The small businesses behind Britain’s live music industry have been handed a rare piece of good news, as the government’s first long-term music strategy promises a £45 million growth fund, lighter-touch festival licensing and a two-year freeze on business rates bills for venues.
Turn It Up: Our Plan for Music, launched by Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy on Monday, sets out how ministers intend to grow a sector worth at least £8 billion to the economy. Crucially for the independent operators who make up most of it, the plan reaches beyond stadium headliners to the promoters, labels, managers and venues that develop talent.
The Music Growth Package, now boosted to £45 million after a £15 million injection from Arts Council England, will support more than 2,000 projects and at least 40,000 artists and music professionals over three years. For the first time, the funding will also be open to mid-career artists, band managers, labels and publishers, many of them small firms and freelancers.
For festival and event organisers, the licensing reforms may prove the most practical win. Temporary Event Notices will rise from 15 to 20 per year, with total event days up from 21 to 26, while festivals will be offered longer licences, a minimum of three years for new events and five years for existing ones. A 15 per cent business rates relief for live music venues has also been confirmed, with bills frozen for the next two years.
The Night Time Industries Association, which represents clubs, bars and late-night operators across the UK, worked alongside government and UK Music in shaping the plan and says many of the sector’s priorities are reflected in it.
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