The Pop Corporation

Even though Keir Starmer looks like he listens to The Smiths, presently, there’s enough reasons to be cheerful by virtue of the fact that the UK’s political landscape should settle down and y’know, Labour aren’t The Tories and they might actually listen. Of course, they’re politicians so no-one in their right mind should get their hopes up too hard, but you’d hope this will all be good for culture and music.

As we know, the current state of play for the music industry is pretty dire. Venues are closing and those that remain are having to put prices up to try and stay afloat with all the cost of living crises and everything else besides. Brexit has hit touring bands hard, also. Beyond that, funding for local music charities and groups have been gutted, the grassroots are suffering and schools are on their knees. Starmer’s Labour have quite the task ahead of them, on top of all the other problems the world has right now.

There’s shoots of encouragement, with Labour pledging to introduce a price cap on ticket resale which is more than welcomed as that particular market has spiralled out of control. There’s already a number of Labour MPs on record saying that they care about this issue, with on MP – Sharon Hodgson being especially vocal about the whole thing.

We will look to Wigan’s Lisa Nandy – the new Secretary of State for Culture – for any movement with a lot of these issues, as she works with the Department For Culture, Media & Sport.

Nandy has said in the past that she think the UK’s “creative, cultural and heritage industries” play a “crucial role” in the economy. It’s obvious and true, but there’s still a small amount of solace from someone actually saying that in government.

There is going to be increased pressure on the new government to tackle the rampant pushing of AI from Big Tech companies, and record labels, TV stations and the rest, will be looking for government intervention when it comes to industry standards and transparency around artificial intelligence. It feels like a more immediate concern will be in regards to grassroots and nightlife, where society will see a more immediate improvement – after all, going for pints in a fun venue watching local bands is tangible difference, rather than the looming tech spectre.

The Music Venue Trust and groups like them have previously said that there’s hopes that a new government will adopt some of their recommendations and those made by the culture select committee’s recent report on grassroots live music.

What can a government do? Is it tax breaks for those in the culture sector? It is lifting VAT on certain products where venues will benefit?

“We have grounds for real optimism with a Labour government, partly because of what they’ve said but also partly because of who said it. It hasn’t just been DCMS, it’s been Jonathan Reynolds at business, it’s been Rachel Reeves at Treasury, it’s been Keir Starmer who launched the Labour’s ‘creatives manifesto’ – there are so many things in there that we like,” said Jon Collins CEO of LIVE, which represents 15 associations across the live music industry.

Association of Independent Festivals CEO John Rostron is quoted as saying: “We very much welcome a Labour government – Labour have demonstrated a strong commitment to culture and to music whilst in opposition and that’s carried through into their manifesto. With a strong majority and a good tenure ahead, we hope we can achieve a lot with their team.”

“Lower VAT on ticket sales is the primary ask from us for independent music festivals – the most vital piece of support we need quickly. Our priority after that is to explore a festival tax credit – another fiscal model that could be the silver bullet for independent festivals.”

We don’t know what mess Labour have inherited yet, but there’s cautious cause for hope it seems. Will the new government at least listen?