The live music industry in the UK is suing the British Government.
Legal action was launched today (June 24) to force the publication of a report from Phase 1 of the Government’s Events Research Programme (ERP).
The purpose of the ERP is to study “the risk of transmission of Covid-19” from attending sports and entertainment events, and business conferences.
The live entertainment sector in the country has spent the last few months participating in full capacity pilot events as part of the ERP – including The BRIT Awards at The O2 arena, an outdoor festival event in Liverpool for 5,000 people and the Download festival, for 10,000 people last weekend.
Today, live music industry body LIVE and a range of theater businesses, including Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group, and theater producers Cameron Mackintosh, Michael Harrison and Sonia Friedman, have commenced legal proceedings against the Government to force it to hand over the research data.
The pilot events have been “a huge success” according to the representatives taking legal action, who state that the government has confirmed this itself in various press reports, “showing that with proper precautions in place, live events at full capacity can go ahead safely”.
In spite of the success of these events, the groups suing the Government argue that it has chosen “to keep the live entertainment industry under severe restrictions from June 21, while allowing parts of the economy that have not been subject to similar scientific studies, including hospitality, public transport and retail, to operate”.
Earlier this month, the British government announced a four-week delay to the end of the country’s Covid restrictions, originally planned to be lifted on June 21, which would have allowed large scale events to take place legally from that date onwards.
Those launching the legal action cite industry research that indicates the four-week delay to reopening will lead to around 5,000 live music gigs being cancelled as well as numerous theater productions across the country, costing hundreds of millions of pounds in lost income.
This impact was “well-known to the Government”, states the live industry, according to leaked ERP economic impact assessments.
“As well as declining to publish the ERP results, the Government is yet to provide any form of insurance scheme for the sector or to make it clear what kind of ongoing mitigations may be required in the future – effectively making it impossible to plan for any live entertainment business,” stated the live industry and theatre businesses in a media release today.
The live music industry and theater businesses also argue that the British Government has “flagrantly breached the ‘duty of candour’ which requires it to be transparent when faced with a legal challenge”.
They also claim that “none of the reasons given for withholding the Events Research Programme material they seek withstand scrutiny”.
They have asked the Court to consider their application at an urgent hearing as soon as possible.
Launched in March 2021, LIVE is an umbrella body for music industry associations representing 3,150 businesses, over 4,000 artists and 2,000 backstage workers.
LIVE’s members include the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), Association for Electronic Music (AFEM), Association of Festival Organisers (AFO), Association of Independent Promoters (AIP), British Association of Concert Halls (BACH), Concert Promoters Association (CPA), Featured Artist Coalition (FAC), The Entertainment Agents’ Association (TEAA), Music Venue Trust (MVT), Music Managers Forum (MMF), National Arenas Association (NAA), Production Services Association (PSA) and Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers (STAR).
“The Government’s actions are forcing theater and music companies off a cliff as the summer wears on, whilst cherry-picking high-profile sporting events to go ahead. The situation is beyond urgent.”
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber said: “Last week I rejected the Government’s invitation for Cinderella to be singled out as a last-minute part of the Events Research Programme.
“Today, with a range of voices from across the theater and live entertainment industries, we are forced to take it further. We simply must now see the data that is being used to strangle our industry so unfairly.
“The Government’s actions are forcing theater and music companies off a cliff as the summer wears on, whilst cherry-picking high-profile sporting events to go ahead. The situation is beyond urgent.”
“It is intolerable that after running pilot shows for the Government’s Events Research Programme, at our own cost, we have been blocked from seeing the results, leaving the whole sector in limbo with the real chance that the entire summer could collapse for the second year running.”
Stuart Galbraith, LIVE
Stuart Galbraith, music promoter and Co-Founder of LIVE, the representative body for the live music industry, said: “The live music industry has been very willing to work with Government for the last year to show that our industry can operate safely.
“But it is intolerable that after running pilot shows for the Government’s Events Research Programme, at our own cost, we have been blocked from seeing the results, leaving the whole sector in limbo with the real chance that the entire summer could collapse for the second year running.
“Even now, the live music sector has no idea what the rest of the summer brings, and we are left with a complete inability to plan ahead due to the Government’s continued unwillingness to provide some form of insurance to enable events to move forward.”
“Without immediate government intervention, the festival industry is on the brink of collapse.”
Peter Gabriel, WOMAD Festival
Peter Gabriel, WOMAD Festival, said: “Without immediate government intervention, the festival industry is on the brink of collapse. That doesn’t mean cash, it means providing the certainty to enable us to deliver festivals, guidance on safety, and an understanding of how their timing affects us in the real world.
“At the end of this week, WOMAD will be faced with one very difficult and heart-wrenching decision. Millions of pounds of investment and the livelihood of around five thousand people are at stake. Several pilot events have been successfully run over recent months. But, like other festival teams, we need to be told what that research means for WOMAD. We struggle to understand why these trials took place if the Government can’t now tell us the results and how that will affect all of us.”
“The chronic uncertainty and endless indecisiveness from government, and pilot events with no published results, have damaged audience confidence and further harmed a sector that has already been decimated by the pandemic.”
Craig Hassall, Royal Albert Hall
Craig Hassall, CEO of Royal Albert Hall, said: “The chronic uncertainty and endless indecisiveness from government, and pilot events with no published results, have damaged audience confidence and further harmed a sector that has already been decimated by the pandemic.
“For as long as venues like the Royal Albert Hall, and hundreds more across the country, are prevented from effectively operating with no justification, we cannot play our part in supporting the critical ecosystem of freelancers, small businesses and suppliers who rely on us and who are so desperately in need of work.”Music Business Worldwide
