Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the strategic importance of (1) live music venues, and (2) festivals, to the UK's future economic growth.

The Government recognises the importance and significant growth potential of the live music venue and festival sectors to the UK economy.

Before the Covid pandemic, the live music sector showed strong growth in GVA of 17% in 2019 to £1.3bn, up from £1.1bn in 2018. This growth follows an increase in GVA of 10% in 2018. Similarly, the number of full-time jobs sustained by music tourism has grown from 39,728 jobs in 2016 to 45,633 jobs in 2019. These live music sector jobs cover a broad range, from promoters and sound engineers, to security and bar staff employed at events.

Live music venues and festivals are essential to the music industry’s talent pipeline, providing a stage to showcase and export great British talent. More broadly, the sectors play a considerable role in the UK's economy by generating jobs across the country and driving music tourism. The Government is committed to continuing to work with live music venues and festivals to help them access support through these challenging times and through recovery, allowing the music sector to continue to grow in the future.