Live music industry news

Recording studios and music venues face closure if government doesn’t revise business rates, industry tells ministers

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Business Rates • 2 min read

Recording studios and music venues face closure if government doesn’t revise business rates, industry tells ministers

The UK music industry wants reforms to business rates to protect studios and venues. In two letters to the government, the industry says studios should be eligible for rates relief, while ministers need to mitigate the negative impact of recent changes made to business rates on venues big and small…

Chris Cooke • 11 Dec 2025

Bending Spoons to buy “stagnating” ticketing platform Eventbrite

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Eventbrite • 2 min read

Bending Spoons to buy “stagnating” ticketing platform Eventbrite

Eventbrite is set to be acquired by Bending Spoons, which has been buying up a plethora of digital platforms, instigating lots of cost cutting once each deal is done. It will pay $500 million for Eventbrite, considerably less than the ticketing platform’s $1.76 billion valuation at its 2018 IPO…

Chris Cooke • 04 Dec 2025

Olivia Dean says artists have “duty” to “encourage fair resale” after Ticketmaster refunds fans for touted tickets

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Olivia Dean • 3 min read

Olivia Dean says artists have “duty” to “encourage fair resale” after Ticketmaster refunds fans for touted tickets

Ticketmaster is refunding fans who bought touted tickets at hiked up prices for Olivia Dean’s shows on its US platform, after she protested last week. Dean has urged other artists to challenge their business partners on ticketing policies, stating “we have a duty to encourage a fair resale market”…

Chris Cooke • 01 Dec 2025

Live Nation and AEG provide a “disgusting service”, says Olivia Dean, after for-profit touting of tickets

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Live Nation • 4 min read

Live Nation and AEG provide a “disgusting service”, says Olivia Dean, after for-profit touting of tickets

Olivia Dean was not happy at all last week when tickets for her US shows were being resold at hiked up prices within the Ticketmaster and AXS ticketing platforms. Her criticism of the price hikes illustrates how the primary ticketing companies have different rules around resale in the US and the UK…

Chris Cooke • 24 Nov 2025

Live Nation says DoJ antitrust case is based on “gerrymandered” stats and no real evidence

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Live Nation • 3 min read

Live Nation says DoJ antitrust case is based on “gerrymandered” stats and no real evidence

Live Nation has told the judge overseeing its antitrust legal battle with the US government that he should issue a summary judgment in its favour. The government has failed to provide any evidence of anticompetitive conduct, it claims, and is instead relying on “gerrymandered” market share stats…

Chris Cooke • 20 Nov 2025

Ticket touting platforms start frantic lobbying campaign claiming new anti-tout laws will increase ticket fraud

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Secondary Ticketing • 5 min read

Ticket touting platforms start frantic lobbying campaign claiming new anti-tout laws will increase ticket fraud

The UK government has confirmed it plans to ban for-profit ticket touting, a move that has been widely welcomed by the music industry. The pro-tout lobby claims the ban will ultimately result in more ticket fraud, though FanFair says there is no “demonstrable independent evidence” to back that claim…

Chris Cooke • 19 Nov 2025

Responses to the UK government’s planned ticket touting ban

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Secondary Ticketing • 6 min read

Responses to the UK government’s planned ticket touting ban

The UK government has announced plans to introduce new laws banning for-profit ticket touting and capping the commissions that can be charged on face value resale. Numerous politicians, artists, managers and music industry groups have responded to that announcement…

CMU Editorial • 19 Nov 2025

Plans for former Leadmill venue revealed with “£2 million transformation” revamp to Electric Studios Sheffield

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Electric Group • 2 min read

Plans for former Leadmill venue revealed with “£2 million transformation” revamp to Electric Studios Sheffield

The Sheffield venue formerly known as The Leadmill will re-open next spring as Electric Studios after a “£2 million transformation”. The Electric Group, which owns the building, will now operate the venue after a year’s long legal battle with its previous operator Phil Mills…

Chris Cooke • 18 Nov 2025

StubHub share price craters as UK prepares to announce ticket touting ban

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StubHub • 3 min read

StubHub share price craters as UK prepares to announce ticket touting ban

The UK government is expected to announce a ban of for-profit ticket touting tomorrow, making good on a previous promise to better regulate ticket resale. Reports of the ban in the financial press have already caused the share price of Viagogo’s owner, US-based StubHub, to slump…

Chris Cooke • 18 Nov 2025

Starmer must “honour his pledge” to cap prices in “extortionate and pernicious” secondary ticketing market

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Secondary Ticketing • 3 min read

Starmer must “honour his pledge” to cap prices in “extortionate and pernicious” secondary ticketing market

Artists and music industry organisations have told Keir Starmer that he needs to urgently “honour his pledge” to better regulate ticket touting and confirm a timeline for introducing a ticket resale price cap. Starmer committed to new ticketing regulations before last year’s General Election…

Chris Cooke • 13 Nov 2025

Viagogo is unfair, opaque and violates EU law, consumer group tells regulator

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Viagogo • 2 min read

Viagogo is unfair, opaque and violates EU law, consumer group tells regulator

Viagogo is violating the EU’s Digital Services Act, according to Euroconsumers, which has filed a complaint with the regulator in Ireland. A Viagogo spokesperson insists the company is DSA compliant, but Euroconsumers says it violates various rules, including know your business customer requirements…

Chris Cooke • 22 Oct 2025

Bobby Vylan says he has no regrets about “death to the IDF” chant at Glastonbury

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Bob Vylan • 4 min read

Bobby Vylan says he has no regrets about “death to the IDF” chant at Glastonbury

Bobby Vylan has spoken to Louis Theroux about his controversial BBC broadcast Glastonbury performance, insisting he doesn’t regret leading the crowd in a chant of “death, death to the IDF”. The BBC Editorial Complaints Unit recently concluded that the set breached rules relating to harm and offence…

Chris Cooke • 21 Oct 2025

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