This time next week, the UK could have a new prime minister, with Labour politician Andy Burnham expected to be the sole candidate nominated by the ruling Labour Party in its leadership election to replace outgoing PM Sir Keir Starmer.
Burnham already has a strong association with music, and now he’s going to be able to hit the ground running with an official government ‘music plan’ that was announced this afternoon.
Called ‘Turn It Up: Our Plan for Music’, it’s a long-awaited bag of funding and measures covering education and youth programs, the live -music sector; music exports; freelancer rights; and the appointment of the first ‘Music Champion’ acting as a stronger link between the government and the British music industry.
Here’s a rundown of the main measures, after which you can find our interview with creative industries minister Ian Murray MP, conducted this morning ahead of the announcement.
What’s in the UK music plan?
- An extra £15m for the existing ‘Music Growth Package’ from Arts Council England, taking it to £45m in total. The government says this will support more than 2,000 projects and at least 40,000 artists and music professionals over the next three years. One change is that this funding will now be extended upwards to include “mid-career artists, band managers, labels and publishers”.
- At least £12.5m of ‘dormant assets’ – you can find an explanation of those here – to fund ‘Music in Libraries’. That’s a scheme where libraries will be able to apply for funding to create “free studio spaces, recording booths, mixing desks and state-of-the-art equipment”. Ed Sheeran’s foundation is one of the partner organisations in this.
- At least £10m more dormant assets for a ‘Creative Mentoring’ scheme which will “give thousands of care experienced children and young people the opportunity to receive in-depth mentoring from creative practitioners, and opportunities to explore creative disciplines such as music, art, film and drama”.
- Reforms to the live-music licensing system including expanding the number of ‘Temporary Event Notices’ – which venues need to apply for if they are holding a ‘licensable activity’ on unlicensed premises – from 15 to 20 a year, and the total event days from 21 to 26. The government will also offer festivals and other events longer licences: at least three years for new events and five for existing ones.
- A 50% boost to the existing UK music trade-mission program, including doubling funding for the British Music Embassy stage at SXSW.
- The appointment of a ‘Freelance Champion’ who will “advocate for creative freelancers in government”. This is a big win for people in the music industry who work as freelancers, and thus haven’t had access to some of the protections that full-time employees do – especially if they encounter sexual harassment or bullying. This is backed up by adding the new creative-industries watchdog Ciisa to the list of “prescribed people and bodies to ensure people can whistleblow to the organisation without fear of detriment or dismissal”.
- Finally, talking of champions, former UK Music boss Michael Dugher has been appointed as the Music Champion to “strengthen engagement between Government and the music industry and provide a dedicated advocate for the sector”. It’s a one-year unpaid role that starts today (13 July). Dugher was an MP himself from 2010 to 2017, then spent three years as CEO for UK Music, stepping down in 2020 to spend four and a half years heading gambling-industry body the Betting and Gaming Council.
What does the government say about the plan?
Creative industries minister Ian Murray MP talked to Music Ally ahead of the plan’s launch this afternoon. Here are the highlights:
On the big picture behind the plan: “This music plan is not a starting point: it’s a checkpoint on the way to a much more vibrant sector… What we want to do is support the music industry so that we have greater exports and that pipeline of talent coming through for the future. Who are the Beatles, the Sam Fenders and the Harry Styles of tomorrow?”
On the libraries plans and music education: “We’ve got to be able to nurture the talent of the future… the libraries funding is so important because it allows people to use those community assets to be able to have that ability to springboard into other [musical] things. I’ve got a five year-old daughter, and she wants to pick up a guitar. She’s got a small ukulele. She wants to try the recorder. But she can only do that because I’ve given her access to it. We want that opportunity to be there for every single child, right across the country.”
On the music industry’s role in this space: “It’s integral. If you look at the curriculum, and trying to get music and other other subjects back into the national curriculum, it can’t be just be delivered by schools and teachers on their own. It’s got to be delivered by industry and partnership. If you look at the National Centre for Arts and Music, which is part of the education-skills part of the plan and launches in September, those music hubs and specialist schools will work very closely with the industry, like we’ve already seen the Brit School work hand-in-hand with the industry.”
On this being not just about finding the next Beatles etc: “We talk about stars of the future a lot, but it’s also just about opening the eyes of young people to enjoy music… And just being part of that musical journey, whether they’re going to be the next big thing or whether they’re just going to enjoy playing an instrument, or singing, or being part of that musical enjoyment.”
On the expansion of funding to include mid-tier people and companies: “Yes, it’s about talent pipeline of the future. It’s about those music engineers, it’s about the sound engineers, it’s about the lighting engineers. It’s about the project managers, it’s about the producers, it’s about the artists. But we often find that there’s a ceiling for mid-career professionals as well… so it’s about saying to those mid-level artists, band managers, labels and publishers – and everything else – that there is an ability here to access some funding to take your careers to the next level.”
On the importance of music exports: “There’s not another country in the world – with the exception of potentially the US – that wouldn’t give the right arm for just a fraction of the music industry we have in this country. So that’s huge soft-power and export opportunity… There are also challenges in terms of, for example, the EU touring [post-Brexit red tape] but we’re working very hard to try and get those things resolved as well.”
On the wider political landscape: Murray was careful not to make any assumptions about the outcome of the Labour Party’s leadership election, but he did point to Andy Burnham’s work as mayor of Manchester in supporting its creative industries, as well as his public statements on regionalisation, and supporting talent and opportunities across the UK.
“Whether I’m the minister or not this time next week, it’s not just that what’s planned is actioned and taken forward, but that actually that it’s strengthened and enhanced over the course of the next few years, because it’s about making sure that the music industry is in the best possible place.”
