Making Music Matter

Chair: Alison Jenner; Aide: Lucas North; Hall Aide: Cllr Gareth Epps

Submitted by: 14 members 
Mover: Anna Sabine MP (Spokesperson for Culture, Media and Sport) 
Summation: Jason Thornton

Conference notes that:

1. The UK music industry remains one of the nation’s most significant economic pillars, contributing £8 billion to the UK economy in gross value added, and employing more than 220,000 people in 2024.
2. The Government has undermined trust with the creative industries by stating a preferred ‘opt-out’ approach to AI content use, before dropping this position following sectoral pressure.
3. Artists are particularly concerned about the impact of AI on the industry, with 90 per cent in favour of protections to stop their work being used without permission or payment.
4. The voluntary uptake of the Grassroots Ticket Levy remains underwhelming, with only 28 per cent of large venues implementing the levy, with progress reportedly hampered by large ticket distribution organisations.
5. Europe-wide touring for British musicians has been severely disadvantaged by bureaucratic post-Brexit barriers, including costly visas, carnets and permits, and the Government has failed to achieve tangible progress for musicians as part of the UK–EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
6. While the Government’s curriculum review response has committed to ensuring children have access to a well-rounded creative education, funding for Music Hubs remains 19 per cent below 2011 levels in real terms.

Conference believes that:

1. The cultural and creative industries are a primary engine of long-term economic growth, local community rejuvenation and international soft power for the United Kingdom.
2. Human creativity must be protected, valued and fairly remunerated, and that technological innovation can and should support the artistic community.
3. The scraping of British creative content by foreign AI companies is fundamentally a question of sovereignty and trust.
4. Grassroots music venues, which form the lifeblood of the UK’s world-leading music ecosystem, are closing at an alarming rate due to rising development pressures and a lack of systemic financial support.
5. Every child, regardless of background or educational needs, has a fundamental right to a rich, high-quality creative education, including music.

Conference reaffirms Liberal Democrat pledges to:

1. Reverse real-terms cuts to Music Hubs since 2011, with a 19 per cent increase in funding followed by a commitment to annual increases in line with inflation.
2. Impose a statutory large venue levy to fund grassroots venues, alongside a VAT cut for grassroots music venues.
3. Fully enforce the ‘Agent of Change’ principle by blocking developments nearby existing music venues that lack strict soundproofing, and applying it to all noise complaints against existing venues.

Conference calls on the Government to invest in music education by:

1. Reinstating Music PGCE bursaries to attract talented musicians into the classroom, with the aim of hiring an additional 1,000 music teachers.
2. Redirecting the £25 million fund for new instruments into a national repairs and maintenance programme, and accelerating plans to introduce a musical instrument maintenance and repair technician apprenticeship.
3. Providing music hubs with multi-year funding settlements directly from Department for Education budgets, and supporting local councils to offer both individual and group music tuition classes for reduced fees, supported by an Arts Pupil Premium of at least £90 million per year.
4. Ensuring music and creative subjects are embedded into core accountability frameworks.
5. Guaranteeing access to music education for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

Conference further calls on the Government to ensure a fair deal for musicians and creatives by:

1. Confirming that existing UK copyright law applies to content used to train AI models, and mandating transparency in AI training data, so that creators and rights-holders can identify when their work has been used, with clear routes of redress.
2. Establishing a clear and transparent opt-in licensing model with fair remuneration for musicians whose work is used to train AI systems, and committing to a review on directing revenue from licensing deals towards grassroots music artists and music education.
3. Supporting the development of creator collectives for independent musicians, enabling collective licensing negotiation at scale and ensuring fair market access for artists without major-label backing.
4. Introducing image, voice and personality rights, protecting musicians and performers from unauthorised deepfakes and synthetic reproductions of their likeness, voice or performance.
5. Requiring music streaming platforms to clearly label AIgenerated content on their platforms.

Conference further calls on the Government to supercharge growth in the music and live events sector by:

1. Rejoining the European Single Market and Creative Europe, and entering into a customs union with the EU, to provide touring artists with expanded opportunities and frictionless travel for themselves and their instruments.
2. Expanding the UK Music Export Growth Scheme and putting it on a permanent statutory footing, supporting emerging artists to build international careers.
3. Establishing a network of cultural envoys, modelled on the existing UK Trade Envoys system, to champion British creative talent across the globe and secure reciprocal access for touring artists.
4. Championing equitable remuneration for streaming, ensuring that performers receive a fair share of streaming revenues alongside record labels.
5. Extending orchestral tax relief to choirs.

Applicability: Federal except for A.-C. and i)–v), which are England only

Mover: 5 minutes; all other speakers: 3 minutes. For eligibility and procedure for speaking in this debate, see page 10 of the agenda. You can submit a speaker's card online here or in person.

The deadline for amendments to this motion is 13.00 Monday 7 September; see pages 11-12 of the agenda for more information.

Those selected for debate will be printed in Conference Extra and Sunday’s Conference Daily. The deadline for requests for separate votes is 09.00 Saturday 19 September; see page 9 of the agenda for more information.