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The Independent

Value of club culture not recognised in UK, says committee chairwoman

Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee chairwoman Dame Caroline Dinenage has said the UK does not 'understand' the economic and cultural value of electronic music and club culture in the country. Speaking at an event in London on Wednesday, hosted by the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), to bring music industry leaders together to meet the culture committee and express their concerns, Dame Caroline told the PA news agency music is 'our global superpower as a nation'. She told PA: 'I think it is under-recognised in the UK. I don't think we understand the economic value of it, I don't think we understand the cultural value of it, and what it means to so many people across the UK. 'Whether it's dance music or clubs, it's all been such a part of our youth, and continues today to be something that is very, sort of formative in people's lives and then stays with them throughout their lives. 'So it drives the economy, it drives tourism, and has a remarkable ability to sort of regenerate communities as well, buildings like this (the Drumsheds venue where the event was hosted), which is a huge empty former shop, it's now an absolutely thriving venue. 'What else could you use a huge site like this for? And it creates an enormous amount of joy and entertainment.' At the event, Dame Caroline called for venues to be recognised as 'the real cultural institutions that they are' in a similar way to museums and theatres, namechecking Manchester's former Hacienda club for its 'pivotal role in Britain's modern heritage'. Prior to hosting the event, the NTIA said it wanted to see 'proportionate taxation' for grassroots spaces and a reform of licensing and planning laws from the government. Speaking about the recommendations her committee would be making to the Government, Dame Caroline told PA: 'I think we need to have a really close look at this. We did a report last year on grassroots music venues, and we made a few recommendations to the Government. ' One of them, which I think is really important, is that we advocated for a fan-led review of live music, in the same way that the previous government did a fan-led review of football. 'We think that there should be one done of music so that the Government can really get a grip, can really understand, up and down the country, what the local economic value is to our towns, our cities, to the people that live there, to the careers that they want to start, what it means to them in their communities. 'There's a number of recommendations we've made for things like that, obviously we're making financial recommendations as well, like a cut to VAT on ticket prices, which we think is really important in the current economic climate. 'They've faced a whole range of challenges with the increase in things like business rates, so we want to see them financially supported. But actually, we want the Government to really get inside this and understand what's going on right at the very core of it.' 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.