Representatives across both the music industry and Westminster figures joined together at the Conservative Party Conference on October 7, 2025 in Manchester. The panel’s proposed point of discussion centered around how the British music sector could simultaneously continue to produce exciting new music continue to flourish on a global scale, despite mounting industry pressures.The session, titled ‘Push the Button: Why British Music Will Kick Start Growth‘, was hosted by UK Music’s Chief Executive, Tom Kiehl.The discussion itself sought to gain valuable expertise from experienced political and industry voices, all in the prospects of weighing in on the future of the UK’s most valuable cultural export.
The event saw attendees like Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, Chair of the Culture, Media, and Sport Select Committee; Sophie Jones, Chief Strategy Officer at the BPI; Baroness Lucy Neville-Rolfe, former Minister for Intellectual Property; and Gary McClarnan, CEO of Sparklestreet Projects. The overwhelming goal was to examine the dual nature of the UK’s music scene, and the precarious situation the industry continues to find itself in whilst dealing with new challenges like AI, economic uncertainty, and weakened venue infrastructure.
The discussion opened with an emphasis on the continuing resilience of the creative sector, marked by Dame Caroline Dinenage. She emphasised the fact that in 2023, the UK music industry experienced a sixteen percent growth, pumping billions into the national economy. However, she was keen to highlight that with the exponential growth comes many subsidiary challenges; one in particular is the strain placed on grassroots venues.Smaller, independent venues and labels, caught in the wake of financial strain post-pandemic. Dinenage said, “We cannot afford complacency,” emphasising the government’s engagement remains completely vital if the UK is to hold its position at the front of cultural production, at the head of an increasingly competitive global market.
Sophie Jones, of the BPI, commented on the effects of digital saturation and how it continues to drastically alter the landscape.Every day on average, 120,000 new tracks are uploaded onto Spotify, placing UK artists in the most saturated, overly competitive music market to date.Jones also points out that the rapid advancements of AI technology continue to undermine artists’ rights and intellectual property.“It is vital we get the balance right between innovation and protection,” she commented, underscoring IP as the cornerstone of investment in the cultural economy.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe set a tone of a similar sentiment, talking about how intellectual property constitutes the “beating heart of the creative industries”. She reminded many attendees that behind every release is a team of hardworking professionals, spanning marketing teams to legal publishers, and each worker needs to have their rights reaffirmed as a means of ensuring the sustainability of that creative ecosystem.
The representative for working musicians, Gary McClarnan, acted as a spokesman for artists who form the foundation of the sector, yet are often the last to see the benefits of such. He called for the governing policies that seek to provide better support to emerging and mid-tier artists to be continued, things like targeted tax incentives, VAT reductions, and direct investment into the live music scene.
These questions prompt larger conversations on touring logistics, secondary ticketing, and venue closures. Dinenage reaffirmed that the Select Committee’s ongoing review that Select Committee’s ongoing review into VAT relief for grassroots venues, while McClarnan suggested that a similar approach to ticketing could channel revenue more fairly.
Closing the discussion, Tom Kiehl referenced UK Music’s Hometown Glory report, which highlights how local scenes fuel national growth. For attendees, the message was clear: while the UK’s music economy remains a world leader, sustained collaboration between government, industry, and artists will be essential to keep the stage lights on.
