A two-year investigation reports disproportionate restrictions on Black and South Asian music events in London. Led by Black Lives in Music, the research examines cancellations, licensing decisions and events displaced or prevented from taking place.
The report estimates annual economic losses between £127 million and £141 million. It says genres including Afrobeats, drill and dancehall are often treated as high risk without adequate supporting evidence, alongside restrictions affecting jazz and community gatherings.
Promoters also describe decisions based on undisclosed police information or unrelated incidents. These findings and estimates belong to the researchers and should be read within that scope; the report’s central concern is whether licensing practices impose unequal obstacles on different parts of the city’s live music sector.
