A new study indicates that a living wage for people in the creative industry could boost the UK economy by £42million.
Analysis from the Living Wage Foundation found that if the policy were to be introduced across the country, it would result in a pay rise for tens of thousands of jobs in the creative and cultural sectors, which in turn could result in a $41.6million injection into the UK economy.
The research is based on data from the 2024 Office for National Statistics Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, making use of a model developed by Cardiff Business School.
The living wage is currently set at £13.45 per hour in the UK, while it is £14.80 in London, and it is estimated that 25 per cent of arts and entertainment jobs pay below that level in 2025.
Katherine Chapman, executive director of the Living Wage Foundation, has said: “The UK government has a chance to lead by ensuring that public investment in the creative and cultural industries supports good jobs and fair pay.”
“As regional mayors consider how they can boost creative industries in their regions, they should look to embed the Living Wage into their Creative Industry Plans.”
“Everyone in the creative and cultural sector, from café staff in museums to studio cleaners and front-of-house teams in theatres, should earn enough to meet the cost of living,” she added.
A similar policy has recently been implemented in Ireland, who have introduced a scheme to provide a basic income for over 2,000 creative workers and musicians from 2026.
The scheme, first trialled in 2022, initially aimed to “address the financial instability faced by many working in the arts”, with research finding that it had successfully sustained artists’ careers by effectively reducing the “income precarity which is a feature of a career in the arts”.
Those eligible for the new scheme will be able to apply from September next year, with participants in the permanent scheme set to receive €325 a week, with payments made monthly.
The Musician’s Union revealed earlier this year that almost half of all working musicians in the UK earn less than £14,000 a year. Featured Artists Coalition CEO David Martin shared a statement with NME at the time about the findings, saying that “beneath the surface, many UK artists earn far below-average salaries, with some making less than minimum wage despite being signed to the world’s largest record label.”
Though there are promising indicators of growth – among them increased vinyl sales and an appetite for live music – much of the grassroots sector continues to face challenges. With venues, for example, 2023 proved to be “disastrous” and the worst year on record with 125 grassroots music venues shutting their doors.
Last year, the Music Venue Trust (MVT) also pointed to a potential “complete collapse of touring” as a result of the budget announcement that introduced £7million in new premises taxes. MVT has suggested that this will place 350 grassroots music venues at immediate risk of closure – threatening more than 12,000 jobs, over £250million in economic activity and the loss of over 75,000 live music events.
One idea to combat the live music crisis is the policy to provide £1 from every ticket sold for arena-sized shows and larger to be invested back into the UK’s grassroots live music scene.
This summer, London’s Royal Albert Hall became the first to commit to the levy, while Prime Minister Keir Starmer told NME that he supports the initiative, saying he would “like to see it expanded even more, but I want to support it in any way we can”.
In May, Wolf Alice‘s Joff Oddie joined industry leaders at a government hearing and insisted that not enough progress was being made in saving venues and new artists. A month earlier, it was reported that UK tour ticket contributions had raised £500,000 for grassroots music venues thanks to artists like Pulp and Mumford & Sons.
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