Large music venues should have to pay towards the cost of supporting smaller ones to help “produce the superstars of tomorrow”, a Conservative former minister has said.

Ashford MP Damian Green said a similar model to football should be adopted, where a levy is imposed and money from the Premier League trickles down to grassroots clubs.

Liberal Democrat MP Christine Jardine also warned the music industry will not have “the Elton Johns and the Queens and the Taylor Swifts” of the future without preserving smaller venues.

Across the country... in 2023 live music boomed, 22 million people attended gigs, and yet 76 small venues closed. More than one a week

The Government said £5 million has been put into the Supporting Grassroots Music fund, but added there is scope for the industry to lead a solution on the issue.

Speaking during Culture, Media and Sport questions in the Commons on Thursday, Mr Green said: “Across the country … in 2023 live music boomed, 22 million people attended gigs, and yet 76 small venues closed. More than one a week.

“So I draw her (the culture minister’s) attention to the analogy with another hugely successful leisure industry, football, where a small amount of the enormous riches gained by the Premier League actually is allowed to trickle down to the grassroots so that the future of the sport is preserved.

“Just as in that we have hugely profitable large arenas, where the superstars of today perform, and create huge revenues, a levy on the tickets from those sorts of shows … would actually help the small venues produce the superstars of tomorrow.”

Culture minister Julia Lopez replied: “We agree with the importance of grassroots music and that is why we have given another £5 million to the Supporting Grassroots Music fund, but we are also in touch with the Music Venue Trust.

“They have a great initiative – Own Our Venues – where the Arts Council is supporting buying some of the freehold of grassroots music venues. Again, we support that.

“But we think there is a larger amount of scope for the industry to lead a solution in this area, and we are supporting talks between different parts of that industry.”

Without those smaller venues, we will never have the Elton Johns and the Queens and the Taylor Swifts who use those smaller venues to learn their craft, develop and benefit our economy and culture

Ms Jardine said her constituency of Edinburgh West benefits from a “plethora of small venues” which depend on the Edinburgh Festival to survive.

She added: “But we recognise that those small venues, which the Music Venue Trust says 10% currently struggle to survive and depend on grants from them, don’t get any benefit from those big gigs. Would the Government consider a levy in some way to support those gigs?

“Because without those smaller venues, we will never have the Elton Johns and the Queens and the Taylor Swifts who use those smaller venues to learn their craft, develop and benefit our economy and culture.”

Ms Lopez agreed that “grassroots venues are the talent incubators of the music industry”.

She said ministers are speaking to the music industry about a solution, adding: “We think it is probably best for industry to do that rather than mandate it as a Government.”

In the media world content is key, and that is why we must support our world-leading creative talent

Later in the debate, Labour former minister John Spellar said artificial intelligence (AI) should be used to protect the work of “world-leading creative talent”.

The MP for Warley said: “In the media world content is key, and that is why we must support our world-leading creative talent. So will she (Lucy Frazer) take steps to require AI developers to provide songwriters and composers with detailed information as to how their works are being used?”

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer agreed on the “importance of protecting the creative original work of the creative industries”, adding that she is liaising with the Intellectual Property Office on the issue.

Meanwhile, SNP MP Patrick Grady argued that orchestras’ ability to tour in Europe is “being sacrificed on the altar of Brexit fundamentalism”.

The Glasgow North MP told the Commons: “The Association of British Orchestras has warned that the removal of tax credits for performances in the European Economic Area is a direct result of Brexit and it could make touring in Europe for orchestras unviable.”

Responding, Ms Lopez said: “Unlike the SNP, we actually listen to what people say at referenda, so I’m afraid we are not going to be rejoining the EU, and that will, therefore, mean that we cannot have special tax privileges on that basis.

“But DCMS is aware of the concerns of the touring orchestras. We are facilitating discussions with HMRC so they know precisely where they stand on some of the issues that they have raised on this matter.”

Regrettably we increasingly seem to be in a minority in the music industry itself in believing that such a voluntary levy can actually be achieved

The Music Venue Trust said it agreed with ministers that creating a levy to fund small venues is needed, but Mark Davyd, its chief executive and founder, said: “Regrettably we increasingly seem to be in a minority in the music industry itself in believing that such a voluntary levy can actually be achieved.”

He added: “In the absence of any will or action to deliver the funding that grassroots venues and artists desperately need, we are therefore reluctantly forced to conclude that the Government may have to act to impose a levy such as the one that has been legally mandated in France.

“It seems absurd that a British artist playing for a British agent and a British promoter in a French arena is donating 3.5% of the cover price of the ticket into a fund to support the development of French artists and French venues, but the same artist performing for the same agents and same promoters in the UK makes no financial contribution towards the development of British talent.

“That has to change, and, if it cannot be changed voluntarily, then unfortunately the Government may have to act to make it a legal requirement.”