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14 May 2025, 00:04
By Ella Bennett
The Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee is to call on the Government to “recognise and support” UK club culture and electronic music in the wake of venue closures.
The committee’s chair Dame Caroline Dinenage will call for support at an event at London’s Drumsheds venue on Wednesday, hosted by the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), to bring music industry leaders together to meet with the culture committee and express their concerns.
Dame Caroline will say at the event: “Electronic music and club culture are integral parts of our national identity, creative economy and social fabric. The evidence that the committee hears today lays bare the scale of the challenges – but also the massive opportunities – facing this vital sector.
“Government must recognise and support this vital contemporary culture before we lose it.
“To do so would represent a huge cost to society. That means recognising nightclubs and venues as cultural and community institutions, delivering fair, proportionate support for grassroots spaces, and reforming licensing and planning to value and protect culture.
“Nightlife’s social, cultural and economic value – and electronic music specifically – must be recognised as national cultural priorities.”
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NTIA research has found that on average three nightclubs closed each week in the UK, with 34% of clubs lost since November 2019.
The group also claims new post-April tax rises from the Chancellor’s autumn budget will “threaten many more”.
It said its polls had shown that 92% of nightlife businesses had cut staff, operating hours, or essential investments, and that 40% of businesses said they would have to close in the next six months without support.
The NTIA also claimed another 40% of venues are looking to make job cuts.
The group said it wanted to see venues recognised as “vital cultural and community institutions”, “proportionate taxation” for grassroots spaces and a reform of licencing and planning laws.
Michael Kill, chief executive of the NTIA, said: “Electronic music is one of the UK’s most influential cultural forces, yet it remains under-recognised and under-supported by the government.
“Clubs are the life and soul of the industry, vital incubators for talent, innovation, and community. They are the grassroots spaces where global stars are born and cultural movements take shape.
“We are at a critical juncture, venues are closing at an unsustainable rate, communities are losing vital cultural spaces, and the very foundations of our creative ecosystem are under threat.
“This isn’t just about nightlife, it’s about protecting jobs, youth culture, and the UK’s global reputation as a leader in music and creativity.
“We are urging the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee to give electronic music the platform and recognition it deserves as a serious cultural and economic contributor. With cross-party MPs now paying attention, there are no more excuses, the time to act is now.”
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