London Music Licensing and the Racial Gap in Event Cancellations
Black and South Asian music events in London face more cancellations, restrictions and licensing hurdles than white events, according to the Race Equality in Music Event Licensing (REMEL) report published on 14 October 2026.
The two-year investigation was led by Black Lives in Music. It was commissioned by the mayor's office and developed with the Greater London Authority, the Metropolitan Police Service, UK Music, LIVE, the Musicians' Union, promoters, artists, venue operators and community representatives The Guardian.
The report says Afrobeats, drill and dancehall events are often labelled high risk without credible evidence. A licence is the legal permission to hold an event, and a high-risk label can mean extra security, early closing or refusal. Indie, pop and rock events face much less scrutiny. The pattern is not limited to youth genres. Reggae events for older audiences, jazz nights and community events also faced strict restrictions.
The report puts the cost of cancelled, displaced and prevented events at £127m to £141m per year in London, with projected losses above £650m over five years The Guardian. That estimate covers more than outright refusals. It includes events that were moved, cut back or never staged.
Enforcement is a key part of the findings. The report says many white-owned venues receive support to reopen after incidents, while Black-owned venues are closed for longer periods. It cites the Colour Factory, a Black-owned venue whose licence was suspended after an incident outside the premises that was reportedly unrelated to the venue. The owner won the challenge but faced legal costs, staff redundancies and other financial losses.
The system has history. The Metropolitan Police introduced Form 696 in 2005 as a risk assessment form for events. It was scrapped in 2017 after criticism that it discriminated against Black music events. REMEL was led by chief executive Charisse Beaumont, with Hakeem Stevens as lead researcher.
The report follows earlier work. Black Lives in Music and the Musicians' Union wrote to the Mayor of London about barriers in the music industry. Black Lives in Music later submitted evidence on night-time economy barriers for Black and brown people, describing cancellations of Black and Asian organised events without notice, evidence or transparency Black Lives in Music. In February 2025 it launched a survey through Project REMEL into discriminatory licensing and race inequality in music licensing in London. Black and Asian-led events also faced extra costs alongside disproportionate cancellations.
The broader context here is how licensing can work as a quiet filter. Risk labels, conditions and enforcement choices can shape who can promote music, where, and at what cost, without a formal ban. That raises practical questions about whether risk rules are written down and open to review, how blame for incidents is assigned, and whether help to resume trading is offered evenly.
