Pressure grows on Government to return money to the grassroots

The Government is under increasing pressure to return the VAT taken on LIVE Trust ticket contributions, with artists and music venue operators calling on the Government to ensure that 100% of every £1 pledged reaches the grassroots sector it was intended to support. The Telegraph and others covered the sector’s intervention last week.
 
LIVE Trust has received strong backing from the sector since its launch, with over 6 million in pledges secured as of May 2026. Money raised from the first shows is already being distributed to support grassroots initiatives, and we're gearing up to distribute more funding thanks to working with 10 supporting promoters on over 75 tours and events through 2026.

Tickets for the LIVE Awards 2026 are now on sale

Tickets for the industry event of the year are now on sale. 
 
The LIVE Awards, in association with Skiddle, is back for its fifth year to celebrate the outstanding companies, teams and individuals that make up our world-renowned industry.
 
The Awards will take place on 9 December at iconic east London venue Troxy. 
 
Grab your tickets here. 

Jon Collins gives keynote speech at Music Futures Hartlepool

Last week, Jon was invited to deliver the keynote speech at Music Futures which is part of the Sonic Futures programme dedicated to nurturing the region’s music industry.
 
The session provided an opportunity to share the latest updates on the policy work led by LIVE and the impactful programmes benefitting from LIVE Trust funding. 
 
More broadly, the event celebrated Tees Valley artists and music professionals, bringing together the many parts of the region’s music industry infrastructure and strengthening connections across the sector.
 
It was a hugely positive event, and it was clear that LIVE, LIVE Trust and Sonic Futures share common values and a collective ambition to unlock local, national and international opportunities across live music from artist development and skills training to wider industry support.

VAT on festivals and concerts

LIVE welcomed the Chancellor’s temporary VAT cut, which will reduce the rate on eligible children’s and family tickets from 20% to 5% between 25 June and 1 September 2026. The cut applies to children’s tickets for both concerts and festivals. LIVE continues to engage closely with Government around the issue of VAT on tickets, and believes this decision is recognition that lower rates directly benefit fans and industry. Cutting VAT can be a catalyst for more shows and therefore increased economic activity in towns and cities across the UK.

Consultation deadline on SIA guidance nears
LIVE Protect Duty met earlier in the month to discuss the published Home Office guidance under Section 27 of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, and the Security Industry Authority’s (SIA) consultation on its draft section 12 guidance.
 
LIVE is preparing its response to the SIA’s consultation following the discussion and encourages all those affected to respond before the 12 June deadline. The SIA’s draft guidance can be found here.

Jon Collins named as an honouree on Billboard’s 2026 U.K. Power Players list
We are delighted to share that Jon Collins, CEO of LIVE and LIVE Trust has been chosen as an honouree on Billboard’s 2026 U.K. Power Players list.
 
Jon has been recognised for his work leading LIVE in championing live music, particularly for LIVE’s work in tackling touts, improving EU touring arrangements post Brexit, and of course, securing a historic, multi-million pound reduction in business rates for all live music venues. 
 
This recognition also speaks to the success of LIVE Trust, which has gone from a simple idea, large gigs, festivals and tours support the grassroots, to a multi-million pound charity. We hope you will all join us in congratulating Jon on this well deserved honour.  

LIVE Trust Board meeting
Last Thursday, trustees met for their quarterly meeting, kindly hosted by The Glasshouse International Centre for Music in Gateshead as part of the Trust’s commitment to get out and about across the UK.
 
A packed agenda saw trustees review progress on building out the Trust to ensure transparency and robust governance, particularly important given its success means we will be handling multi-millions. In addition, there was a focus on external comms and engagement as we look to get the word out about the Trust, its objectives and actions.
 
As ever, funding was a central matter for discussion. Trustees heard a wealth of positive stories related to the programmes in receipt of Phase One funding with a fuller impact analysis to be released in due course.  And, as we continue to move at speed, stand by for a big announcement on Phase Two funding in the coming weeks.

LIVE Trust meeting grassroots organisations in North East
While up in Gateshead, and once again thanks to the hospitality and connections of The Glasshouse, the LIVE Trust team, Kirsty McShannon (Chair of LIVE Trust), and trustees Wendy Smith, Victoria Smith and Estelle Wilkinson met with people working across grassroots music in the northeast. Promoters, venue operators, artists and others were in the room and afforded the opportunity to have their say on current challenges.  
 
We are not expecting to be surprised by what we hear at these sessions (you would hope we are close enough to the sector to avoid that) but it is always interesting to hear a fresh perspective and get thoughts on the current top priorities. For example, this session heard a number of contributions on the challenges facing working class kids, the need for access to funding to be as simple as possible and the value that can come from something as simple as finding ways to facilitate collaboration.
 
As ever, all contributions are noted, recorded and will be factored in to our thinking.