U.K. Music Industry Responds to Government Spending Statement

LONDON – Following the arrival of the U.Ok. authorities’s Spring Assertion — an summary of the upcoming budgetary and spending plans — on Wednesday (Mar. 26), the U.Ok. inventive industries are expressing concern over what the brand new price range may imply for artists, grassroots music venues and music schooling this 12 months.

Since coming into energy after profitable an amazing majority with 412 elected MPs in final July’s Basic Election, Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Occasion and Lisa Nandy — the U.Ok.’s tradition, media and sport secretary — have run their marketing campaign on guarantees of financial progress and a higher respect for the British arts. Final summer time, they pledged a brand new Nationwide Music Schooling Community of their manifesto that will ship elevated sources for fogeys, lecturers, and youngsters. The inventive industries have been additionally named as a growth-driving pillar within the U.Ok.’s trendy industrial technique, with an intention to develop the sector by £50 billion by 2030.

In November, Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered the primary Labour price range in 15 years, which raised some taxes — notably nationwide insurance coverage contributions for employers — that can enable the federal government to spend money on the Nationwide Well being Service (NHS), schooling and infrastructure. She additionally dedicated £6.7 billion ($8.6 billion) for schooling funding in 2025.

Within the Spring Assertion, nevertheless, which was delivered by Reeves from London this afternoon, a contemporary set of cuts to authorities spending and public funding have been outlined. She additionally instructed MPs that “the world has modified” since her first price range slightly below 5 months in the past, and that these adjustments have been responsible for the string of downgrades she put ahead.

When discussing departmental budgets, which dictate how a lot completely different elements of presidency can spend till 2030, Reeves mentioned she goals to make the state “leaner and extra agile.” Early studies recommended that day-to-day division spending was set to extend by a median of 1.3% per 12 months above inflation; Reeves mentioned it’ll rise by 1.2%. Moreover, she confirmed that cuts will fall on departments exterior of well being, protection and schooling, whose departmental spending is just not “protected,” she mentioned.

“The Spring Assertion makes it clear that the majority authorities departments, together with the Division for Tradition, Media and Sport, face real-terms cuts,” Roberto Neri, CEO of The Ivors Academy, tells Billboard U.Ok. “This may put additional stress on already stretched budgets on the BBC and Arts Council England, two of essentially the most important commissioners of latest music.”

Years of underfunding from earlier governments, robust monetary situations for artists and grassroots venues and sophisticated points surrounding generative synthetic intelligence (AI) are all important challenges for the sector. A listening to at The Homes of Parliament in October 2023, for instance, discovered that 1,000 music lecturers have been misplaced up to now decade, whereas a 2025 report by Music Mark discovered that Labour had inherited a shortfall in its music schooling price range over the following 5 years.

A briefing revealed by U.Ok. Music in Sept. 2024, in the meantime, recommended that the worldwide urge for food for British music stays sturdy — with general exports rising by 15% to £4.6 billion ($5.9 billion) final 12 months — however that the well being of the nation’s music ecosystem have to be checked out extra intently, Neri posits.

“For the reason that pandemic, the U.Ok.’s music business has grown nearly twice as quick as the broader economic system — and we’re preventing to make sure songwriters and composers see extra of the advantages,” Neri says. “As the federal government prioritises financial progress, it ought to again our world-leading songwriters and composers, the supply of all worth in music, and spend money on the infrastructure they rely upon.”

The shortage of latest coverage round music and tradition within the Spring Assertion can also be of concern to Ben Selway, managing director at Entry Inventive Faculty (ACC), the U.Ok.’s largest impartial coaching supplier throughout inventive fields. Former pupils at Entry Inventive’s seven nationwide campuses embrace Ed Sheeran (now a patron of the ACC), Rita Ora and Jorja Douglas of BRIT-nominated lady group FLO.

The way forward for music schooling within the U.Ok., Selway says, is dependent upon “how successfully we’re capable of reverse the detrimental tendencies we’ve seen over the previous many years, from the closure of grassroots music venues to a discount in funding in actual phrases, and mitigate the dangers that threaten the music business, akin to AI and copyright.”

Selway additionally highlights the current assertion made by the Ed Sheeran Basis, whose namesake made headlines earlier this week with the discharge of an open letter — signed by different A-listers together with Sir Elton John and Harry Kinds — calling upon the federal government to make sure music schooling stays excessive on the agenda. “This inventive business brings a lot to our tradition, our communities, our economic system, our private wellbeing, however music schooling has fallen by means of the gaps. That’s why I’m asking the federal government, collectively, to right the errors of its previous and to guard and develop this for generations to come back,” Sheeran wrote.

Sophie Brownlee, exterior affairs supervisor on the Music Venue Belief (an organisation that helps the grassroots music scene) instructed Billboard U.Ok. that “the chancellor, treasury and DCMS have all of the information and information they should know easy methods to reverse the decline in entry to stay music and tradition in our communities.” She added: “For the chancellor to decide on, as soon as once more, to not act on this chance won’t generate progress or meet the Authorities’s wider ambitions for the inventive industries. As an alternative, it’ll see extra grassroots music venues shut, many in already disadvantaged communities, additional jobs misplaced, and the continuation of undervaluing native tradition within the U.Ok.”

Although Reeves introduced plans to take a position extra in AI applied sciences throughout the civil service and protection sectors, her assertion didn’t broach the federal government’s 10-week session, which came about in late 2024, on whether or not copyrighted content material, together with music, can lawfully be utilized by builders to coach generative AI fashions.

In current months, the AI query has grow to be a extremely debated speaking level among the many business, proving controversial amongst creatives and copyright holders. The federal government’s ensuing report mentioned an “choose out” strategy would give rights holders a higher capability to license the usage of their content material, however these plans are but to be confirmed.

Tom Kiehl of U.Ok. Music argues this isn’t a time to grow to be complacent. “The chancellor has talked once more about her technique for financial progress and a number of the potential advantages of AI,” he says. “Nevertheless, there was nothing in her assertion concerning the enormous harm that will be brought about to the music business by authorities plans to present AI corporations unfettered entry to music underneath sweeping adjustments to copyright legislation. The proposals can be a catastrophe for the U.Ok.’s £7.6 billion music business. 

“We want an pressing rethink from the Authorities and the Chancellor over these plans,” Kiehl continued, “which might enable corporations to coach their AI fashions on British music with out having to pay or search permission from the individuals who created the work or personal the rights.”