AIF statement on Gov response to DCMS Select Committee

25 July 2019 - Press release

Below is a statement from the Association of Independent Festivals' CEO Paul Reed on the Government's recently published response to the DCMS Select Committee report on the UK's live music sector.

The issues that the initially AIF raised can be found here.
The full Government response to the DCMS Select Committee can be found here

The section relevant to AIF's concerns is Section 3, the Government’s response to the DCMS Select Committee’s recommendation: ‘We ask the Competition and Markets Authority to consider conducting a market study of the music industry to assess whether competition in the market is working effectively for both consumers and those working in the industry. (Paragraph 20)’

"The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is an independent regulator and takes its own decisions regarding market studies. However, it should be recalled that in 2016 Professor Waterson undertook a Government Review of consumer protection measures in the ticketing market more generally, which of course is of significant interest to the music industry. A key recommendation was that the laws which were put in place should be applied and tested. In its 2017 response the Government agreed and the CMA and the National Trading Standards Board (NTSB) have subsequently worked together to take enforcement action against ticketing platforms and sellers where necessary. This has had some impact on the information provided to consumers but work is ongoing."

 

The response from AIF CEO Paul Reed:

“Following a robust and wide-ranging inquiry and report into live music from the DCMS Select Committee, this is a derisory response from Government. Referring to the Waterson Report avoids the breadth and depth of the issues AIF has outlined in terms of the widespread dominance of a single company, Live Nation across the live music sector. Professor Waterson’s remit was focused firmly on secondary ticketing. The report did look at primary ticketing, but not to the extent this response implies. Regardless, it is well established that competition issues in the live music sector go way beyond ticketing and we will continue to ring the alarm bells around the systemic issues arising from the increasing grip of vertically integrated major corporations along the live music supply chain and the effect this has on competition. The problem is only going to get worse if it is not addressed properly and swiftly. We will be writing to the relevant Government Ministers accordingly."