Black and South Asian-led music events in London face disproportionate cancellations, restrictions, and licensing barriers compared with white-led events, according to the Race Equality in Music Event Licensing (REMEL) report published by Black Lives in Music on October 14, 2026. The two-year study estimates that cancellations, displacement, and events blocked from happening cost London £127 million to £141 million a year in live music spend, with projected losses exceeding £650 million over five years.
The Guardian reported the findings as exclusive coverage the same day, noting that genres including Afrobeats, drill, and dancehall are routinely labelled “high risk” despite a lack of credible evidence, while indie, pop, and rock events face comparatively little scrutiny. Reggae gatherings aimed at older audiences, jazz nights, and community events also faced stringent restrictions, according to the investigation.
What REMEL found
Project REMEL began in July 2023 after the Musicians’ Union and Black Lives in Music wrote jointly to the Mayor of London. Partners include the Greater London Authority, the Metropolitan Police Service, UK Music, LIVE, the Musicians’ Union, and Black Lives in Music. Research drew on surveys, interviews, focus groups, industry workshops, Freedom of Information requests, and desk research.
The full report’s key findings state that Black events are disproportionately cancelled, restricted, or blocked; Temporary Event Notices are more likely to be refused in London’s most diverse boroughs; unverified intelligence, including superficial online searches, is used to justify heightened scrutiny; and many white-owned venues are supported back into business after incidents while Black venues are forced to close. The legacy of Form 696, the Metropolitan Police risk-assessment form scrapped in 2017 after criticism that it targeted Black music, still shapes current risk assessments, BLiM and The Guardian both report.
Lead researcher Hakeem Stevens told The Guardian that scrutiny has become harder to document: “Back in the day when emails were sent and faxes were sent, we had documented evidence. Now what’s happening is it’s whispers, it’s phone calls, it’s conversations, verbal conversations that can’t be recorded.” Charisse Beaumont, BLiM’s chief executive, said the discrimination is about race, not only genre, and that although the study focused on London, the problems exist nationwide.
Nineteen reforms on the table
BLiM sets out five principles (safety with equality, evidence over assumptions, consistency, transparency and accountability, and “culture is not a risk”) and nineteen recommendations. Headline asks include an independent review of licensing for racial fairness and police influence, a National Licensing Policy Framework, an explicit ban on racial and genre profiling, published licensing data by genre and event type, mediation and an affordable appeal route, an end to blanket “No Promoted Events” clauses, fairer Temporary Event Notices, cultural liaison officers, promoter accreditation, funding support for small operators, and oversight through the Mayor’s Nightlife Commission.
Metropolitan Police commander Neerav Patel told The Guardian the force would carefully consider the findings and keep making “fair, evidence-based contributions to the licensing process” while prioritising public safety. For venue operators and touring artists watching UK policy, REMEL sits alongside other live-sector rule fights, from NSW venue reforms to UK ticket resale caps and the American Music Tourism Act. The report itself is free to download from Black Lives in Music with no sign-up required.