ERA COMMENTS ON ANDY BURNHAM'S BUSINESS RATES RELIEF PLAN
Independent record shops should be included within 'live music venues' when more details are announced in the Autumn Budget.
ERA welcomes Andy Burnham's decision to cut business rates for pubs, clubs and live music venues in England by 20% - but we also want to ensure that independent record shops are included within those 'live music venues' when more details are announced in the Autumn Budget.
In 2025, record shops hosted 1 in 40 of the UK’s music gigs, both in the record shops themselves and in affiliated local venues, creating opportunities for local fans to engage valuably with artists, in their neighbourhood, with their community; the very definition of grassroots!
Record shops support over 4,000 gigs per year, not to mention their local communities, grassroots culture and local job opportunities.
Cultural high streets are not sustainable with the current business rates policy, and ERA are calling on the Government to stop risking cultural businesses' survival, and to recognise their essential contribution to the creative and local economy.
There are 499 record shops across the breadth of the UK, and this support should not be limited to England.
Read ERA's Manifesto for Cultural High Streets