Music Venue Trust has warned that grassroots music venues in Scotland are at risk of closure unless the Scottish Government intervenes on non-domestic rates following recent revaluations.
The charity, which represents hundreds of grassroots music venues across the UK, says Scotland is now falling behind the rest of the country after governments in England, Wales and Northern Ireland acknowledged that the latest business rates valuations have unfairly impacted live music venues and taken steps to limit the damage.
Figures compiled by Music Venue Trust show Scottish venues are around three times more likely than those in England to face increases of 50 per cent or more in their rates payable. The organisation says that without intervention these increases will lead directly to venue closures.
Stina Tweeddale, Scotland co-ordinator for Music Venue Trust, said the issue had already been addressed elsewhere in the UK.
“Three governments have now looked at the same evidence and reached the same conclusion: the valuations are wrong for grassroots music venues and action is required,” she said.
The UK Government has introduced targeted business rates relief that explicitly includes live music venues, while the Welsh Government has taken similar action. The Northern Ireland Executive has also announced a review of the entire business rates framework to ensure it does not damage hospitality and live music.
Music Venue Trust said these decisions have established a clear precedent and warned that Scotland risks being left out of step.
“These new rateable values are not just uncomfortable, they are demonstrably wrong,” Tweeddale said. “They are based on assumptions that do not reflect how venues operate, what they earn, or what they can realistically sustain.”
The charity is calling on the Scottish Government to work with the sector to introduce a temporary solution while longer-term reform of business rates is developed. It has also urged both the Scottish and Welsh governments to set out clear long-term plans to permanently resolve the issue as part of their election manifestos later this year.
Music Venue Trust said it is not seeking special treatment, but parity with the approach taken elsewhere in the UK.
“No one is asking for preferential treatment,” Tweeddale said. “We are asking for consistency, proportionality and basic fairness. Scotland cannot plausibly argue that the same data and the same modelling errors somehow produce a different reality here.”
