A Fair Deal for Musicians

Motion as passed by conference

Conference notes:

1. The London Liberal Democrat motion A Fair Deal for Musicians passed in February 2024.
2. That in 2022 the UK music industry contributed £6.7bn to the UK economy, employed 210,000 people, and generated £4bn in exports.
3. That despite this, nearly half of UK musicians earn under £14,000 per year, and Grassroots Music Venues (GMVs) profit margins average 0.5%.
4. That in 2023 16% of GMVs were lost: 125 spaces permanently closed to live music.
5. That the Agent of Change (AOC) principle was included in policy guidance in 2018, but developers are not always held to account and noise abatement notices are still being issued to longstanding venues.
6. The House of Commons DCMS Select Committee report Grassroots Music Venues, April 2024, which recommended:
   1. A voluntary industry levy on large venues to fund GMVs, or failing that for the government to introduce a statutory levy.
   2. A targeted and temporary cut to VAT for GMVs.
   3. Enshrining the AOC principle in statute.
7. The UK's secondary ticketing market had an estimated œ1bn annual worth in 2019, with ticket touts mass-buying tickets to sporting and cultural events and then selling them on at inflated prices.
8. Half of Britons have been priced out of attending live music events in recent years with ticket prices being further inflated by both 'surge pricing' and higher transaction charges.
9. That barriers to touring erected by Brexit have impacted 30% of musicians, with lowest earners losing 49% of EU revenue on average.
10. That the courts have recognised that musicians have a right to practise at home for 5 hours a day, 3 on Sunday, but councils have not consistently applied these rulings, and musicians often do not have the resources to take legal action.
11. That music education investment is unequal and in decline, for example:
    1. Since 2011 GCSE participation has fallen by 25%, A-level participation by 50% and Arts hub funding been cut in real-terms by 17%.
    2. Only 15% of state schools pupils received sustained music tuition. The figure is 50% in independent schools.
12. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's previous calls for all children to have the chance to learn a musical instrument at school.

Conference believes that there are many challenges facing the music industry and the failure to address these challenges today will undermine the future of the music industry in the UK.

Conference reaffirms the Liberal Democrat commitment to negotiating free, simple short-term travel for UK artists to perform in the EU, and vice versa, including transport of equipment and sale of merchandise.

Conference calls on local councils to:

1. Ensure that the AOC principle is applied in practice, in particular by:
   1. Withholding planning permission for developments next to venues in the absence of enforceable conditions for appropriate soundproofing.
   2. Rigorously enforcing such conditions.
   3. Additionally applying the AOC principle when reviewing noise complaints about venues, even when not a new development and ensure that any extra costs on local council planning departments are fully met.
2. Move towards providing every primary school child with two years of free small-group instrumental lessons, and a free instrument, following the example of Newham's 'Every Child A Musician' programme and for government to provide extra funding to councils so they can fund the musical instruments and classes.
3. Commit to upholding the common law position on musicians practising at home.

Conference calls on the new Government to:

1. Reinvest in music education including:
   1. Training and recruiting 1,000 music teachers.
   2. Delivering an Arts pupil premium with funding of at least £90m per year.
   3. Reverse real-terms cuts to Arts Hubs since 2011, with a 17% increase in funding followed by a commitment to annual increases in line with inflation.
2. Implement the following recommendations of the DCMS Select Committee report:
   1. Imposing the large venue levy if not done voluntarily by September.
   2. Reintroducing a VAT cut for GMVs.
   3. Enshrining AOC Principles on the statute book.
3. Protect fans from being exploited by ticket touts by implementing the Competition and Markets Authority's recommendations to crack down on illegal ticket resale that include:
   1. Prohibiting platforms from allowing sellers to list more tickets for an event than the seller is able to legally procure from the primary market.
   2. Making platforms strictly liable for incorrect information about tickets listed on their websites.
   3. A requirement that all secondary ticketing sites acquire a licence to operate in the UK.
4. Introduce legislation to ban the use of 'surge pricing' by ticket platforms.
5. Review the use of transaction fees with the aim of placing a cap on the amount that can be added to ticket prices.

Applicability: England only; except VI. b) (line 20), VII (lines 22-24), lines 41-44 and 2. b). (line 73), which are Federal.

Motion prior to amendment

Submitted by: London Region and Camden
Mover: Charlie Clinton
Summation: TBA

Conference notes:

1. The London Liberal Democrat motion A Fair Deal for Musicians passed in February 2024.
2. That in 2022 the UK music industry contributed £6.7bn to the UK economy, employed 210,000 people, and generated £4bn in exports.
3. That despite this, nearly half of UK musicians earn under £14,000 per year, and Grassroots Music Venues (GMVs) profit margins average 0.5%.
4. That in 2023 16% of GMVs were lost: 125 spaces permanently closed to live music.
5. That the Agent of Change (AOC) principle was included in policy guidance in 2018, but developers are not always held to account and noise abatement notices are still being issued to longstanding venues.
6. The House of Commons DCMS Select Committee report Grassroots Music Venues, April 2024, which recommended:
   1. A voluntary industry levy on large venues to fund GMVs, or failing that for the government to introduce a statutory levy.
   2. A targeted and temporary cut to VAT for GMVs.
   3. Enshrining the AOC principle in statute.
7. That barriers to touring erected by Brexit have impacted 30% of musicians, with lowest earners losing 49% of EU revenue on average.
8. That the courts have recognised that musicians have a right to practise at home for 5 hours a day, 3 on Sunday, but councils have not consistently applied these rulings, and musicians often do not have the resources to take legal action.
9. That music education investment is unequal and in decline, for example:
   1. Since 2011 GCSE participation has fallen by 25%, A-level participation by 50% and Arts hub funding been cut in real-terms by 17%.
   2. Only 15% of state schools pupils received sustained music tuition. The figure is 50% in independent schools.
10. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's previous calls for all children to have the chance to learn a musical instrument at school.

Conference believes that there are many challenges facing the music industry and the failure to address these challenges today will undermine the future of the music industry in the UK.

Conference reaffirms the Liberal Democrat commitment to negotiating free, simple short-term travel for UK artists to perform in the EU, and vice versa, including transport of equipment and sale of merchandise.

Conference calls on local councils to:

1. Ensure that the AOC principle is applied in practice, in particular by:
   1. Withholding planning permission for developments next to venues in the absence of enforceable conditions for appropriate soundproofing.
   2. Rigorously enforcing such conditions.
   3. Additionally applying the AOC principle when reviewing noise complaints about venues, even when not a new development.
2. Move towards providing every primary school child with two years of free small-group instrumental lessons, and a free instrument, following the example of Newham's 'Every Child A Musician' programme.
3. Commit to upholding the common law position on musicians practising at home.

Conference calls on the new Government to:

1. Reinvest in music education including:
   1. Training and recruiting 1,000 music teachers.
   2. Delivering an Arts pupil premium with funding of at least £90m per year.
   3. Reverse real-terms cuts to Arts Hubs since 2011, with a 17% increase in funding followed by a commitment to annual increases in line with inflation.
2. Implement the following recommendations of the DCMS Select Committee report:
   1. Imposing the large venue levy if not done voluntarily by September.
   2. Reintroducing a VAT cut for GMVs.
   3. Enshrining AOC Principles on the statute book.

Applicability: England only; except VI. b) (line 20), VII (lines 22-24), lines 41-44 and 2. b). (line 73), which are Federal.

Amendments

The FCC has agreed to make the following drafting amendments to the motion:

In i) c) (line 54), after ‘development’ insert ‘and ensure that any extra costs on local council planning departments are fully met’.

In ii) (line 58), after ‘programme’ insert ‘and for government to provide extra funding to councils so they can fund the musical instruments and classes’.

Amendment One

PASSED

Submitted by: 10 members
Mover: Jess Brown-Fuller MP.

After VI. c) (line 21), insert:

VII. The UK’s secondary ticketing market had an estimated £1bn annual worth in 2019, with ticket touts mass-buying tickets to sporting and cultural events and then selling them on at inflated prices.

VIII. Half of Britons have been priced out of attending live music events in recent years with ticket prices being further inflated by both ‘surge pricing’ and higher transaction charges.

After 2. c) (line 74), insert:

3. Protect fans from being exploited by ticket touts by implementing the Competition and Markets Authority’s recommendations to crack down on illegal ticket resale that include:

a. Prohibiting platforms from allowing sellers to list more tickets for an event than the seller is able to legally procure from the primary market.

b. Making platforms strictly liable for incorrect information about tickets listed on their websites.

c. A requirement that all secondary ticketing sites acquire a licence to operate in the UK.

4. Introduce legislation to ban the use of ‘surge pricing’ by ticket platforms.

5. Review the use of transaction fees with the aim of placing a cap on the amount that can be added to ticket prices.

There will be a separate vote on VI. b) (line 20) and 2. b) (line 73).

LINES RETAINED

­

Mover: 7 minutes; summation of motion and movers and summation of any amendments: 4 minutes; all other speakers: 3 minutes. For eligibility and procedure for speaking in this debate, see page 8 of the agenda. 

The deadline for amendments to this motion, see pages 10–11, and for requests for separate votes, see pages 7–8 of the agenda, is 09.00 Thursday 12 September. Those selected for debate will be printed in Conference Extra and Saturday’s Conference Daily.