investment plan. Music makes a huge contribution to our economy, so how can we help it to do more? Well, we can celebrate it. I know that the Minister is as enthusiastic as I am for the UNESCO Living Heritage inventory. Will she ensure that lots of live music and cultural practices are enrolled on that, from sea shanties to short...
My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lord Brennan of Canton for initiating this important debate and all noble Lords for their valuable contributions. It is clear from the number of speakers how much passion and expertise there is among noble Lords for music. I may struggle to respond to all the points and questions during the debate but will follow up in writing where required. Unlike my noble friend Lady Hyde of Bemerton, however, I will not use lyrics to make my point. I think the noble Lord, Lord Parkinson, might have got a few in as well. There can be no doubt among noble Lords of my noble friend Lord Brennan’s passion, talent and expertise, both as a performer and as a staunch advocate for the music sector over many years. I have been told we cannot encourage him to use any excess time to entertain us in your Lordships’ House, but hopefully we will find another time in the near future. To quote my noble friend, I agree that everyone’s lives are enriched when they gather with others to enjoy live music. The sheer joy brought by our country’s performers from popular music, through folk, country, rock and jazz to some of the foremost classical performers is unparalleled. This Government are committed to protecting one of our country’s most valued and valuable sectors. As my noble friend Lady Dacres said, British music has changed not just this country but other countries around the world. That reflects what my noble friend Lady Gill said about the richness and diversity of...
My Lords, I know that the noble Lord, Lord Brennan, is going to sum up, because we have time. Oh. Can we not use the remaining seven minutes for more points? I had such an incredible point to make.