Grassroots Levy in Switzerland: Yes, but how?

More than two years after the first reports on fake AI-generated songs hitting artist profiles on Spotify without consent, the biggest streaming platform finally dragged its ass on doing the right thing: letting artists review what shows up on their profile beforehand. Truly groundbreaking stuff, but better than nothing, I guess…

Whenever I read up on the wider trends and developments in the music industry, I ask myself: Did we hit rock bottom yet? And can we now start thinking constructively and collectively about solutions?

I don’t know if we’ve reached the end of the line. But two things have sparked some optimism lately: WEMUSIC’s ideas and approach to “Apprenticeship & Music” and the PETZI manifesto. It’s not that there’s nothing to be sceptical about or even to criticise. However, broadly speaking, I admire these efforts for pushing towards solutions.

Headlines

WEMUSIC aims to combine apprenticeship and music-making

As part of the m4music Festival, the association WEMUSIC presented initial ideas and a roadmap for the “Apprenticeship & Music” project. The team was inspired by sports, particularly the “Sport-KV” scheme. This involves training as a commercial clerk; although the education lasts a year longer, it allows sufficient time to pursue a professional sporting career. The same principle should now apply to aspiring musicians. Dive deeper with our overview report.

Why it matters: Compared to college students, apprentices are at a significant disadvantage regarding honing their music craft and gaining experience and knowledge in the music industry.
Reality check: The educational pillars don’t rely solely on artistic aspects; they also aim to teach organisational and project management skills to address the music industry’s needs.

PETZI publishes manifesto “The Foundation of Swiss Live Music”

Celebrating its 30th anniversary, PETZI, the national federation of over 200 music venues and festivals, has published a manifesto outlining core values, structural problems, and rough solutions across several key areas, including work conditions, infrastructure, business models, and media. The manifesto is available in German and French.

Why it matters: The PETZI Manifesto is the first significant attempt in recent years to move from the problem space to the solution space, offering broad strokes of direction. It’s generally great to see some movement and action.
What needs to happen: Outside stakeholders should either be approached or they should reach out to PETZI themselves to further shape and define the proposed solutions. Negative White has already done so regarding the manifesto’s media aspects.

Young and Aspiring is shutting down

As Young and Aspiring communicated in an email and later on its website on 16 March, the artist agency is shutting down by 31 May. They state: „The constant pressure, the feeling of being “always online and available”, the rapid technological developments and the resulting distancing of art from its human element gradually became a heavy burden for us.“

Why it matters: Mental health issues are plaguing the music business ever more. It doesn’t only affect artists but businesses alike. Both the effects of an always-online, metrics-driven world and the precarious financial situation of the industry’s majority take a toll.
To consider: Offering short-term solutions to relieve burnout is important, but ultimately isn’t a substitute for addressing the underlying structural issues.

Also Noteworthy

Parliament Watch

Jaqueline Badran, Socialist Democratic member of the National Council, submitted an interpellation to the Federal Council in the aftermath of the vote on the “Halving Referendum”. It’s a rather amusing read, with the well-known spice in its wording—as one comes to expect from Badran.

I’m particularly curious about the Federal Council’s answer to question number five:

“In what way does the Federal Council see the benefit of scaling back the SRG’s entertainment offering for the public and for creative professionals in the film, music and entertainment industries?”

Naturally, we’ll keep you posted once the answers are in.

Grassroots Levy in Switzerland: Yes, but how?

“We all need more money, but where the heck is it coming from?” asked Beverley Whitrick, COO of the UK’s Music Venue Trust, at the start of her presentation. Announced as “30 Years of PETZI – Live Music in Transition”, the m4music panel with Wittrick, PETZI’s Anya della Croce and moderator Valentin Brügger went on an extended deep-dive on the concept of a Grassroots Levy.

And naturally, a potential implementation in Switzerland.

First, Whitrick shared a couple of insights from the UK’s Grassroots Levy, an opt-in solution for concert promoters to add £1 to each ticket sold for an arena (5000 people or more) or stadium show. In 2025, only 8.88% of the 24.1 million tickets included the levy, yet it still received high-profile support from acts like Sam Fender, Katy Perry, and Coldplay. This year, already 18.3 million tickets have been sold, with 28.82% of them containing the levy.

However, even if the percentage has gone up, it‘s nowhere near the government’s expectations of 50% by the end of 2026. The UK government also threatens to make the levy statutory at a percentage, therefore increasing the grassroots contribution. Whitrick underlined that the Music Venue Trust is decidedly opposed to statutory implementation, as it would mean the money generated would end up in the state budget as general cultural funding, thereby decreasing the likelihood of reaching grassroots venues.

Whitrick also shared that public perception of the levy is quite positive, even though promoters naturally added the £1 to the ticket price. And she called out Live Nation as a significant holdout.

PETZI’s executive manager, Anya della Croce, later shared some of the latest insights into the Swiss independent clubs. The demand for concerts remains stable; however, the old business model of parties subsidising live music is broken. Food and beverage revenue is declining at most PETZI member clubs, leaving more than three-quarters of clubs under financial pressure or even in a critical situation.

Naturally, a grassroots levy is viewed favourably by PETZI, and della Croce hinted at the start of conversations with the wider music industry—specifically the Swiss Music Promoters Association (SMPA). When Negative White reached out to SMPA last November, managing director Stefan Breitenmoser wrote that the topic hadn’t yet been discussed.

At the moment, a Swiss Grassroots Levy still seems far out. There are many uncertainties, and even more questions:

What’s a grassroots venue?
Who’s collecting and distributing the funds?
Should the levy be voluntary or statutory?
What’s the minimum audience?
Should festivals be included to raise a levy?
Should the levy be a fixed amount or a percentage?

As a significantly smaller market than the UK, France, or Germany, Switzerland’s situation regarding a potential levy seems quite challenging.

According to the SMPA-Index of 2025, its members organised 2282 shows and sold 2.8 million tickets. When adding the festivals, the number of tickets sold increases to 3.7 million.

A simple calculation based on the average ticket price for both shows and festivals yields an estimated revenue from ticket sales of approximately 311 million Swiss Francs.

Looking at these numbers from SMPA could lead you to assume, for example, that a CHF 1 levy would yield 3.7 million in grassroots funding. But realistically, not all the shows would probably even be considered eligible for a levy. Switzerland’s arena and stadium shows are far fewer than in other European countries. Even big promoters like Live Nation, Good News, or Gadget are hosting in smaller-capacity venues.

It’s again a question of the specific implementation.

Despite all the unknowns, Beverley Whitrick emphasised that one shouldn’t be afraid to make the economic argument when addressing policymakers and the industry at large. Every industry conducts research and development, and a grassroots levy should be seen as such for the music industry.