Culture & Arts
• Analysis
Black and South Asian Music Events in London Cost City Up to £141m a Year, Report Finds
Black and south Asian music events in London face disproportionate cancellations and licensing barriers that cost the city an estimated £127m to £141m a year, according to the two-year REMEL report led by Black Lives in Music.
By Haut Monde Post
• October 14, 2026
• 4 Min Read
A two-year investigation, commissioned from City Hall
Black and south Asian music events in London are cancelled, restricted and blocked at licensing disproportionately often compared with white events, and the damage runs to an estimated £127m to £141m annually, the Race Equality in Music Event Licensing (REMEL) report concludes. Over five years, projected losses exceed £650m.
The REMEL report was led by Black Lives in Music. It was commissioned by the mayor's office and drew on collaboration from the Greater London Authority, the Metropolitan Police Service, UK Music, LIVE, the Musicians' Union, and a network of promoters, artists, venue operators and community representatives.
Genres labelled 'high risk' without evidence
Researchers found 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 came under stringent restrictions.
A further concern was unverified police intelligence. Promoters described events cancelled on the basis of undisclosed information, online searches or incidents unrelated to the event. The report suggests the legacy of the Metropolitan police's Form 696 persists: the risk assessment form, introduced in 2005, was scrapped in 2017 after criticism that it discriminated against black music events.
'It's whispers, it's phone calls'
Hakeem Stevens, the report's lead researcher, said police scrutiny had become harder to document, because it now arrives verbally rather than in writing.
"Now what's happening is it's whispers, it's phone calls, it's conversations, verbal conversations that can't be recorded."
Stevens also pointed to an uneven application of that scrutiny. "You've got white artists that perform black music, and they don't get given that level of scrutiny," he said.
The toll on promoters is concrete: little explanation for cancellations, substantial security costs and limited opportunities to challenge decisions. Stevens said the financial and reputational consequences could severely affect mental health.
Venues that won on paper but lost money
Charisse Beaumont, Black Lives in Music's chief executive, highlighted the Colour Factory, a black-owned venue whose licence was suspended after an incident outside its premises reportedly unrelated to the venue.
"In the end, they won, but they didn't get their money back."
The owner successfully challenged the suspension but was left with legal costs and staff redundancies. When incidents happen, the report found a split in how venues are treated: white-owned premises often get help to reopen, while black-owned ones face closures that drag on.
The extra attention, said Kwame Otiende, a venue owner, promoter and Green councillor, can put venues off hosting certain events altogether. Aware that temporary event notices bring more trouble from authorities, some instead take the easier booking: "I could just put your very sort of middle-of-the-road chart music … and I'll still make the same amount of money."
Nineteen recommendations and the response
The report sets out 19 recommendations, including calls for more transparent, evidence-based licensing decisions, an independent review, clearer evidence standards, better reporting of outcomes and stronger accountability.
Beaumont defined success plainly: "Success would be for me, the ability for any artist from any background, particularly Black and south Asian, to be able to perform and put" on shows and earn. She noted black and south Asian artists may fill a 1,000-capacity venue but then stall: "can they progress from 2,000 to 5,000 to 20,000 to stadium? That doesn't happen for us."
Although the investigation focused on London, Beaumont said the problems it uncovered exist nationwide, and people outside the capital were upset they could not complete the report's survey. The discrimination, she said, extends beyond specific genres: "It's about race. And that's what's so deeply sad about it."
Met police commander Neerav Patel said the force would carefully consider the findings. "Our focus will remain on making fair, evidence-based contributions to the licensing process which balance the interests of venues, promoters, artists and local communities," he said.
