Written By: Reanne Thomas
Following the Labour Party’s victory in July as the UK’s governing party, Urban Lawyers is taking a look at their commitments to safeguard and enhance the creative industries, with a focus on the music industry.
In 2022, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) estimated that creative industries accounted for £126 billion of the gross value added to the UK economy. This significant contribution to the UK economy underscores the sector’s vital role for the country’s economic landscape. In light of this, Labour unveiled their Sector Plan for Arts, Culture and Creative Industries earlier this year, which they describe as being “‘Phase One’ of [their] plan to support the growth of the creative industries, to bolster their contribution to our economy.” During the run-up to the general election, they pledged to implement these plans as part of a manifesto, promising to “create good jobs and accelerate growth in film, music, gaming, and other creative sectors.” But what will this look like in practice?
Investing in Creative Skills
· Labour plan to introduce the Growth and Skills Levy to take over the current Apprenticeship Levy, aiming to encourage companies to allocate up to 50% of their levy funds on modular and adaptable training programs, which cover pre-apprenticeship education. Currently, the Apprenticeship Levy functions as a tax imposed on employers in the UK, designating collected funds exclusively for apprenticeship training. The objective is to more closely match training offerings with the short-term project work that is characteristic of the arts sector. For employees, this means providing flexible access to training, with the hope that it will foster development opportunities across the workforce.
Labour have also announced their intention to create a National Music Education Network, with a focus on information and courses for parents, teachers and students. Whilst we wait to hear the exact form that this will take, their promise could look to implement working in partnership with arts organisations, to coordinate a national music education ecosystem connecting students with access to music education.
Protecting Cultural Spaces
· The Labour government plans to introduce a new initiative: Space to Create, which purports to prioritise safeguarding cultural arts spaces.
· Through the creation of a new Cultural Infrastructure Map, they will identify existing cultural spaces and the local networks (i.e., mayors, authorities and other local leaders) that support them, to highlight areas that need replenishment.
Safeguards for Freelancers
· Labour aims to aid self-employed creatives with the New Deal for Working People, which proposes the right to demand formal contracts and extends health, safety, and whistleblower protections.
· They also pledge to tackle the issue of abusive zero-hour contracts and put an end to late payments for freelance workers.
Facilitate Touring in the EU Post-Brexit
· Following Brexit, music group White Lies called off the opening concert of their European tour because their musical instruments got delayed during inspections at the Dover port. This situation is not isolated; with their plan revealing that 43% of musicians they surveyed felt that touring in the EU is too problematic
· One reason is that under the post-Brexit UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, UK musicians no longer have the freedom of movement across the EU, which previously made performing between countries seamless. For example, a performer now requires a work permit to perform for longer than a day in Austria, but this is not necessary for their stay in France. Additionally, they must navigate 27 different sets of immigration and work permit regulations in the EU. This poses unique challenges for newer, less established artists, whether they are based in the UK or the EU.
Labour have recognised that these hold ups are a direct result of Brexit’s implications, and they have vowed to facilitate easier touring for artists. The Musician’s Union and similar organisations have begun to work closely with the Government to present arguments that need to be addressed to solve these issues. Additionally, collaboration with their EU counterparts will also need to be prioritised to resolve these problems.
Tackle Ticker Resellers
· With a focus on putting fans “back at the heart of music events”, Labour have vowed to:
o Enhance legislation protecting consumer rights, for instance, by banning ticket touts from reselling tickets at a price inflated past the what the original purchaser paid for it.
o Give the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) the adequate powers needed to regulate resale platforms. Currently, the CMA cannot sufficiently address breaches of consumer protection provisions unless it takes actions through court proceedings. Under new proposed legislation however, the CMA would be able to enforce breaches of consumer protection laws directly, including the ability to imposes fines to reselling platforms of up to 10% of their global annual turnover if they are found to be in non-compliance.
o The CMA will also be able to take action against the use of bots which are used to amass large quantities of tickets. Here’s hoping this makes it easier to secure tickets to our favourite gigs in the future!