Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact on the employment of freelance musicians working in music production, of the increase in non-domestic rating increase for commercial recording studios in April 2026.

The UK’s network of recording studios are central to our position as the world’s third-largest recorded music market and second-biggest exporter of music, and they play a crucial role in ensuring the continuation of our talent pipeline. The creative industries, and music within that, are a priority growth sector in the government’s Industrial Strategy.

We have worked with industry to make revisions to the ONS's proposed SIC 2026 framework, and once in place, future economic estimates will be available for both music publishing and sound recording separately.

At the 2025 Budget, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) announced updated property values that will take effect from 1 April 2026. This revaluation is the first since the pandemic, which has led to significant increases in rateable values (RVs) for some properties.  In recognition of the impact of the revaluation on business rates bills, the government announced a support package worth £4.3 billion to protect against ratepayers seeing large overnight increases in bills. Over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down next year. This also means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.

Many recording studios are also likely to benefit from Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR). SBRR is available to businesses with a single property below a set RV. Eligible properties under £12,000 receive 100 per cent relief, which means around a third of properties in England pay no business rates at all. Tapered support is available to properties valued between £12,000 and £15,000. If a business expands to a second property, it will retain SBRR  on the first property for 3 years, up from 12 months previously.

The Government is investing £30m into a new Music Growth Package, launching in 2026, which will support music infrastructure, including recording studios, and ensure the UK music sector remains globally competitive. This enables the grassroots music sector, including recording studios, to apply for grants of up to £40,000 to develop new revenue streams and make repairs and improvements.

We are continuing to engage closely with industry stakeholders, including UK Music and the Music Producers Guild, to strengthen our understanding of the specific challenges the sector faces in relation to business rates, alongside the broader pressures on businesses arising from rising operating costs.