LIVE Awards: Stuart Galbraith to Receive the 2025 LIVEtime Achievement Award

Stuart Galbraith, Founder & CEO of Kilimanjaro Live, has been announced as the 2025 recipient of the LIVEtime Achievement Award at the forthcoming LIVE Awards, which take place in association with Skiddle, at Troxy in London on Wednesday 10th December. The LIVEtime Achievement Award is the top honour of the evening and is presented to someone who has played a principal role in driving forward and improving the UK's live music business, having dedicated much of their career to the sector. 

Stuart Galbraith said, ''Thank you to LIVE for honouring me with this LIVEtime Achievement Award. I am truly grateful to be recognised for the role I have played for the last four decades and will continue to play for many more years to come". 

Steve Lamacq, Chair of LIVE said, “Over the last 45 years, from when he first started putting on bands at Leeds University in 1980, Stuart Galbraith has become a bona fide legend in the UK live music industry. His relentless energy, passion and commitment to staging world class music events & incredible fan experiences with some of the biggest artists on the planet has seen him set the bar for others to reach. We are proud to recognise and honour his truly remarkable career with the 2025 LIVEtime Achievement Award.”

Read the full announcement here.

The LIVE Awards span 14 categories paying tribute to venues, promoters, agents, ticketing companies, grassroots venues, festivals, production suppliers, backstage champions and more.

Submissions are open until 10 October, and tickets to the event are on sale now.

LIVE Touring: New Minister reasserts Government commitment to improved EU arrangements

While the minister might have changed, the work continues to help the Government meet their manifesto commitment to deliver improved touring arrangements for UK artists and crew in the EU (and vice versa).  While all agree that cultural exchange is important and touring by our world leading creative industries is economically significant, the complex post-Brexit landscape makes swift action very challenging. LIVE met with new Culture Minister, Rt Hon Ian Murray MP this week to discuss our work, alongside the wider music and creative industries, to build support for improved touring arrangements in Brussels and the EU member states.  Live music is a global, outward facing industry and we need to use that network to drive change (on so many issues).  In the coming months, we will be working with Government and our industry colleagues to highlight the multiple positive contributions made by UK and EU live music and the upside of even more exchange.

LIVE Talks x Ecotricity Business Presents:

Reimagining events: Where Sustainability Takes Centre Stage - Top tips for success!

Date: 1st October, 2025

Time: 12pm - 1pm UK

Location: Online, Zoom

Session Overview:

In a world where every gathering leaves a footprint, the events industry stands at a powerful crossroads. From intimate grassroots venues to sprawling stadiums, the journey toward sustainability is not just possible - it's essential.This LIVE Talks, in partnership with Ecotricity Business, brings together leading voices from across the sector who are pioneering sustainable practices. Whether you're running a grassroots venue or managing large-scale productions, join us to hear inspiring stories and top tips you can implement. Discover another way to power your productions and actionable strategies that foster shared responsibility and accountability to champion green travel, reduce waste and rethink food. Let's make every event a step toward a greener future.

Guest Speakers:

Paul Bowtell / Antony Wolowiec - Ecotricity

Jamal Chalabi - Backlash Productions

James Gillaspy - Future Yard

LIVE Festivals: navigating the current climate

Last week’s LIVE Festivals meeting was a fascinating, positive and expert discussion focused on the challenges facing festivals this summer. At its heart was how our sector continues its proud tradition of championing free speech, peaceful protest and giving a voice to those who are often unheard. With heightened regulatory scrutiny and intense media interest, festival operators are increasingly under pressure to predict whether artists will stay on the “right side” of a line that should be defined by law, but is too often shaped by media opinion instead.

A complex situation is further complicated by the variance in approach from regulators (police and councils) across the UK.  Experiences over the festival season have varied from out and out supportive to premature and unfounded intimations that licences might be reviewed.  Ultimately, this is putting the people at the heart of the festival under immense pressure (often combined with personal threats).  That situation cannot be allowed to continue and, to this end, LIVE is looking to work with the representative bodies for councils and the police to establish common ground and a shared approach to this issue.  

LIVE Venues: accelerating pre-Budget activity

With the next Budget now set for November 26th, LIVE has been increasing its focus on our fiscal asks of Government.  Given their commitment to supporting (and enabling growth in) the creative industries, we would hope the Government will remain committed to removing fiscal blockers to us doing more.  Of course, the current economic climate makes the room for manoeuvre open to the Government minimal at best but we can lay the groundwork now for positive moves, if not this year, then next.  One focus will be on tackling a threat – the proposed multiplier on business rates for venues over £500k rateable value while another will be on opening up opportunities through new tax reliefs.  

As ever when dealing with the Treasury, the outcome will depend on the quality of the data underpinning our argument.  LIVE is working with our members (AIF, MVT, NAA) to gather the evidence to best frame our position.  If you are able to provide data or case studies on the contribution venues and festivals make to their local economies, that would be particularly useful.

Output Belfast: LIVE updates on the state of the industry in 2025

LIVE’s Jon Collins was delighted to join colleagues from across music at the Output conference in Belfast.  Jon joined a panel to discuss the state of the live music industry in the UK and EU.  That provided a great opportunity to discuss the findings of the recent LIVE annual report which showed the ubiquity of live music (1 gig every 137 seconds), the strong growth led by larger capacity concerts (total market up 9.5%, concerts 12%) and LIVE’s work to address the ongoing crisis in grassroots music … notably our work developing the LIVE Trust. 

LIVE supports 18th edition of the Green Events and Innovations Conference (GEI18)

GEI18 returns to the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London on Tuesday, 24th February 2026. 

GEI is the foremost conference for event sustainability – it sees the brightest minds gather to tackle the most poignant and pressing topics relating to event sustainability, climate change, and social action. The conference includes a programme jam-packed with engaging talks, panels, discussions, and case studies from music and sporting events; a climate-friendly lunch, refreshments throughout the day, and closing drinks. 

Topics already confirmed for discussion at GEI18 include extreme weather and operational impacts; energy; clean water and air; green touring; culture for social change and climate action; boycotts, bans, and lawsuits; and the role of events and culture in countering rising polarisation and intolerance in society by deepening connections.

More information at agreenerfuture.com.