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At the end of last year, the UK government’s Business And Trade Committee launched an inquiry “exploring issues impacting competition and market functioning within the UK’s live music industry,” according to the official wording.
Now that the Committee has received and studied a total 45 submissions, it gathered all findings in a report published on May 24. The full report can be accesses on the UK government’s website.
Based on this report, the Committee has recommended that the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) should launch a full market investigation into the live music industry before the end of 2026.
Following the public outcry over the 2024 Oasis reunion tour onsale, and the ensuing 2025 parliamentary hearing with Ticketmaster and Live Nation reps, the Committee states it “was left with serious concerns about the state of competition in the live music industry in the UK.” According to the Committee, the CMA has three factors by which it determines market dominance, and Live Nation, and possibly the wider live music market, may qualify for all three.
A Live Nation spokesperson has stated that the Committee’s report relied on inaccurate and unsupported conclusions, see full statement below.
See: UK Government To Probe Competition Concerns Within Live Industry
The Business And Trade Committee states that the evidence it received suggests that “Live Nation’s dominant position” in the UK market cannot be explained away by simply stating that it offered the best service to artists and teams – as was suggested in the 2025 parliamentary hearing.
What especially concerned the Committee was that “a significant proportion” of evidence submitted to its inquire was submitted “anonymously or confidentially for fear of reprisal.” This in itself, states the CMA, “triggered alarm about whether Live Nation has a dominant and controlling market position, and the climate of fear this may have created in the industry.”
Other concerns raised by the submitted evidence include “the scale and integrated nature of Live Nation’s business model,” which “make it difficult for artists and managers to operate independently of its ecosystem”; “concentration at arena, stadium and major festival level” reducing “opportunities for independent promoters and venues to access and scale artists through the wider touring circuit”; which are the same problems as reported “by smaller and independent festivals who find access to talent increasingly challenging.”
Other points include a “lack of uptake” of the UK’s ticket levy; “long-term agreements with restrictive exclusivity terms that make access to its venues contingent on participation in its festivals (or vice versa)”; independent promoters alleging “that venues owned or controlled by Live Nation favour in-house promotion businesses and integrated ticketing arrangements impeding competition.”
To establish Live Nation’s dominance in the primary ticketing space, the Committee relied on analysis by the UK’s Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), which found through “analysis of 23 million tickets on sale for arenas, stadiums and outdoor concerts taking place in the UK in 2025 (…) that Live Nation, either directly or through the companies they own control 66% of those shows.”
Business As Usual? Repercussions Of Live Nation Trial In Europe & The UK
AIF was also first to welcome the Business And Trade Committee report, particularly “the call for the Competition And Markets Authority (CMA) to move speedily to conduct a priority investigation into the live music industry to improve market functioning and deliver growth in the UK. The burden of this work will fall upon the CMA. We ask that the Department for Business and Trade step up to find the additional support in order to fully resource the CMA to do their job. The money spent now will be returned many times over by that which is currently being lost by audiences and independent festivals, promoters and artists as a result of Live Nation’s control, including contributions being witheld from the grassroots by Live Nation’s poor adoption of the £1 Live Trust donation.
“The Committee remarks upon the climate of fear they encountered during this inquiry, with people worried about the consequences of speaking openly. As CEO of AIF I want to pay thanks to the AIF Board and our member festivals who stood together as we brought evidence forward to the committee last June. This bold move, and our supporting public statement, opened the door to this inquiry. I want to thank all those who then also took steps to make submissions – by name, or anonymously – and those who continue to reach out to us or work with us. Today’s report shows what is possible. There is still a long way to go. Now is the time for others to come forward. We will enjoy a long summer of independent, creative, vibrant music festivals whilst we continue to gather evidence, data and everything else needed for the work coming this Autumn. Together we can bring about change for a fairer, more equitable, more nourishing and more independent live music ecosystem.”
A Live Nation statement, attributable to a Live Nation UK spokesperson, heavily contests the Committee report’s findings, stating, “This report misrepresents the UK live music industry by relying on inaccurate data and unsupported conclusions. Live Nation competes every day for tours, venues and artists in a highly competitive market. We will engage constructively with any process that benefits artists, fans and the wider industry, but debate about the sector must be based on evidence, not allegation and hearsay.”
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