UK Government Announces £1.57 Billion in Relief Funds For Britain’s Arts & Culture Sectors

Good news: in a highly welcomed move and with much relief, the Government has announced they will be allocating an emergency £1.57 billion to Britain’s Arts & Culture sector which has been battered due to the pandemic.

As the pandemic has taken its severe toll on the music industry, it feels as though over the past couple of months we’ve been hearing nothing but bad news: venues not being able to stay afloat financially with many at risk of closing permanently, those who work in the music industry losing their livelihoods and festivals not being able to recoup the funds they need to keep the sector alive.

We are relieved today to be providing some good news for the first time in what feels like forever. The UK Government have announced they will be providing £1.57 billion in support for the arts and culture sectors of Britain, which comes with much relief as the industry has been barely “weathering the storm” due to the impact of the pandemic.

The rescue package will be allocated to assisting Britain’s music venues, museums, theatres, independent cinemas, galleries and heritage sites: many of whom faced a dire future without Government aid.

Music Venue Trust, who have been fighting tirelessly to keep Britain’s grassroots music venues alive, and have managed to save 140 venues from imminent closure as well as raise an incredible £1.5 million in donations via their Save Our Venues campaign have welcomed this relief. MVT voiced major concern in June and called on the government to provide emergency assistance of £50 million for the battered music industry. Following the announcement of the billion pound rescue package, MVT have thanked all those who have supported them through this difficult time, as the future begins to look brighter.

Senior Partner Tom Wilcox of Counterculture, a multidisciplinary alternative business structure which assists those in the cultural, educational and creative organisations to plan, manage and thrive within their sector stated in a press release:

This is a welcome lifeline for the creative industries. Yet the sector knows it has much to do to remain economically viable in the years ahead. The cultural sector must seize the opportunity of this unprecedented financial package to make changes in its business models; investing more in digital tools to support income generation and marketing to broaden audiences, as well as creating better economies of scale through mergers, partnerships and shared services. This is the moment to abandon much of yesterday’s organisational practice to maximise resources invested in producing and presenting great art.

Tom Wilcox
Counterculture Senior Partner

We can only hope there will be more good news to come for the future of our beloved industry.