France
3.5%
Since 1986
A statutory levy on concert tickets, paid by promoters and redistributed locally through the CNV (Centre National de la Musique).
Chapter two — elsewhere
Builds on The Squeeze. Sets up the NZ-specific model in The Build.
The ticket levy. The community freehold. The cultural lease. Three structural moves, all proven in comparable markets, none of which exist yet in Aotearoa at scale.
01 — The levy model
The logic is straightforward. The artists selling out Spark Arena and One NZ Stadium developed their craft in 350-capacity rooms. The pipeline that creates stadium acts runs through grassroots venues. Asking stadium and arena shows to contribute a small portion of their ticket revenue to the bottom of that pipeline is not redistribution, it is investment in the system that produces the product.
The June 2026 deadline, the 50% threshold, and the legislative threat.
The British government's proposed levy is now past the voluntary commitment stage: Live Nation and others were given until June 2026 to demonstrate that 50% of large shows were voluntarily contributing. Government has indicated it will legislate if voluntary uptake is insufficient. New Zealand is watching a live experiment in real time.
France
Since 1986
A statutory levy on concert tickets, paid by promoters and redistributed locally through the CNV (Centre National de la Musique).
United Kingdom
Voluntary, 2024
Per-ticket levy on arena and stadium shows, funnelled to grassroots — with explicit government threat to make it mandatory if voluntary uptake stalls.
Australia
Proposed
Parliamentary inquiry proposed a small contribution split across promoter, venue, artist and punter — distributing the cost rather than concentrating it.
02 — Massey modelling
Massey University modelling estimates that a similar levy applied in New Zealand could generate between $4.8 million and $13.4 million per year, depending on the rate and the threshold at which it applies. Even the lower end would have cleared Neck of the Woods' debts and funded three more venue stabilisations in the same year.
Model A — flat rate
A flat $1 per ticket levy across all live music in Aotearoa. Simple to administer, easy to communicate, and visible to punters as a small line item they understand.
Model B — proportional rate
A French-style 3.5% levy. Captures more from the high-priced international mega-tours that can absorb it — and leaves the $25 grassroots door price almost untouched.
Either number — brought as a voluntary, industry-initiated fund — is a far easier conversation than asking government to legislate a tax from cold.
03 — The community freehold
Music Venue Properties (MVP), a Charitable Community Benefit Society created by Music Venue Trust, launched in 2022 with a single proposition: remove grassroots venues from vulnerable commercial leases by buying the buildings they operate in, then lease them back to operators at market-resistant rates.
The model works because the fundamental threat to most grassroots venues is not the trading performance of the operator, it is the landlord. Over 90% of grassroots music venues in the UK are tenants. When a landlord decides to sell, retire or redevelop, the venue dies regardless of how well it has been run. MVP removes that threat by making the community the landlord.
Aotearoa does not have a Music Venue Properties. Worth the Door's blueprint proposes one.
£7M raised, 2,500+ investors, the venues already secured, and the mechanics of the lease.
The first campaign in 2023 raised £2.88 million and permanently secured The Snug in Atherton, The Ferret in Preston, Le Pub in Newport, The Bunkhouse in Swansea and The Booking Hall in Dover. A second campaign in 2025 raised over £1.1 million of a £1.5 million target, adding The Joiners in Southampton, The Croft in Bristol, Peggy's Skylight in Nottingham and others. A third expansion in late 2025 added venues in Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle. Total community investment now exceeds £7 million from more than 2,500 investors, with backing from artists including Ed Sheeran.
At the heart of the model is the cultural lease. Once MVP acquires a building, it offers the operator a lease that guarantees use of the space for as long as it operates as a grassroots music venue. Rent is set at market-resistant rates. Annual contributions are directed toward essential maintenance. MVP provides ongoing operational support, removing the landlord risk while preserving the operator's independence.
The UK model
Run by the Music Venue Trust. A not-for-profit Community Benefit Society buys the freehold of at-risk venues, funded by community shares (from £50, one investment = one vote). The venue becomes structurally protected from the property cycle that would otherwise close it.
The cultural lease
Venues are rented back to operators below market rate, guaranteed to stay a music venue as long as they continue to operate as one. The operator is no longer a pure commercial tenant exposed to property risk.
Operators stop being exposed to the property cycle that closes most venues.
Charitable status unlocks grants, lower borrowing costs, philanthropic capital.
Below-market rent gives the operator the buffer the bar take used to provide.
Global models vs. the NZ status quo
| Country | Mechanism | Subsidy flow | Property risk bearer |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 3.5% ticket levy | High — continuous from promoters | Independent operators |
| United Kingdom | £1 arena levy + Venue Trust | High — central fund & community capital | Community Benefit Society |
| Australia | Proposed 25¢ split levy | Impending policy shift | Independent operators |
| New Zealand | None — status quo | Zero — bar sales & isolated sympathy | Independent operators — 100% commercial risk |
04 — What a comparable model looks like here
A Charitable Trust under the Charitable Trusts Act 1957 can hold property in perpetuity for public benefit (the PropCo layer). A Co-operative Company under the Co-operative Companies Act 1996 can provide the operational entity, governed by and accountable to its members (the OpCo layer). Equity crowdfunding via PledgeMe provides the community investment mechanism. None of this requires new legislation. It requires assembly, and enough early momentum to demonstrate the model works for a pilot venue before it scales nationally.