Councillors in Glasgow City Council have voted to back the introduction of a £1 levy on tickets for arena sized events.

The proceeds of these events have been earmarked for funding the city’s struggling grassroots music venues.

It’s a small price for concert goers but one that could generate as much as £160,000 annually. The funds would act as life support for venues on the brink, the kind of places where future stars learn the art of live performance.

Venues such as the Hydro arena in Glasgow will be expected to uphold the policy, dubbed the “mega-gig levy,” which is acting like a lifeline for an industry reeling from the aftermath of pandemic closures, rising rents, and thin margins. According to the Music Venue Trust, the average grassroots venue ekes out a mere 0.5% profit. Compare this to the eye-watering revenues of ticketing giants like Ticketmaster, and the disparity feels almost Dickensian. “Without grassroots venues, many of the big names we celebrate today simply wouldn’t exist,” Green Party councillor Christy Mearns remarked in a recent council session. Her sentiment echoes far beyond Scotland.

I’m delighted to have received cross-party support today for a Stadium Levy pilot to be developed at the Hydro. It’s vital that this is considered as an opportunity to raise much-needed revenue for our important grassroots venues which are struggling…https://t.co/zhTANI4TdR

— Cllr Christy Mearns (@ChristyMearns) December 12, 2024

In response, to a difficult year for small venues in 2023, the UK government is now urging a voluntary ticket levy across the country’s major arenas and stadiums, with an industry-wide rollout aimed for 2025. Creative Industries Minister Sir Chris Bryant has called for tangible progress by early next year, signalling that the clock is ticking for grassroots spaces. As he noted: “Grassroots music venues are one of the UK’s most valuable and yet undervalued cultural assets. They are where bands try out new material, where whole new genres are born, where musicians experiment and where audiences get to experience the raw power of live music.” 

This Glasgow initiative is more than an isolated policy; it’s a leader for other venues to follow. Groups like the Music Venue Trust and Save Our Scene are rallying for nationwide adoption after the government has voted to introduce a voluntary levy to large venues, arguing that such measures are not just financial stopgaps but moral obligations in an industry built on communal experience.

Grassroots music venues are where the art of live performance is made —venues that once nurtured acts like Arctic Monkeys and Adele. They are also a means of fuelling local economies and providing a lifeline to communities. The levy is a modest, almost poetic gesture: the megastar reaching back to lift the next unknown dreamer onto the stage. It’s a sound investment in every sense.