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Martyn's Law by premises type

Martyn's Law for Music Venues

How music venues should prepare Martyn's Law procedures around event capacity, queues, bars, stage timings, staff awareness, and evidence records.
Read the Martyn's Law overview →

Where this is up to

It's law. No one's checking yet. You've got time to get ready.

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 received Royal Assent in April 2025. The duties are not yet in force: commencement is expected no earlier than spring 2027, after a 24-month implementation period. Nothing has to be submitted to the SIA today, so the work now is recording your scope, your procedures, and your staff awareness.

  1. Apr 2025 The Act received Royal Assent
  2. Apr 2026 Home Office statutory guidance first published
  3. Jun 2026 SIA enforcement guidance in consultation (until 12 June)
  4. Spring 2027 Earliest the operator duties commence

Worth doing now

  • Confirm the number behind your tier, and keep the method you used to reach it.
  • Draft the four procedures (evacuation, invacuation, lockdown, communication) and brief your team.
  • Start building records now, so they're there before duties commence.

Music Venues

A live night tests every procedure

Once the doors open, a music venue fills with a ticketed crowd, and the staff, security and performers are all working the room as well. The procedures have to work with the lights down and the place full: through the queue outside, the headline set, the bar surge, and late-night dispersal onto the street. In a small room on a busy night, the count runs higher than the tickets sold.

  • Ticketed capacity is only part of the number

    It is the number reasonably expected to be present at the same time that counts, not tickets sold. Ticket limits, plus staff, performers, touring crew, security, bar and production teams, guests and comps, all add to that figure. So a sub-200-ticket night can still cross into standard tier (200 to 799) once everyone working the room is added in.

  • The procedures have to work with the lights down

    The right communication route differs before doors, during a headline set, at the bar-and-smoking changeover, and during late dispersal. Each part of the night needs its own version.

  • The FOH desk is the fastest way to reach the room

    The FOH engineer is often the most reliable mass-communications operator: a PA-mute cue, a house-lights-up call, and a scripted announcement matter more than assuming a touring act knows the room.

  • Promoter and tour handover is a per-show record

    Door times, expected attendance, the crew list, backstage access, guest list, and who can call a show stop belong in a per-show handover. That matters most on promoter takeovers, where a bigger show lands in a smaller room.

  • Queues and dispersal sit outside the threshold but inside the plan

    A pavement queue or smokers are not normally counted towards the 200 or 800 line, but evacuating onto a busy late-night high street can be the wrong call, so they still shape the procedures.

  • Contracted teams need evidence

    Door and security teams, production, promoters, and bar contractors may each need awareness evidence and a clear briefing, with the door brief logged for each night.

  • Standard tier means procedures and awareness

    If you land in standard tier, the work is about people and procedures: evacuation, getting people in and away from danger, locking down, communication and staff awareness. It is not about scanners, barriers, bag-searches or new physical security.

Capacity checker

Your busiest moment is what counts

Count the room at a predictable point in the night: doors, headline set, changeover, or late dispersal.

Music venue capacity check

Count the room at a predictable point in the night: doors, headline set, changeover, or late dispersal.

Source: GOV.UK capacity methodology

GOV.UK says to determine the “greatest number of individuals reasonably expected to be present at the same time.” Its factsheet also says to include workers, and to consider immediate-vicinity areas for procedures rather than the threshold count.

Read the GOV.UK factsheet →

Records

What to keep on file for Music Venues

  • Capacity assessment with ticket caps and sales history, staff rota, security, performer and touring-crew estimates, guests and comps, and recurring queueing assumptions.
  • Procedures for each part of the night: load-in, pre-doors and external queueing, the headline set, the bar and smoking changeover, encore egress, and late-night dispersal.
  • Promoter and tour-manager handover per show: door times, expected attendance, crew list, backstage access, guest list, and the designated show-stop and lockdown caller.
  • Door and steward briefing log with SIA details, posts, search posture, and radio channel.
  • Staff, freelancer, and contractor awareness register, including door teams and event managers.
  • Tabletop or live exercise log covering communication, lockdown and invacuation: a threat outside during the queue, a suspicious item in the toilets, an incident during the headline.
  • Post-event review notes where crowd flow, queueing, late egress, or security arrangements change.

Related resources

Martyn's Law resources for Music Venues

Martyn's Law questions for Music Venues

Are music venues standard or enhanced tier?

It depends on the number reasonably expected to be present at the same time. From 200 to 799 is standard tier once duties commence; 800 or more is enhanced. Tickets sold are only part of it. Staff, crew, performers and security count too.

Do performers and touring crew count?

Yes. The assessment includes everyone expected to be present at the same time, so a sub-200 ticket count can still tip over the threshold once the band, crew, security and bar teams are added. Record how each group was counted.

Does the pavement queue make us enhanced?

Not usually. A queue outside the premises is not normally counted towards the threshold. It still matters for the procedures, because what staff do about people in the immediate vicinity is part of the plan.

Is the touring promoter the responsible person?

It depends, but the venue usually controls the premises and stays responsible. When a promoter takes over for a night, record the handover and who holds which role rather than assuming responsibility moved.

Official sources

Other premises types

Compare another Martyn's Law scenario

Duty Room is operational compliance software: workflows, checklists, and evidence. It is not a substitute for professional legal, regulatory, or compliance advice. You are responsible for understanding and meeting the obligations that apply to your business.