How Labour’s New Budget Leaves the Music Industry Stuck in the Dark

There was a moment, right after the election, when a few people dared to believe the tide might turn for the arts. After years of watching venues close, musicians flee to other careers, and creative workers getting used to living with chronic uncertainty, change felt overdue. Yet here we are, months into the new government, staring down a budget that proves how far removed Labour has drifted from the people whose work shapes the cultural identity of this country. Instead of relief, the industry has been handed another set of problems wrapped in optimistic language that carries very little substance. Tax thresholds are frozen until 2031, the minimum wage has gone up, and hospitality is expected to absorb the blow as if it weren’t already gasping for breath. Music venues form the backbone of this sector, and many were already barely able to keep the lights on. Now they are being asked to do even more with margins that barely exist. There is not much of a light to hang onto, and the budget made that painfully clear. The government’s silence on how AI is reshaping the landscape adds to the unease. The cultural workforce is one of the most […] The post How Labour’s New Budget Leaves the Music Industry Stuck in the Dark appeared first on A&R Factory.

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There was a moment, right after the election, when a few people dared to believe the tide might turn for the arts. After years of watching venues close, musicians flee to other careers, and creative workers getting used to living with chronic uncertainty, change felt overdue. Yet here we are, months into the new government, staring down a budget that proves how far removed Labour has drifted from the people whose work shapes the cultural identity of this country. Instead of relief, the industry has been handed another set of problems wrapped in optimistic language that carries very little substance. Tax thresholds are frozen until 2031, the minimum wage has gone up, and hospitality is expected to absorb the blow as if it weren’t already gasping for breath. Music venues form the backbone of this sector, and many were already barely able to keep the lights on. Now they are being asked to do even more with margins that barely exist. There is not much of a light to hang onto, and the budget made that painfully clear. The government’s silence on how AI is reshaping the landscape adds to the unease. The cultural workforce is one of the most […]

The post How Labour’s New Budget Leaves the Music Industry Stuck in the Dark appeared first on A&R Factory.